How can some Vegas hotel rooms be so cheap?

There are days on the Las Vegas Strip where a visitor could spend as much on fast food as they did on a hotel room.

Las Vegas has long branded itself as a value-driven destination, and that’s apparent some days when properties advertise rooms for around $20, or just over the price of a cold brew coffee and breakfast sandwich at a Starbucks on the Strip.

As the tourism destination goes into winter, many hotel/casino operators are launching special seasonal pricing to entice visitors back. Caesars Entertainment is advertising rooms at the Flamingo as low as $21 during a “winter getaway” sale. Meanwhile, select early and midweek rooms at the Rio were $28 in January and February, according to its booking website. And MGM Resorts International promoted some $20 room nights at Excalibur in January.

Hotel room pricing is dynamic, meaning it changes in response to supply and demand in the market, said Mehmet Erdem, a hospitality professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Hotels in other markets may depend heavily on room revenue, but Las Vegas resorts’ other revenue streams can fill in the gaps.

“We look at the total revenue generated per guest,” Erdem said. “Maybe a customer is paying only $18 a night plus resort fees, but then he’s dropping $1,000 at the tables.”

If you see a room being advertised at an eyebrow-raising rate, it may not reflect the total cost of the stay. Though hotels and third-party vendors advertise the starting rates, a multi-night stay may not hold at that price. Some hotels will use a low rate on the first night to entice a longer stay in a strategy that revenue managers use called fencing, Erdem said. Attribute-based pricing, where amenities and views are commodified, can also add to the

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How Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is swiftly transforming the world of travel

Fan or not, Taylor Swift is a titanic force to be reckoned with. Beyond her abilities to inspire sonic-blast screams of ecstasy from Swifties and sell-out shows, her impact – or as the internet likes to call it, ‘the Taylor Swift effect’ – is cultural, social, political, and undeniably global.

You see, despite her long list of music awards – forget a trophy shelf, she’s got enough to fill an airplane hanger – her presence inspires change better than most politicians could hope for on a good day. A single social media post by Taylor Swift can increase voter registration in the US or get Apple Music to better compensate musicians on its platform; and when it comes to her The Eras Tour movie, she sold-out in presale, had at least five major movies move their release dates so as not to clash, and taylor-swift-ticketmaster-presale-concert-tickets/672181/”according to The Atlantic, her The Eras Tour ‘broke’ Ticketmaster.

Every city her tour has set foot in since its inception in March has seen a noticeable increase in travel and tourism revenue. A trend that has caught the eyes (and billfolds) of tourism boards, cities, and airlines the world over. It’s apparent that Taylor Swift is just the economic tonic the doctor ordered. Let’s take a look at how she’s sustaining a spike in global travel.

A surge in the hospitality industry

According to data from the investment firm Bernstein, The Eras Tour boosted revenue for hotels in cities across the US. In the months Swift visited the cities, the revenue generated per room was reportedly 4 per cent higher than the national average and 7 per cent higher than the revenue of the same period a year ago.

How much are her fans spending?

Market research company QuestionPro released a survey that

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Travelodge sales boosted as more customers seek budget hotels

Travelodge is led by Jo Boydell  (Travelodge)

Travelodge is led by Jo Boydell (Travelodge)

Travelodge expects to benefit from consumers reacting to the cost-of-living crisis by swapping more upmarket hotels for budget ones, the accommodation giant said as it revealed higher sales.

The company, which has nearly 600 sites that are mainly in the UK but also in Ireland and Spain, added in its results update that it plans to open around eight new hotels this year. The chain last month said there is potential to boost its network with 300 more UK Travelodges.

Expansion comes after total underlying revenue jumped to £909.9 million in 2022, up from £559.7 million a year earlier and £727.9 million pre-pandemic in 2019.

During the same period revenue per room was £52.59, compared with £33.04 and £42.46.

It was helped by opening six hotel openings in 2022 , but also the industry bouncing back from the pandemic with a host of events that boosted tourist demand for accommodation, such as the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Jubilee.

Chief executive Jo Boydell said: “The market recovered, with strong demand for events and short staycation breaks throughout the year as well as for essential business travel and we continued to outperform the midscale and economy segment.”

The boss added: “Whilst the current macro-economic environment creates some uncertainty, the budget hotel segment has proven resilient as consumers continue to search for great value options within the marketplace.”

EBIDTA (adjusted) reached £212.9 million last year, up from £81.8 million in 2021.

Trading in the first quarter of 2023 has remained strong with accommodation revenue approximately 30% ahead of 2022 levels. Whilst business demand is improving, central London midweek days recovered slowest hit by rail strikes.

Travelodge, which is owned by Golden Tree Asset Management LP, said it completed a refinancing last month. It

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