LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The weekends are always busy in Las Vegas, and when conventions add visitors in the middle of the week the economy revs up.
That’s exactly what happened in August — a month that’s typically slower as the summer winds down.
A report released Friday by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority shows August visitor volume increased by 4.0% compared to August 2022. The total number of visitors for the month was 3.3 million, with convention attendance at about 647,600.
“Midweek saw notable gains supported in part by a strengthening convention segment that included recurring shows such as ASD Market Week as well the Summer 2023 Las Vegas Market show at World Market Center which fell in August this year vs. July in 2022,” according to the report.
That translated to improvements in revenue per available room (RevPAR), an important measure of resorts’ performance. It also contributed to higher hotel occupancy, which hit 80.3%. Midweek occupancy came in at 77.0% compared to 89.7% on weekends. Strip hotels reported an overall rate of 83.5% occupancy.
Hotel rates came down, normal for August. Strip rooms went for an average of $167.51 per night, about $10 higher than last year. Those rates do not include resort fees.
The average daily rate and RevPAR numbers are well above pre-pandemic levels, but resorts are still trying to get back to hotel occupancy levels reported in 2019.
