Conventional approach
Conventional approach
Wynn Las Vegas may surpass 100 percent event occupancy this year
Steve Wynn's $2.5 billion, 2,800-room Wynn Las Vegas megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip isn't even open yet, but already its pulling in business in a key area-conventions.
Excitement of the resort's opening this spring has led to an overwhelming response from meeting planners and conventioneers. Chris Flatt, Wynn's vice president of hotel sales and marketing, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that bookings for conventions and meetings are ahead of schedule and that it looks as if the resort will surpass 100 percent occupancy in its first year.
And most of the convention business Wynn Las Vegas is reaping is new to the city, which has other casino properties buzzing as well. Flatt said she has booked meetings at the resort as far out as 2011.
Though the resort will not have meeting and convention space on the scale of facilities like the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo Center or the Mandalay Convention Center-all in excess of 1 million square feet-Wynn is dedicating 200,000 square feet to meeting and convention space.
"This piece of property was strategic, Wynn told the Review-Journal. "You didn't have to build the convention space. It was already here (at existing convention centers). Our hotel is a natural alternative. That's one of the reasons I have the site. It has a guaranteed, built-in midweek demand."
It also helps that Wynn properties, such as his former Bellagio and Mirage resorts, have a proven track record of offering amenities, entertainment and dining options that incite return visits. Casino patrons-of both the business and pleasure varieties-expect Wynn's latest offering to be no different.
Another key to Wynn pulling in convention business is his property's golf course-the only on the Strip connected to a resort. It was a deciding factor for Dan Overland, owner of the Shawnee County Club in Shawnee, Okla., whose members will hold the first convention at Wynn Las Vegas on May 1.
"(Wynn's) commitment to golf in Las Vegas is second to none based on Shadow Creek," Overland said. "Knowing he's building that kind of facility makes it something you can only wish to play once in your lifetime, so we kill two birds with one stone."
Wynn said he's encouraging Fortune 500 companies to plan meetings or presentations at Wynn Las Vegas. Nevada's 2005 Governor's Conference on Tourism will also be held at the resort in December.
Susquehanna Financial Group gaming analyst Eric Hausler said a poll of convention and meeting planners his firm conducted showed that 7 percent of all nationwide respondents have already booked at Wynn Las Vegas, while 40 percent said they plan to.
"The (convention business) isn't as sexy to talk about (as gambling and entertainment), but it's one of the fastest-growing and most important segments of the market," said MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman, whose company is one of several that stands to benefit from new business Wynn is expected to bring. "It's the reason companies like ours are adding more space."
-Andy Holtmann
Wynn Las Vegas may surpass 100 percent event occupancy this year
Steve Wynn's $2.5 billion, 2,800-room Wynn Las Vegas megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip isn't even open yet, but already its pulling in business in a key area-conventions.
Excitement of the resort's opening this spring has led to an overwhelming response from meeting planners and conventioneers. Chris Flatt, Wynn's vice president of hotel sales and marketing, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that bookings for conventions and meetings are ahead of schedule and that it looks as if the resort will surpass 100 percent occupancy in its first year.
And most of the convention business Wynn Las Vegas is reaping is new to the city, which has other casino properties buzzing as well. Flatt said she has booked meetings at the resort as far out as 2011.
Though the resort will not have meeting and convention space on the scale of facilities like the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo Center or the Mandalay Convention Center-all in excess of 1 million square feet-Wynn is dedicating 200,000 square feet to meeting and convention space.
"This piece of property was strategic, Wynn told the Review-Journal. "You didn't have to build the convention space. It was already here (at existing convention centers). Our hotel is a natural alternative. That's one of the reasons I have the site. It has a guaranteed, built-in midweek demand."
It also helps that Wynn properties, such as his former Bellagio and Mirage resorts, have a proven track record of offering amenities, entertainment and dining options that incite return visits. Casino patrons-of both the business and pleasure varieties-expect Wynn's latest offering to be no different.
Another key to Wynn pulling in convention business is his property's golf course-the only on the Strip connected to a resort. It was a deciding factor for Dan Overland, owner of the Shawnee County Club in Shawnee, Okla., whose members will hold the first convention at Wynn Las Vegas on May 1.
"(Wynn's) commitment to golf in Las Vegas is second to none based on Shadow Creek," Overland said. "Knowing he's building that kind of facility makes it something you can only wish to play once in your lifetime, so we kill two birds with one stone."
Wynn said he's encouraging Fortune 500 companies to plan meetings or presentations at Wynn Las Vegas. Nevada's 2005 Governor's Conference on Tourism will also be held at the resort in December.
Susquehanna Financial Group gaming analyst Eric Hausler said a poll of convention and meeting planners his firm conducted showed that 7 percent of all nationwide respondents have already booked at Wynn Las Vegas, while 40 percent said they plan to.
"The (convention business) isn't as sexy to talk about (as gambling and entertainment), but it's one of the fastest-growing and most important segments of the market," said MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman, whose company is one of several that stands to benefit from new business Wynn is expected to bring. "It's the reason companies like ours are adding more space."
-Andy Holtmann
