Momentum around meeting cancellations

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Meetings and conventions aren’t just falling … they’re actively being canceled. While it’s easy to write this off as the erosion of a wasteful corporate perk, it translates to genuine financial crisis for the travel industry.

Over the past six months, 402 conventions and meetings have been canceled in Las Vegas alone. According to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, this translates into a loss of $166 million for the city … and that doesn’t include lost gambling revenue. It’s no wonder that the city has to be inches from paying guests to visit.

Cancellations at Orlando haven’t been as bad, but the problem is merely one of degree. This year, the city has sustained an economic impact of $26 million from the canceling of 114 meetings scheduled for 2009. Because of all this, 146,000 rooms are expected to be vacant this year … rooms that were supposed to be occupied.

It’s been tough in other cities, too.

All in, this has translated to more than $1 billion of lost revenue in the first two months of the year from meeting cancellations, according to the U.S. Travel Association. The number is even worse when you factor in spending on rental cars, catering and local attractions.

So, for anyone who doubted the potential for more than 200,000 jobs to be lost in the travel industry this year … just do the damned math.

Make ski resort losses your gain this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Skiers are winners in the current recession. Lodges and resorts out west are offering generous deals to put you on their powder. So, if you have a bit of extra cash on hand and the urge to hit the slopes, there’s never been a better time to be alive.

In the Aspen/Snowmass area, you can get a free flight, a free night’s stay and a free lift ticket. Of course, there’s a catch. You’re total stay has to stretch to five-days/four-nights, and you need to pay for one of the two airline tickets – which have to be on Frontier Airlines.

Vail Resorts, with properties in Colorado and on the California/Nevada border, can get you three nights in a room and three days on the hills for the price of two at its Heavenly Resort or Lakeside Inn & Casino. RockResorts, which operates on the luxury end of the scale, is kicking in a free night, a bottle of wine and a $50 gift card for guests who stay at least two nights.

These types of deal are rare this time of year, when skiers normally flock to the slopes. But, times are tough. Visits to Vail Resorts are down 5.8 percent (through January 4, 2009), and revenue from lift tickets is down 7.5 percent. Bookings through the end of last year … down 14.8 percent. More and more reservations are hitting at the last minute. For the airlines and resorts, this is brutal, and they’re willing to go the extra mile, it seems, to get you to dig into your wallet.

[Via NY Times, where more deals are listed]

Feathers fall to floor for “Folies”

by Tom Johansmeyer on

“Les Folies Bergere” is about to come to an end. The topless review, which has called the Tropicana hotel and casino home for 49 years is about to take its stripping off the Strip. The show will close on March 28, 2009, in order to make room for something new … though no details have been released. Ron Thacker, president of the Tropicana has not explained the decision, saying only that his company is “”extremely proud to have been part of such an iconic Las Vegas production.”

The demise of Folies leaves only one full-scale showgirl production on the Strop: Bally’s “Jubilee!” Once a distinguished tradition (with the exception of an awful movie, of course), these shows are being pushed aside by the likes of Cirque du Soleil.

[Via MSNBC]

Travel Alert! Southwest launches 50% off sale to Vegas

by Grant Martin on

Down to the last $1000 in your 401K? Why don’t you take it all to Las Vegas and put it on black? The nation’s largest low cost carrier just kicked off a fare sale to Sin City from ALL of it’s departure cities for flights through March 11th, meaning prices have officially reached “dirt cheap.”

With the Vegas economy in the dumps right now, it’s also a great time to score some cheap hotel rooms and package deals for your stay, so once you’re on the ground you can also save cash.

The fare sale runs ONLY from today until tomorrow, December 31st, and you have to travel by March 11th, so get your itinerary together quick, make a decision and pull the trigger.

Heck, you might even see some snow while you’re there.

Southwest Airlines not your style? Many of the legacy carriers matched the fares that were just published, so if you want to earn your precious miles, fly in first or skip a connection, make sure you check with your favorite airline as well.

Also, you can ONLY get these fares directly from Southwest — traditional online agents like Kayak and Orbitz don’t quote their prices, so make sure you go directly to the Southwest website to cash in.

[Thanks to George over at Airfarewatchdog for pointing us out to the sale.]

Snowstorm… in Vegas?

by Grant Martin on


As part of the hellacious weather that we’ve been experiencing across North America this past month, the most unexpected destination recently received an unexpected snowstorm: Las Vegas. The hedonistic city oft known for gambling, sin and excruciatingly hot weather received several inches of snow in a sudden downfall, paralyzing traffic, surprising residents and delighting children.

These pictures, taken by Ethan Miller for Getty Images show some of the action first hand: surprised tourists, miserable workers, blanketed buildings and a general air of amazement in the desert city. I would have loved to have been there.

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