“Shakedown in Las Vegas? Never.”

The New York Post^[1] is reporting that hotel room rates during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2018 will continue the trend of “insane room rates^[2]” during CES in Las Vegas. You may remember (Vegas News March 5^[3]) that the average daily hotel room (ADR) rate in Las Vegas set a record high in January.

The average hotel room price for the month of January was $150.21. As always, Las Vegas was packed for CES and hotel room rates during the week of the expo were through the roof. It appears 2018 will bring another spike in prices. The increase of 3.7% from 2016 room rates doesn’t seem like very much on the surface.

However, the all-in price for a Las Vegas hotel may explode next year. The ADR doesn’t include resort fees, parking fees, and taxes. More casinos will be charging for parking by 2018 and existing fees may increase. We’ve already seen resort fee increase once this year. Two new room taxes to pay for an eventual football stadium started earlier this year.

The Consumer Electronics Show is January 9 through January 12 in 2018. You might want to avoid Las Vegas during CES unless you have to be in Las Vegas. You can find more information at ces.tech^[4]. Conventions and large meetings often affect hotel room prices in Las Vegas. Visit Vegas Means Business^[5] for a list of conventions. The larger the convention, the higher room prices should be.

Speaking Of Shakedowns…We Have News From The Mob Museum

Okay, there wasn’t a need for a shakedown…this time. The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas will receive $6.5 million in upgrades over the next year. The Las Vegas Review-Journal^[6] says they will add three new exhibits: “Organized Crime Today,” “The Crime Lab” and “Firearms Training Simulator.”

The 2-hour plus tour time is a bit much for me but the Mob Museum is a popular attraction and attendance continues to rise. In its first year of operation, approximately 200,000 people visited the museum. That number has nearly doubled over the past five years. In 2015 350,000 people visited the Mob Museum. If you’re looking for something different to do and a couple of hours of air conditioning during the summer you might want to head for a tour.