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What inflation?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by egelston2, Jul 22, 2013.

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  1. egelston2

    egelston2 Low-Roller

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    I have been reading Peter Earley's Super Casino and I have found it fascinating. The one thing that shocked was the prices of hotel rooms in Las Vegas in the early 1970s. He mentioned that the going rate was over $60 on the Strip. Circus Circus, however, began to change the pricing dynamics. One could book a room for $18 per night. Now, Circus Circus was going to a certain degree after a different segment of the market but it is pretty amazing to think that the price of rooms haven't changed much in 40 years. I realize that supply and demand factor into the calculus but basically, outside of luxury hotels, one can find a room for the same price today as you could in the 1970s.
     
  2. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    that's because the hotels offering those prices have the same rooms that people stayed in back in the 70s...
     
  3. calpsy

    calpsy Low-Roller

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    C'mon its not that bad ............ they have maybe new sheets since then :wink2:
     
  4. Mitkraft

    Mitkraft VIP Whale

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    My question is this: Where are you getting your information on the current going rate for hotel rooms on the strip? If you are going just by your gut I'd bet that you are falling prey to being surrounded by fellow VMB'ers who don't ever pay the going rate. Given the number of $100+ and $200+ rates I see all day every day I'd venture to guess that the average going rate has indeed inflated by a decent bit.
     
  5. egelston2

    egelston2 Low-Roller

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    If you take out player's club card discounts and book through the casino or go to an online travel aggregator, you can often find rates within these price ranges (Harrah's, Quad, Ti, Riviera MC, Trop, etc.). Obviously, these prices are affected by the time of year, whether you are visiting on a weekend etc. With player's club card, even if one is not a High Roller, one can easily beat these prices.

    If you spent $60 in 1974, it would around $285 today.
     
  6. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    From their most recently released quarterly filings (first quarter of 2013), here are the average daily rates I could find:

    Wynn/Encore: $258
    Bellagio: $240
    Venetian/Palazzo: $231
    Aria: $209
    Mandalay Bay: $182
    Vdara: $160
    Mirage: $149
    MGM Grand: $148
    NYNY: $113
    Monte Carlo: $104
    Luxor: $88
    Excalibur: $72
    Circus Circus: $54


    So even the top tier joints could easily be had for $60 in “1974 dollars”.
     
  7. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    That $60 average in 1970 sounds wrong unless its in constant dollars. That would be around $360 in present dollars. Highly unlikely.

    I just did a quick google search for historical hotel room rates in Vegas and didn't see anything useful right away but first link showed Stardust rooms were $6 when they opened in 1958. That makes more sense and its only 12 years before what you're stating. http://www.vegas.com/lounge/centennial/numbers.html

    Check the source again, sounds like he's converting to present/constant dollars. Or he's pulling from a source that is.
     
  8. waverunner

    waverunner ------VEGA$------

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  9. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    Neat link and good data. So the average listed room rate in 1975 was more like $25. That makes more sense. Super Casino was published in 2001. My guess is the author or his source converted to present dollars in 2000 or likely earlier in the 1990s to get to $60.

    The equivalent to $25 in 1975 is about $110 today. Which is probably a little lower than the ADR on the strip today so rates have gone up faster than inflation.
     
  10. NickyDim

    NickyDim Hockey is life

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    I went on bookit.com and those were just about the same rates as I was seeing for next week. $18 at the Quad, Luxor-$31, Gold Coast $29, Circus Circus $30, Palms $34. Wynn at the top for $139.
     
  11. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    Interesting. gotta love vegas
     
  12. atom

    atom High-Roller

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    Hotel rates aren't all you pay any more. You have to factor in extras like your resort fee, early checkin fee, spa access fee...
     
  13. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

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    I'm with egelston on this one. Relatively speaking, room rates are dirt cheap now compared to 30-40 years ago.
    And, Super Casino is a great read.
     
  14. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    The first time I ever stayed in vegas was about 1980, we paid $28 as I recall at the circus circus and thought it was a good price. It was midweek as well, of course gas was 80 cents back then too.
     
  15. egelston2

    egelston2 Low-Roller

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    In part 2 of the book, the focus is on the Luxor in late 1990s. The new leadership at Circus Circus Inc. wanted to make it more upscale and go after the high value players. Even though I have been going to Vegas since 2000, I never spent much time at the Luxor until I started staying at Mandalay Bay. I think I had dinner at Isis back in 2000.

    My sense and it is somewhat confirmed by this book that the Luxor has always suffered some sort of identity crisis. Ownership is constantly reinventing the Luxor and I don't think it has created an identity that resonates with many people.
     
  16. Terry Benedict

    Terry Benedict VIP Whale

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    I think the only way to reasonably compare prices is to compare the same hotels from 1970 and 2013. Any hotel built after 1970 is out.

    Then adjust for inflation.
     
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