Discriminating Vegas Traveler

When I first starting going to Vegas (2005) I found myself looking for bargains (i.e. coupons, cheap flights etc). After being a bargain traveler to Vegas for two years I found it to be a pain in the butt to use coupons in Vegas and also taking the cheaper flights early in the morning or red-eye flights just is something that I don't want to do anymore.

Yes I'm fortunate to have a good job and the pay to go along with it. But over the last couple of years I find myself picking flights based what time I want to arrive and depart Vegas regardless if they are cheap or not. I also look at the type of airplane used, I've started to fly Delta now out of CAK because I'm on an MD-88 out of CAK to ATL then ATL to LAS on a 767-300 and first class is great in this aircraft. My rooms are comped but I find asking for more plush accommodations from my host which she is great about giving. I also find myself partaking of more of the finer things in Vegas now.

This thread is not to brag but to get others perspectives of how your travels to Vegas may have changed over the years. Are you a more discriminating Vegas traveler now than in the past?

 

Our rooms and food are comped and within reason, I will pay more for better flight times. And, it must be non-stop.

It's a change from 20 years ago, when we did coupons, redeyes, city buses. Phoenix, Chicago or Minneapolis layovers.

I'm not adverse to using coupons and we use a lot at home. We just don't have a use for them in Vegas.

 

In too many ways our Vegas travel has changed but 8 years ago (fresh college grad) was my first trip with my then fiance....now it's different.

Went from -
Paying for whatever discount rate I could get at the Las Vegas Hilton - to Paying for whatever discounted rate I could get at the Mirage - to getting comp'd at the Mirage - to compd at Mirage with $25 FP - to comd at Mandalay Bay w/ FP - to Compd at Aria w/ $100 FP - to Compd at Bellagio and Wynn with "hundreds in freeplay"

Now anything lower than Aria, Bellagio, or the Wynn and my wife and I are like "no way."

Funny thing is, we are so middle of the road people in our "real lives," it's funny the effect going to Vegas has. I'll stay at a Red Roof or Microtel Inn, no problem - anywhere else but in Vegas!

 

Starting to get to Wynn level but will never forget my first love: Imperial Palace.

 

LOL

 

I normally travel to Vegas 3 - 4 times a year - for
a week at a time.
So, I try to find a cheap flight.
My hotels are usually nearly comp'd -- from
previous stays.
Once in a while -- wife + I will pay a discounted
room price at a fancier hotel for several nights -
to change things up.
We'll try one show a trip.
One pricey meal a trip = she loves Emeril !
.
I guess my answer is --- I still look for Vegas bargains.
To me - it's fun.

 

The first time my wife and I went, we stayed at Mirage for like 100$/night and I was pissed at her for booking such an 'expensive' room. A few years later it was Bellagio (off peak) and now we wont stay anywhere but Wynn, Aria, Cosmo etc... and always get an upgraded room. The flights we book are booked to maximize our time there rather than by cost.

It's like we are different people in Vegas. We are definitely not wealthy, but do ok and have no kids so when we are there we splurge. It's no big deal to drop 300$ on dinner, shop at LV, or buy in at a table for 1000$. When we are at home we rarely eat out and I sweat buying in at 100$ at the local casino. It's definitely an alternate universe for us. So yes we sort of slowly graduated to Vegas snobs (in a low-roller sense).

When you do the math, you realize you could have spent a week in Tahiti or something....but there's just something about Vegas....

 

Lol, I was raised a tightwad and guess I will always be a tightwad (probably why I never married, lol).

While I won't stay at the fleabag motels or hostels while in vegas I will stay at most of the downtown hotel casinos. My current regular is the El Cortez (vintage rooms). They usually have great rates and I usually check regularly on kayak to see their prices. Air prices are also a crapshoot, I notice that Hawaiian air usually drops their prices every so often so I am usually on the lookout for good air prices (usually can get hnl to las r/t for less than $400). Need to book quick since the prices usually start going back up within a day or two. Since I'm a single I hardly use coupons and I don't gamble that much so I hardly get any comps and really don't need all the amenities offerred by many hotels (I have a 24 hr membership so can work out there if I want).

