{"id":7187,"date":"2014-04-02T01:47:28","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T01:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/04\/02\/as-megaresort-trend-fades-companies-focus-on-luxury-in-small-settings\/"},"modified":"2014-04-02T01:47:28","modified_gmt":"2014-04-02T01:47:28","slug":"as-megaresort-trend-fades-companies-focus-on-luxury-in-small-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/04\/02\/as-megaresort-trend-fades-companies-focus-on-luxury-in-small-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"As megaresort trend fades, companies focus on luxury in \u2018small\u2019 settings"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tMatthew Chilton, general manager of Delano Las Vegas, stands in miX restaurant and lounge inside The Hotel at Mandalay Bay Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Las Vegas. Renovations are expected to start soon to transform The Hotel at Mandalay Bay into boutique hotel Delano Las Vegas with an opening date slated for Sept. 1. Delano Las Vegas will be owned and managed by MGM Resorts International. (Ronda Churchill\/Las Vegas Review-Journal)<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tBy HOWARD STUTZ
\n\tLAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS
\n\tLas Vegas is getting smaller.<\/p>\n

\tThat is, if you call 1,600-room and 1,100-room Strip hotels \u201cboutique\u201d properties.<\/p>\n

\tBy the end of the year, Las Vegas will have about a half-dozen hotel-casinos that operators classify as \u201cboutique,\u201d \u201cluxury\u201d or \u201clifestyle\u201d in their marketing efforts.<\/p>\n

\tIt\u2019s actually not a unique concept.<\/p>\n

\tThe Hard Rock and The Palms, for example, began as smaller hotel-casinos before expansions grew their room bases.<\/p>\n

\tThe idea was to break from the Strip\u2019s megaresort business model \u2014 3,000 or more rooms and suites, multiple restaurants and entertainment venues, large retail and convention facilities \u2014 for something a little more intimate.<\/p>\n

\tKarie Hall, general manager of the 188-room Cromwell \u2014 Caesars Entertainment Corp.\u2019s entry into the boutique hotel market \u2014 said personalized service is a balancing act. Customers of smaller properties want to be known to the staff, but they also want to be unknown so that the level of service isn\u2019t smothering, especially in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cA smaller property allows you to keep things new and fresh,\u201d Hall said. \u201cYou know a customer\u2019s personality, their wants and what they dislike. And you also know the level of service to provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFROM THE BEGINNING<\/p>\n

\tBoutique concepts surfaced in different ways.<\/p>\n

\tThe opening of Mandalay Bay in 1998 brought with it a 424-room nongaming Four Seasons hotel. The rooms were tucked into floors 35 through 39 of Mandalay Bay, but Four Seasons\u2019 guests were given a separate entrance, lobby and amenities.<\/p>\n

\tA nongaming 392-room Mandarin Oriental opened in 2009 as part of MGM Resort International\u2019s 67-acre CityCenter development. The tower, which is separate from the complex\u2019s 4,000-room centerpiece Aria, includes 200 residential condominiums on the upper floors.<\/p>\n

\tTHEhotel opened in 2003 as a smaller, nongaming alternative to the attached 3,300-room Mandalay Bay. The 1,100-room property had a separate entrance, larger rooms and the penthouse Mix nightclub and restaurant.<\/p>\n

\tMandalay Bay and the property\u2019s attractions are just a short walk away down a corridor.<\/p>\n

\tBy Labor Day weekend, THEhotel will transition into the Delano Las Vegas, a renovation that will add features reminiscent of the 190-room Delano in Miami\u2019s South Beach.<\/p>\n

\tMatthew Chilton, who was appointed Delano\u2019s general manager in January by MGM Resorts, said lifestyle hotels are not just about the size, but the specialized treatment for the customers.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt\u2019s a more personalized experience,\u201d said Chilton, former vice president of hotel operations at Mandalay Bay. \u201cWe\u2019re not processing you, we\u2019re tapping into you. What are you here for? What are your interests? In a way, we\u2019re all trying to do that in Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSLS Las Vegas \u2014 a $415 million renovation of the Sahara \u2014 opens the same weekend as the Delano and will look to attract a Southern California market and guests that owner SBE Entertainment has cultivated through its SLS-branded hotels in Los Angeles and Miami.<\/p>\n

\tSBE also says it will provide personalized service to its hotel guests.<\/p>\n

\tMeanwhile, The Cromwell, a $185 million renovation of the former Bill\u2019s Gambling Hall, opens May 21. Caesars calls the property \u201can upscale boutique\u201d hotel-casino that features a 65,000-square-foot rooftop pool deck with an exclusive nightclub and day-club element with a view of the Strip.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe want to bring the boutique hotel experience from start to finish,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt begins in the porte-coch\u00e8re and when you walk in through the lobby to the front desk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAcross the Strip at Caesars Palace, the 181-room Nobu Hotel recently celebrated its one-year anniversary operating within the confines of the 3,900-room Strip resort.<\/p>\n

\tNobu General Manager Gigi Vega, who spent 10 years in management with Mandarin Oriental hotels in Macau and Manila, said Las Vegas is embracing the concept of boutique hotels.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe brands have been successful in other locations, but are coming into Las Vegas in a much different style,\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n

