LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Hotel room prices in Las Vegas were averaging $191.62 in January — 32% higher than a year ago and 22.4% higher than pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to tourism information released on Tuesday.
And that understates how much people pay after resort fees are added.
A monthly report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) showed hotel occupancy levels (79.1%) have nearly reached 2019 levels (83.5%), and length of stay has also recovered.
The question — now nearly 3 years old — of when tourism will return to normal now has a little bit more of an answer: the number of people is still down about 4%, but the money is back. Hotels are moving on from room rates of the past, and they’re making more money — about 15% more, LVCVA statistics show. The key measurement known as RevPAR (revenue per available room) is up 15.3% over 2019 and up 76% over January 2022.
LVCVA reports there were 3,275,300 visitors in January. That’s 4% lower than 2019, but 32.3% higher than last January. Among the biggest reasons: convention attendance, which brought more than half a million people to town for shows including CES, World of Concrete and the SHOT show.
Another big factor was weekends. Weekend hotel occupancy reached 88.4%, barely short of 2019 levels.
The strong visitation and hotel occupancy numbers came alongside a report from Nevada gaming authorities that casinos on the Strip won $713 million in January. Statewide, the number hit $1.27 billion — above $1 billion for 23 straight months now. And the number of passengers using Harry Reid International Airport also increased by about 20,000 in January.