I have stayed on the strip, IP, flamingo, dust, MB, Ex but lately I like to stay downtown (better gambling IMHO). Many times the cost for an entire stay at the EC is the same a a day or 2 nights stay on the strip.

 

Compared to alot of people on here, I am a low roller. One thing I never do is layovers. Always fly non stop. It really is worth the $50-$100 not to have to change planes or have 2-3 hours added on to the flight time.

 

Yeah I admit I've gotten pretty spoiled and expect a lot more these days. The first comped room I got I was stoked just to get it for free. Now I'm always asking for the top accommodations and royal treatment from start to finish. I've gotten really spoiled getting to flash a card and get whatever I want. But the worst part is I've started getting mad when everything isn't perfect.

 

I am more discriminating.

I used to like everyone in Vegas. Now I hate the Dutch and call them names when I see them in Vegas.

Ok, but seriously folks ...

On the first couple trips I wanted to maximize what I got into a certain length of vacation, so I flew in in mornings, out on the redeye. I had a small gambling budget and ate mainly at buffets and fast food.

Over time, the gambling budget has gotten bigger, and I like to mix in more restaurant dining, especially for dinner, both bargain and fancy.

But the real lightbulb going on was how cheap hotels even on the strip could be (this started with weekday and offseason rate bargains, and then I started getting comps). So even though I am still cheap when it comes to accomodations and flights, I realized that it didn't cost that much to stay an extra night or two. And flights that arrive around 8-9, with returns leaving in the early morning are about the same price (for me) as the old combination.

So now, especially with a 2 hour drive to the airport, I plan my flights around convenient travel times, and I don't consider getting to Vegas at 9, or leaving in the morning as a "waste" of a hotel night. Still have lots of fun. Still a bargain hunter for flights and hotel. But now I don't burn myself out or have scary sleep deprived drives.

 

I now upgrade to first class flights when available and now rent a car.

I don't really look for incredible deals or use coupons, but I I'll bounce a round a few websites and check prices during different weeks and often go for lowest rates.

I don't get offered stellar comps (never have) because I bounce all over town and still roll low. I prefer variety over comps.

I haven't stayed on the Strip in over ten years...maybe more now, I don't remember. I find much more enjoyment in off-Strip properties. I'll stay in four or five star hotels in anywhere but Vegas. I can't explain why, but I don't find that those hotels in Vegas ooze 'fun'.

 

Yes, I remember staying over at LVH cause it was a deal. No more.

I want a good room - preferably a suite and will try to stay where that looks close to 100%.

Last two flights I paid extra for first - there are often some nice sales on those seats. $150-$200 each is worth getting shitfaced on the way there.

No longer screw around with rental car.

 

After being ROYAL SCREWED by Delta on our very first trip we learned that SWA flies NON STOP to Vegas....so we ONLY fly non stop now....usually a morning flight out around 8am...arriving in Vegas around 10:30am....on the way home we prefer a late morning flight but sometimes a 5:30pm flight depending on how many days our stay is....but again ALWAYS non-stop....

Lately we have been getting FREE (my favorite 4 letter word) comped rooms...so we are spoiled in that respect....but they are MOSTLY regular rooms and that's fine.....dining has been on the up swing with at least one or two top notch restaurants while were are there....don't mind spending a lot of money for a good meal...but don't care to be raked over the coals while were dining..

And of course 1 or 2 GOOD SHOWS while were in town...but no more circus BS shows....seen KA and that was more then enough for us.... unfortunately most of Vegas is going that way....

 

I've always been discriminating. It's very hard for my wife and I to get away, so I've always been about maximizing the time we do have. If there's something we want to do, we're going to do it and not worry about the price. We're going to go for better seats at shows if they're available, and we're going to eat well. I only go to Vegas for two nights at a time, so it's manageable.