\tOther gaming companies are said to be watching to see how this push into the boutique market works on the Strip.<\/p>\n

\tUnion Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore said customers that favor the \u201chip\/boutique hotels\u201d will still travel to New York City, Los Angeles and Miami. In Las Vegas, customers favor brands such as Bellagio, Wynn and The Venetian.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis could attract a new customer,\u201d Shore said. \u201cI think it is a positive for the market as it presents another option for guests that may have not chosen Las Vegas without this type of asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tDESIGN EXPERIMENT<\/p>\n

\tNobu was a unique experiment from Day One.<\/p>\n

\tThe hotel, including its lobby area, room elevators and a signature 13,000-square-foot restaurant, are in the middle of Caesars Palace.<\/p>\n

\tNobu Hospitality, which consists of 26 restaurants worldwide, spent a year remodeling the aged Centurion Tower to give the company its first hotel. Since the opening, Nobu hotels have been announced for the City of Dreams gaming development in Manila; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Chicago; and Miami.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis was truly about translating the Nobu experience from our restaurants to our hotel guests,\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n

\tOnly a few of the Nobu hotel rooms offer guests a view of the Strip. Vega said the experience is inside the room, with its unique designs and features in the living spaces and the bathrooms.<\/p>\n

\tIn-room minibars include items such as Wild Poppy blood orange chili juice, chocolate-dipped Pocky pretzels, Japanese beer, and Nobu\u2019s signature brands of chilled sake and Genmai-Cha brown rice green tea.<\/p>\n

\tThe specialized 24-hour in-room dining menu includes sushi and a selection of bento boxes for a customary Japanese breakfast.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOur loyal patrons wanted to experience the in-room dining because it includes items, such as breakfast, that were unique to Nobu,\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n

\tVega said the hotel found pluses being inside Caesars. Nobu guests are able to partake in the property\u2019s amenities but also get away from the bustle of a casino-resort. Nobu guests also receive curbside check-in accommodations.<\/p>\n

\tThe newest change will come at the end of May when the second floor of the tower is converted into a lounge with a fitness center dedicated to Nobu guests. The lounge will include computer stations and an area for early-arriving customers.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cA boutique hotel is about comfort,\u201d Vega said.<\/p>\n

\tSTUDYING NOBU<\/p>\n

\tThe Cromwell will be several steps above its former existence as Bill\u2019s and Barbary Coast. Hotel rooms will have minifridges, while the suites will include fully stocked refrigerators that include items tailored to each guest.<\/p>\n

\tAlso, the 11 hotel floors will offer complimentary coffee and tea service carts in the morning and afternoon refreshments.<\/p>\n

\tHall said The Cromwell\u2019s customer base will skew to the age 30-to-45 demographic.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis is really a new product for Caesars,\u201d Hall said, adding that newly hired Cromwell managers are working with Nobu to understand the boutique hotel business model.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe demographic likes nightlife and entertainment,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe\u2019re a small-scale hotel, but we have access to The Linq and other Caesars\u2019 attractions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Cromwell\u2019s 40,000-square-foot casino will have 66 table games, 424 slot machines and two bars\/lounges \u2014 \u201cBound\u201d in the lobby and \u201cInterlude\u201d in the casino.<\/p>\n

\tThe property\u2019s central features include the second-floor restaurant overlooking the Strip that is operated by television chef Giada De Laurentiis and the roof-top pool deck, designed and operated by Victor Drai. The space includes a day club and nightclub facility.<\/p>\n

\tDrai\u2019s popular after-hours club, which has operated in the building for 17 years, remains as part of The Cromwell.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere will be a much different energy level here,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThere will always be something going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tCREATING A DIFFERENT VIBE<\/p>\n

\tThe rebranding of THEhotel as the Delano is a partnership between MGM Resorts and Morgan\u2019s Hotel Group, which operates the Delano brand. The public spaces \u2014 hotel lobby, lobby lounge, a restaurant and a coffee bar \u2014 will be given makeovers. The property\u2019s rooms and suites will also be renovated.<\/p>\n

\tMuch of the work will begin in April and MGM Resorts is expected to slowly release additional details on the changes.<\/p>\n

\tChilton said THEhotel has always operated as a boutique property, separate but still connected to Mandalay Bay.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe\u2019re going to try and detach it a bit,\u201d Chilton said. \u201cThe customers will still have access to everything that Mandalay Bay has to offer, but we\u2019re adding a brand that is not in this market. The idea is to give the property its own voice and brand message.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAdding the Delano name creates a different vibe that modernizes the hotel, but also potentially grows the customer base beyond an established Southern California audience. Delano is a popular luxury segment on the east coast, Chilton said.<\/p>\n

\tAnalysts expect other boutique brands to break into the Las Vegas market if the current wave yields positive results.<\/p>\n

\tChanges in the market include ideas found in other travel destinations.<\/p>\n

\tThe Palms, for example, recently announced a 24-hour checkout policy for all guests at no extra cost. Guests can choose their departure time when they book rooms directly on the hotel\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\n

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Matthew Chilton, general manager of Delano Las Vegas, stands in miX restaurant and lounge inside The Hotel at Mandalay Bay Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Las Vegas. Renovations are expected to start soon to transform The Hotel at Mandalay Bay…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}