Vegas Disaster: MGM to charge for Parking

I heard rumors about this and according to the Las Vegas Review Journal it's going to happen. MGM will start charging for parking at its casinos.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/busines...-strip-casinos

This is a disaster -- for MGM and for consumers. I can understand a valet charge for "non preferred players" but a routine parking charge for self-park, at a casino? No F-ing way.

Next time I want to drive up to play some craps at Bellagio for a few hours I am going to drive over to Caesars, show my 7 Stars card, and walk over to Bellagio. OR -- I just might not make the walk over to Bellagio and just play at Caesars.

What a nerve MGM has.

Even if MGM exempts higher-tier players I wouldn't park there just to protest this absurd charge.

If there is one place that shouldn't be charging for parking it's a damn casino.

Players strike over this one. Who's in with me?

Count me in. But I haven't been to Vegas in 8 years with no plans of ever returning.

AC has been doing this for years.. top tiers are exempt.. part of it goes to the state though..

I agree. The question is will the sheeple do so as well.

I'd guess the bean counters are thinking "In any big city you have to pay to park, why should it be free here?".

Besides the fact that most cities have little free space while Vegas has ample parking space, in most other places you are unlikely to engage in a multitude of activities in one location. You might stay in a hotel and eat there, or you might eat down the street. If you want to see a show you'll probably need to go somewhere else. But in Vegas they are earning revenue from all of those activities, AND most people are going to gamble a little bit as well.

Making customers pay for parking so they can eat in your overpriced restaurants, play their lousy odds games, and see an expensive show is going to go over like a lead balloon.

I hope people stay away in droves.

The article linked by Alan states that even hotel guests should pay around $10 to park. I could understand why they would charge parking for people staying in the motel down the street, but you would think they want to encourage guests driving in, say from LA, to park and stay. Add this to resort fees! This may well trigger hotels near MGM properties to consider charging as well.

My fear is that if MGM gets away with this Caesars will follow. Redietz what are the odds Caesars has already decided to do the same?

Caesars is probably thinking "Why didn't we think of this first."

I'm also wondering if it will be a "per vacation" charge or a "daily charge" or an "in and out" charge?

Per vacation: you pay one fee for your trip whether it's a couple of days or a week
Daily charge: Per 24 hours
In and Out: If you use your car several times during the day do you pay each time you enter/exit?

AC has an 'in and out' charge, but you get one transfer that's good for 24 hours..
CET has actually gotten into trouble with the city & state for price gouging..

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/n...ab1e5194f.html

Posted: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:45 pm
By STEVEN LEMONGELLO Staff writer
Fifty dollars to park? Not so fast.
The days of sudden price-gouging for Atlantic City casino garages and parking lots during concerts and special events may soon be over.
An ordinance on the agenda for Wednesday's City Council meeting would dramatically increase the fines for violating the city’s code on parking rates, raising the maximum fine from $100 to $1,000 for not notifying the city of any change and requiring a court appearance.
The move comes as a direct response to the controversial price increases for the free beach concerts over the summer, city Licensing and Inspections Director Dale Finch said. For the Blake Shelton concert July 31, Caesars Atlantic City and Bally’s Atlantic City each charged $50 to park, with Bally’s dropping its rate to $40 for the Aug. 3 Lady Antebellum concert.
“This really came about because of some of the gouging that took place at several events this summer,” Finch said. “We have procedures in place to deal with that, but they weren’t being (effective). After the first concert, when some places increased their rates to $50, we issued some summonses through the Mercantile Department.”
According to the city code, all rates for the 65 licensed parking facilities in Atlantic City — a list that no longer includes Revel, Showboat, Atlantic Club and Trump Plaza since the casinos closed — must be approved in advance by the licensing director. Any changes to the rate schedules must be filed with the Division of Local Vehicle Licensing and approved by the director, and a separate item mandates that the director approve any special rates for special events and conventions.
Finch said the deadline to submit rate changes is at least 48 hours in advance.
He added that the businesses issued summonses included Caesars, Bally’s and several private lots. He did not know what fines were issued, if any.
“They’ve all since complied,” Finch said of the notification rules. “They all understand (if) they want to increase the rates for special events, I, through this department, have to approve it.”
Fines for most violations are only $100, with fines of $200 for various illumination, landscaping, paving, booth design or approval violations — plus a maximum $200 fine for using “physical violence against a city employee.”
The proposed ordinance, set to be introduced by Councilman Aaron Randolph, would raise the maximum penalty for those violations from $200 to $2,000.
The current city code also specifically does not require a court appearance for a parking license violation, while the proposed ordinance would mandate one.
As for what rates he would approve, Finch said rates that seem “reasonable” would be acceptable.
“Unreasonable,” he explained, “would be going from $10 to $50.”
Randolph could not be reached for comment Tuesday. A representative of Caesars Entertainment, which owns Caesars and Bally’s, declined to comment.

