VOICES Publishing from the AAJA National Convention
While many metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York charge astronomical hourly fees for parking, it has been a tradition for hotels on the Las Vegas Strip to offer free parking to their guests since it was first created in the 1940s.
MGM Resorts went against that tradition in June when they implemented parking fees of up to $10 per day for their guests.
After installing more than $30 million in infrastructure, the gates went down over five days in June, said Gordon Absher, vice president of corporate communications at MGM Resorts.
Parking fees were implemented to address long-term growth of visitation and will help fund improvements to other MGM Resorts in Las Vegas, according to a press release from MGM.
It’s unclear how much revenue the company has taken in from the fees.
Rick Velotta, a reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal who has covered the fee implementation, said that MGM Resorts’ move to paid parking is a gamble for the company.
“It’s never been done before,” Velotta said. “This move by MGM is kind of overturning the apple cart based on what people have thought ever since they first came here.”
Velotta said that locals’ response has been overwhelmingly negative, with many Vegas residents saying that they’ll steer clear of MGM properties because of the fees, even though Nevada residents have access to free parking for 24 hours if they show a state driver’s license.
He also said he heard that some travel agencies in other states are telling their clients to purposely avoid the extra charges.
Sam Novak, a 53-year-old Oregon resident, has been visiting Las Vegas two or three times per month since 2005. He said he does not like the direction Las Vegas resorts are headed.
“They have stripped away the fun themes, removed most of the free attractions, added surcharges and resort fees wherever possible and now are charging for parking on top of everything else,” Novak said.
But Absher, who oversaw the parking fee project, said the response from out-of-state visitors has been positive for the most part.
“The program is going well,” Absher said in an email. “We have received some negative comments, but for the most part our guests, especially those from out of town, are accustomed to paying for parking and are familiar with the process.”
According to bestparking.com, a site that tracks parking fees in cities such as San Francisco and Washington, D.C., parking costs can range anywhere from $8-12 per hour.
Velotta said MGM Resorts will re-evaluate the success of parking fees in late December and that charging Nevada residents for parking may be discussed.
Las Vegas will be home to an NHL expansion franchise beginning in the 2017-2018 season. The team will play at T-Mobile Arena, built in partnership with MGM. It’s located near MGM hotel-casinos New York-New York and Monte Carlo.
Velotta said the area where the stadium is being built has very little space for parking.
New York-New York, Monte Carlo, the MGM Grand and Aria – all MGM properties – have parking lots or garages.
MGM also is building a $54 million, 3,000-space parking structure to the northwest of its Excalibur Hotel. That’s set to open by the second quarter of 2017. A press release announcing the new parking lot said that providing parking for T-Mobile Arena is one of the main reasons for the construction.
