By measures including billions in capital improvements, year-over-year group growth and rising national awareness of its meetings strengths beyond just Las Vegas, 2017 counted as another positive year for Nevada.
For Vegas, of course, there was one singular story of progress—recovery and rebound from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival shooting Oct. 1. In true testament to the strength of the entire Vegas community, the rallying spirit continues to carry the destination forward.
Meanwhile, Reno, the “Biggest Little City in the World,” is poised for an economic surge that analysts say could span 20 years as Tesla, with its Gigafactory, and other major tech players invest billions in the area. Tahoe South is blossoming again with investments, such as the $100 million Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe, while North Lake Tahoe continues to leverage its appeal as a premier mountain destination.
Hosting over 300 tournaments and 30-plus national and regional championship events annually, Carson City, the state capital, is square in the meetings game, while Elko, gold now pouring from Elko County’s Long Canyon mine project, mints shiny new group appeal.
With silver in its veins, Nevada has the minerals for lasting meetings momentum.
Vegas Strong
Talk about a company town. In Las Vegas, tourism directly and indirectly supports well over 350,000 jobs, or nearly half (44 percent) of the area’s employment. Supporting this workforce in turn was a dominant topic during IMEX America 2017, which took place just days after the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting. With “VegasStrong” messaging on billboards across town, the word clearly got out, for at IMEX, on the Strip and elsewhere, the human response was nothing short of magnificent.
During IMEX, I saw the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the city’s new NHL team, play its first home game at T-Mobile Arena. It could have been the Stanley Cup final, with more than 20,000 towel-waving fans celebrating the 5-2 victory. Really, though, the energy was about emotions, including the uplifting pregame ceremony honoring victims and first responders, and the renewal of commitment to Vegas itself.
That same dedication extends to the destination’s unstoppable evolution, which heads into 2018 with greater momentum than ever.
Phase Two of the Las Vegas Convention Center District Expansion, which includes a 1.4 million-square-foot expansion with at least 600,000 square feet of new exhibition space, is now in the design phase, and groundbreaking was scheduled last month on the future Las Vegas Raiders’ planned 65,000-seat domed football stadium.
Caesars Entertainment, now emerged from bankruptcy, will continue to invest substantially in the future, including yet more room and property upgrades. Plus, as announced by CEO Mark Frissora in October, pending board approval, plans call for a new 300,000-square-foot convention facility on the Strip.
MGM Resorts International continues to redefine the future of meetings, with the $450 million Park MGM, a transformation of the former Monte Carlo, set to open in April, and Steve Wynn is redefining exuberance with his estimated $1.5 billion Paradise Park project, 47-story, 1,500-room hotel tower included—and much more, to be revealed in our February 2018 Las Vegas feature story.
Stations Casinos continues to assert its off-Strip prominence. Last month, the multi-property operator announced an investment of $485 million in a near-virtual makeover of the Palms Casino Resort, which it acquired a year ago for $312.5 million. The company’s luxury collection includes the 814-room Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa and 495-room Green Valley Ranch Resort Casino & Spa. Reflecting $35 million in recent enhancements, the former offers 94,000 square feet of space for groups, while the latter, featuring $20 million in recent tune-ups, offers 65,000-plus square feet of space.
Other off-Strip properties include the 2,100-room South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, with 165,000 square feet of space, and M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson with 92,000 total square feet of space.
Transformative Times
Reno Tahoe is booming as tech titans including Apple, Amazon and Tesla invest billions in area facilities and operations and inspire regional economic development on multiple fronts—tourism and meetings included.
“This growth is ensuring Reno Tahoe’s sustained viability as a destination,” said Michael Larragueta, vice president of sales for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA). “Heading into 2018, it’s our positioning for selling northern Nevada to new and returning customers.”
Primarily attracting association, corporate and SMERF groups, plus sporting events, the destination books groups from 100 to 8,000 attendees. Strong momentum includes securing Interbike Marketweek, ranked 66th nationally and Reno’s largest tradeshow, for five years starting in 2018.
“We’ve opened new regional offices in our traditionally strong Northern California market, and in Atlanta, to build relationships in the growing association presence in the southeastern U.S.,” Larragueta said. “Plus, our new director of customer satisfaction and convention services is focused on improving customer experience at multiple RSCVA-operated venues.”
PageBreakExpanding airlift, including new non-stop New York service, and seasonal Atlanta runs is also helping to increase awareness of, and access to, the destination beyond its western U.S. base.
Affordability and value are also draws.
“Relaxed labor regulations at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center saves money for vendors, and annual room rates are still attractively averaging around $100 per night,” Larragueta said. “Food and entertainment costs at major resorts and convention facilities are also considerably less expensive compared to cities offering similar urban and outdoor recreation amenities.”
The expanding economy means investment in upgrades, such as the Nevada Museum of Art’s new $6.2 million rooftop Nightingale Sky Room, and Reno-Sparks Convention Center’s $1.3 million wireless networking upgrade to 10G speeds for up to 25,000 users.