More whining about ten bucks when you people blow far more than that once you get inside.

Come on--the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf charges guests $40/day to park your car. The Sheraton at Universal Studios in LA charges guests $32 to park. There's hundreds of examples of these. Most casinos in Europe charge at least ten euros just to get in.....and many even have strict dress codes.

Why are gamblers so CHEAP on everything but gaming? Is it because no one wants anyone to actually see that they're struggling financially because of gambling?

Reality check time.

I won't park at MGM properties any longer. The Trop is going to get a lot more foot traffic thanks to this decision, so I'm glad for that.

I'm surprised Caesars didn't beat MGM to the punch since they have a captive audience vis-a-vis parking on the Flamingo/LV Blvd. intersection. They'd make a quick small fortune. They need a lot of quick small fortunes.

If CET started charging for parking, it would hurt the rental car market. Just one more reason to skip renting a vehicle.

They can all kiss my ass regarding parking fees. I'm with Alan on this. We need to print up some bumper stickers, "Parking Fee? MGM can Kiss my A**." I volunteer to stand with porn slappers for two eight hour shifts next week in Las Vegas.

Sadly, I am serious. Get me some bumper stickers and I'll do it.

I'll be in vegas next week.. I'll keep an eye out for ya.. lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redietz

I won't park at MGM properties any longer. The Trop is going to get a lot more foot traffic thanks to this decision, so I'm glad for that.

I'm surprised Caesars didn't beat MGM to the punch since they have a captive audience vis-a-vis parking on the Flamingo/LV Blvd. intersection. They'd make a quick small fortune. They need a lot of quick small fortunes.

If CET started charging for parking, it would hurt the rental car market. Just one more reason to skip renting a vehicle.

They can all kiss my ass regarding parking fees. I'm with Alan on this. We need to print up some bumper stickers, "Parking Fee? MGM can Kiss my A**." I volunteer to stand with porn slappers for two eight hour shifts next week in Las Vegas.

Sadly, I am serious. Get me some bumper stickers and I'll do it.

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SAD is right.....

Gee Rob... not everybody walks around a casino with $53,000 in cash like you.

The average "gambler" in Vegas has a trip budget of less than $400. And you expect them to pay for parking too?

Think about other people for a change. (If possible.)

Just got a call from a friend who is at Bellagio... no charge yet for parking. He arrived late last night and saw no signs and no mention about any charges.

My guess it will take time to install gates, payment checkouts, etc.

Changing sometime between April and June.

This is a mistake.

Some are comparing this situation to resort fees about 5 years ago -- something that angered people initially, but eventually all major properties adopted, and now it's standard.

But that's a poor comparison.

Resort fees in Vegas are a trick to make the room show up cheaper in online listings.

In the old, non-resort-fee format, an $80 room would be listed on Expedia (or whatever) for $80.

In the new era of resort fees, an $80 room would be listed as $50, and you are paying the other $30 as a resort fee, which is stated in the fine print.

So the resort fees weren't really making the room more expensive. It was just being broken down differently.

CET tried to resist this, and in fact had a lengthy "no resort fees" ad campaign. However, the business they gained from the lack of resort fees was not enough to make up for the business they lost by falsely showing up as higher priced in online listings.

