Park MGM Has Announced Midweek Closure

Following the lower occupancy rates and absence of major meetings and conventions, the hotel has announced a temporary closure. This was announced by the President and CEO of MGM’s Las Vegas properties – Anton Nikodemus – in an address that was directed to staff. The closure will only affect the hotel as the gaming areas, restaurants, etc. will remain open all week.

The closure of the hotel will take effect on the 9th of November by noon and will end at the same time on Thursday. The decision is a bit strange considering the hotel was only recently reopened. However, you cannot blame the company as this is one of the slower holiday seasons.

In his letter, the president stated that he does not expect the midweek closures to continue past December and that as they monitor business levels, it will help them ascertain just how long the hotel closure has to go on.

Park MGM reopened on the 30th of September as a non-smoking resort. It is also close to the home of the NHL Vegas Golden Knights but the league is missing action due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anton, however, remains optimistic that things will soon get back to normal following the new plan set in place to aid the company’s recovery. In his letter, he said, “Know that all of us on MGM’s leadership team is laser-focused on doing all that we can to bring business back. Progress is being made, and we are optimistic that we are headed in the right direction. There are bright spots on the horizon.”

Tourism Slowdown

The coronavirus pandemic dealt a serious blow to the hospitality industry. Since then, the industry and tourism in Las Vegas have been very slow to recover. Casinos and almost every other business were compelled to close in March to curtail the spread. Casinos were allowed to reopen in June, but things were still slow for the industry.

Reopening did not do much good as flights were still restricted. The latest online data showed that arrivals and departures at the McCarran International Airport were down 60% in September. This is in contrast to what was obtained in September 2019. July to September 2020 recorded an average occupancy of 44% compared to 92% of last year. So far, there has been a 71% drop in room revenue compared to the year before. Anyone can see why midweek closures make sense at this point. It is no use running operations for an empty facility.

MGM Resorts are having a hard time in this period as they have ten casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and are trying to figure out what to keep close or open. Some of the resorts they own include the Mirage, Bellagio, and Park MGM.

Additional Closures

The middle of the week is not exactly “primetime” so; a few other brands are closing parts of their businesses during the middle of the week as an adjustment strategy towards the slowdown in the tourism industry. Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Corp are a few of the other casino operators that have had to close down part/all of their business amid the pandemic.

Spokeswoman Alyssa Anderson, of Sands Corp, has come out to announce that its Palazzo hotel tower closed on weekdays in July but has now extended operation for stays from November 19th – 30th and December 21st – January 4th.

Wynn’s Encore, a subsidiary of Wynn Resorts, recently shut down its entire operation on Tuesdays and Wednesdays solely because of low consumer demand. You can have access to Encore’s hotel and casino from 2 pm on Thursdays until noon on Mondays. Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver made the announcement, assuring everyone that business will resume when there is an increase in demand.

A few other casinos are yet to make a statement about their current situation, so it is business as usual. Some others have resorted to accepting weekend-only reservations until further notice. Two notable companies that are on the Strip doing this are; The LINQ Hotel & Experience and Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. However, veteran industry expert Alan Feldman has come out to say that weekday closure makes sense for business considering the situation of things.

The violence in Las Vegas has also caused some concerns for these business owners as gunfire has left some injured very close to major hotel-casinos. Police presence on the Strip has calmed things down a bit, but casino owners are still erring on the side of caution.

Rebecca Kont
Rebecca Kont

Rebecca lives in Las Vegas and after completing her degree at Reynolds Journalism school joined the USGS team to pursue her journalism dreams.