Offering some 15,500 rooms, including 11 resorts, Reno features market leaders such as the 1,900-room Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, offering 200,000 square feet of space, and 824-room Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, the only resort connected to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The AAA Four Diamond property’s 50,000 square feet of versatile space includes 22 meeting rooms, an executive boardroom and 14,000-plus-square-foot Grand Ballroom.
Siena Hotel Casino relaunched this spring as the non-gaming, non-smoking 214-room Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel, offering 13,000 square feet of space, while the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks is renovating 800 rooms and 110,000 square feet of convention space. Eldorado Resorts is investing $50 million in its downtown Reno properties—the Eldorado, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus—which together offer 4,100-plus rooms and 191,000 total square feet of space.
Running 22 miles long and 1,685-feet deep, Lake Tahoe is North America’s largest alpine lake. Backed by the Sierra Nevada range, this turquoise-blue wonder is hard to refuse.
“Our preeminent mountain destination, accessible, beautiful and authentic, uniquely allows groups to conduct business while ‘getting away from it all,’” said Jason Neary, the North Lake Tahoe CVB’s director of conference sales.
Drawing from the nearby San Francisco Bay Area, the destination, welcoming groups from five to 10,000 and averaging 170 attendees, is also popular with the Southern California, Dallas, Houston, Chicago and D.C. markets.
“Nevada-side group business performed as expected for 2017, with short-term demand exceeding expectations,” Neary said. “Opening booking windows with short turnaround is really making an impact.”
The 422-room Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino, offering 50,000 square feet of space, is the destination’s pinnacle group property. Other distinctive Nevada-side venues include the landmark Thunderbird Lodge, offering 3,000 square feet of indoor space, and outdoor options including the lakeside lawn.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison is purchasing Frank Sinatra’s legendary border-straddling Cal Neva Resort & Casino. His plans for the one-time celebrity magnet, opened in 1926, reportedly may include revival as a resort.
Attracting groups large and small from the outdoor recreation industry, and increasingly, the technology and healthcare sectors, start-ups included, Tahoe South is approaching 2018 energized by major investments. The headliner, described by Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority Executive Director Carol Chaplin as “seminal for the South Shore and a centerpiece of the area’s renaissance,” is the new $100 million The Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe.
Opened in July 2017, the 169,000-square-foot Lodge, with 154 luxurious guest rooms, comes with a 3,000-square-foot ballroom, 200-seat bistro restaurant, 8,500-square-foot spa and salon, shopping and more. Inspired by great national park lodges, the LEED-certified property dramatically enhances both Edgewood Tahoe’s appeal, ahead of the lakefront golfing, dining and event destination’s golden anniversary next year, and overall business development objectives for the destination.
“Focused on groups within drive or nonstop flight markets into Reno-Tahoe International Airport, our specific goal is to increase awareness about unique opportunities for tailored meetings that highlight the area’s beauty and array of venues and options,” Chaplin said.
With more than $750 million in capital investment over the last five years, the destination’s other polishes include Ridge Tahoe Resort’s new $2 million, 3,700-square-foot Castle Rock View Conference Center, and $12 million in enhancements at Caesars Entertainment-owned duo Harrah’s and Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino.
“Continuing to regain in popularity with meeting planners, the property had a fantastic year, with additional enhancements ahead in 2018,” reported Caesars Entertainment Chief Sales Officer Michael Massari.
Around three years ago, Elko, in northeastern Nevada, had outgrown its group space. Like Vegas, it needed to expand, resulting in the new stand-alone, nearly 30,000-square-foot Elko Convention Center. Marketed with Elko’s original smaller facility as “Two Great Centers, One Great Location,” the $12 million venue opened in 2015 as mining operations began at nearby Long Canyon, Nevada’s most significant oxide gold discovery in years. Together, these investments are elevating Elko’s meetings appeal.
“Group business was very good in 2017,” reported Elko Convention and Visitors Authority (ECVA) Executive Director Don Newman, citing extended bookings from Long Canyon operator Newmont and other mining companies active in Elko County. “We also saw upsides on corporate meetings and conferences, including multiple bookings by the Nevada Commission on Tourism.”
Currently focused on 50- to 500-attendee groups from Nevada associations, and from the Intermountain West, especially Utah and Idaho, the ECVA supports groups with detailed event and itinerary planning.
Unique venues include the Northeastern Nevada Museum, Western Folklife Center, California Trail Interpretive Center and new Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum. Unexpected but eminently rewarding, the Star Hotel and Restaurant is world-renowned for its Basque cuisine and ambience. Area dude ranches include the family-owned Cottonwood Guest Ranch, while the 222-room Red Lion Hotel & Casino is a local landmark offering conference space.
Recent additions include an 81-room Hampton Suites and 84-room Ledgestone Extended Stay Suites, with an 80-room Hilton Home2Suites due in 2018.