So New York New York was $90 with a $20 resort fee ($110 total), Planet Hollywood was $100 with no resort fee, and yet New York New York would show up cheaper in the listings.

CET then took a, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude at that point, and out came their resort fees.

So how is parking different?

The charge for parking is for ALL guests (excluding those with high-tier players club cards), so this isn't about hidden fees for the hotel and its listings online.

It's just a money grab, pure and simple. And it's a HUGE departure from the way Vegas has always treated parking. Even the downtown "pay for parking" lots have had validation for decades. The strip did away with that nonsense, and made parking completely free.

People aren't going to take to this well. I imagine that you're just going to see many people avoiding MGM properties altogether, rather than parking at a nearby lot and walking over. After all, a casino is a casino, and once you're already avoiding the MGM lot and parking somewhere else, you might as well just stay where you are.

I don't believe the $10/car they will collect will offset the loss of business. They are very much underestimating how people in Vegas spend money. Vegas is an impulse town. You walk into a casino, see a game you like, and decide to gamble. Or you decide to eat at a restaurant which grabs your attention. Or maybe buy tickets to a show you see is playing tonight. Sure, there are people who specifically plan things, but Vegas properties have always made lots of money from people who just walk in, start browsing, and then start spending. Charging for parking in Vegas would be like a Louis Vuitton store charging people $10 to come in and browse the merchandise. While the $10 wouldn't be much for anyone who can afford a Louis Vuitton purse, the simple annoyance factor of the charge would keep out a lot of browsers who would have otherwise bought something.

There's another factor that I don't see anyone discussing anywhere -- the inconvenience of the $10 fee. These Vegas lots are huge, with lots of cars coming and going. This $10 fee (presumably collected on the way out) will create backups when exiting, especially on busy nights. Can you imagine leaving Bellagio on Saturday night and spending 30 minutes in a pay-for-parking line? This might very well happen, and that will be another factor causing issues.

Keep in mind that, on my New Years trip to Caesars, the lot was already so busy that there was a small jam getting out, EVEN WITH NO FEES BEING CHARGED. Can you imagine if money was collected from each and every person leaving? Would be a nightmare.

I predict this will backfire, and will be rolled back.

CET and others clearly see it my way, and are just waiting this one out, hoping it backfires on MGM. If somehow this works out and MGM gains from it, then yes, we will see the other properties adopt it. But I think there will be too much resistance to this.

Resort fees were at least artificial, and hotel guests could at least rationalize that they were getting something for it (internet, gym, etc).

The parking will be seen as pure greed, and I think the backlash will be strong.

I never even considered the backlog to get out. But casinos don't care about you getting out -- they just want it easy for you to get in.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

I never even considered the backlog to get out. But casinos don't care about you getting out -- they just want it easy for you to get in.

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Could be some people think, "hey traffic jam, I'll stay inside for 30 minutes and gamble or eat until it clears".

I suggested this when I left the ski resort today.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoeIncarnate

Could be some people think, "hey traffic jam, I'll stay inside for 30 minutes and gamble or eat until it clears".

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Exactly. Don't we all time our departures after "rush hour"? Don't 7 Stars and Diamonds get late checkouts -- and I'm sure it's because the casino thinks we're going to play longer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoeIncarnate

Could be some people think, "hey traffic jam, I'll stay inside for 30 minutes and gamble or eat until it clears".

I suggested this when I left the ski resort today.

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No, because people don't expect or predict parking lot jams.

You're already in your car and at the bottom of the structure, and then you hit the line.

Then you say, "Oh shit" and your last memory there is a bad one.

Dan I think most of us who have been to Vegas know to avoid the valet or front desk at 11am on Sunday. We can easily apply the same intuition to parking garages.

Here in LA the Century City mall has paid parking. It runs pretty smoothly but you know that when the movies let out the lines are longer.

By the way I hate going there because of the $3 parking charge, after the movie validation. I will hate going to Bellagio if I am charged anything to park.