LOS ANGELES -- Hotel executives struck a cautiously optimistic tone about Las Vegas' recovery this week during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, while acknowledging the market's difficult 2025.
Patrick Nichols
During a Jan. 26 panel discussion, Patrick Nichols, CEO of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, attributed the city's tourism downturn in part to pricing issues as well as negative guest feedback on social media.
"Bad news travels at lightning speed," said Nichols. "People were whispering on social media about resort fees and parking fees and $26 bottles of water in the mini bar. As an industry, we were too slow to act on a lot of that stuff, and it just kept snowballing."
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reports that Las Vegas had 38.5 million visitors in 2025, a 7.5% decline from the year prior. Hotel occupancy averaged 80.3%, down 3.3 percentage points. Average daily rate (ADR) fell 5%, to $183.52, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) dropped 8.8%, to $147.30.
Still, Las Vegas generated more room nights than any other U.S. metro area, with occupancy of 80.3% far exceeding the national average of 62.3%, according to the LVCVA.
Indeed, Nichols emphasized that Las Vegas still had "bright spots," saying the luxury sector continued to perform "very well."
"We were very pleased with our year at The Venetian, growing year over year," he said, adding that nonluxury hotels in Las Vegas had it tougher.
"Rates were down, and so you [had] to make a decision: Do you want to pay $29 for the cheapest property in town, or do you want to pay 100 bucks to stay at the Bellagio or Venetian?" he said. "That low-end segment really got priced out."
During a separate media roundtable, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano reported that MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle has been transparent about where the market "lost its way" on pricing. MGM properties joined Marriott's distribution and loyalty platform in 2023, resulting in the launch of MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy.
"I know his team is working quite hard to try and realign that value proposition," said Capuano, while adding that Marriott is still "pleased with the early returns of that partnership with MGM."
The partnership has been particularly successful for group bookings, he said.
"The strength and the quality and the rate potential that's now coming through the Marriott convention network has been a big surprise," said Capuano.
Meanwhile, Nichols said The Venetian is refocusing on gaming after years of prioritizing meetings and conventions, though conventions still remain important. He said gaming efforts will include "state-of-the-art technology stacks to allow us to communicate and market to casino customers."
The resort is also fresh off of a major renovation. Nichols reported that The Venetian had about 100,000 to 150,000 room nights unavailable last year while renovating the Venetian towers, and all those room nights are back in inventory this year.
He added that he is bullish on the broader Las Vegas market, pointing to The Sphere entertainment venue, which is attached to The Venetian and can seat up to around 20,000 people, as an example.
"There are more catalysts now in Las Vegas than ever before," said Nichols. "And the partnership we have with Sphere, I think it's exposed a lot of guests to The Venetian for the first time."