 

When I first went to LV, I payed for rooms for 2-3 trips (2-3 years ago). My play was small. Now, I will never go to LV if I have to pay for a room. But I play much bigger now. For flights, I still do look for deals as long it is non-stop. I hope to get comped flights one day then LV trips will be essentially free. I don't mind looking for deals though. If they had buy one get one free steak at the Pallazo steakhouse (Cut), I would be there everyday. This will never happen though, but looking for deals is not a bad thing, especially outside your home casino. I am a MLife player so not everything can be charged to my room. I am a bit spoiled now, but you gotta live in Vegas.

 

I have done high end with my wife (20 years ago) and much lower end with a buddy for the last15 or so. My wife would rather go to a spa with a girlfriend than to Vegas. So this works out well for both of us.
when my friend and i started going to Vegas we would look for all the deals and coupons.
we still fly on points when we have them. We usually get most nights comped at Harras or one of the other CET hotels on the strip.
However the use of coupons and the like is over. There are so few really good deals out there anymore. Its not worth the time and effort.
this may be a little off topic but what I really miss is the pit boss being able to write a discretionary comp for the buffet. That always made me feel like a roller.

 

I haven't paid for airfare in the last six years. The perks of being a flight attendant. If there is room on the plane....then I got on at no charge and often at times I will be put in business class for no charge or first class if I fly delta. SWA has direct flights from MCO tho which is a lot better than flying on my airline which is ALWAYS full to las vegas and I have to go through atlanta first.

As for hotels I used to stay at the gold spike, and the ogden house (which is now the el cortez cabana suite but back then they were 16 bucks a night and not exactly a pleasent room to stay in. I'd also stay at most of the downtown joints like elco, plaza, vegas club, 4q, one time I stayed at golden nugget as a treat but this was before I started flying for free.

I stayed at places like stardust, the westward ho, the frontier, vacation village, and imperial palace.

Lately when I go I stay at the gold coast or the rio.

I'm slowly moving up the hotel food chain. By the time I retire I'll probably be staying at bellagio or wynn or whatever their equivolent will be at that time because those casinos will probably be imploded by then.

 

Great point. I love the "classy" hotels; they are warming but not exciting. IP is fun to me...I wish I could get all in the same place...maybe The Quad? LOL

 

I'm retired.
I have more time than money.
Vegas can be had so cheaply and I go solo so I have no one else to please.

My more time than money means too that I take a good bit of time to plan a trip, to find deals, to take advantage of what can be had more cheaply. My own time is not demanded for jobs or other responsibilities. In one sense planning Vegas is my retirement hobby. I do it for other people as well. That is fun and free.

Southwest is the flight, nonstop, because it is both the fastest and cheapest from here, and the most convenient.

I stretch the airfare out. I go for more than 20 days at a time because the rooms are so cheap and the food is nearly free.

I patch together comps with cheap deals. I don't have the bankroll to play enough to get 23 nights comped. I aim at getting the weekend comped (thank you 4 Queens and this next trip perhaps Orleans) and paying $30 a night or less the rest of the time, but I don't like 2 nights in any place, 3 is the minimum. Nicer is 5.

I pay attention to amenities, but not to upgrades or plush. Wifi, pool, location matter some, but I like the buses and they are cheap as well.

I don't gamble much. The 2/4 live poker gives me interesting people and stories and only playing 20 percent of the time is the right way to play as is leaving the wrong table and looking for another one.

I love coupons and use the American Casino Guide when I can. Matchplay hit and run walks keep the gambling to a minimum, give me a taste of games and offer me a huge mathematical advantage.

I don't like to be on the negative side in the mathematics, so I want the odds and the comps to give me a nearly even bet or have odds stacked in my favor. I would gamble very little if I always played negative games.

I love how much is free and cheap in Vegas.

I don't think I've changed over the last couple decades, but perhaps I will over the next if I get so I can't walk or climb bus stairs, or carry my heavy luggage. Then I'll need to park myself in one place for the entire trip.

What I save on Vegas travels makes it possible for me to spend on other travel when the cost is higher and the focus is on comfort.