Dawn Gilbertson|The Republic | azcentral.com
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Free parking,a longtimeperk at Las Vegas hotels,isgoing away at several popular locationson The Strip this spring.
MGM Resorts, a major player whose hotels includeMGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, New York-New York, Aria, Bellagio and Excalibur, will start charging for self-parking and valet parking sometimebetween April and June, company officials said on Jan. 15. They say the fees are needed to pay for $90 million in parking projects, including a new garage and upgrades to existing facilities, to accommodate an increasing number of visitors.
MGM did not disclose the fees except to say self-parking will be $10 or less per night, depending on the resort.Valet parking will be "slightly higher,'' MGM spokesman Gordon Absher said.Visitors not staying at the resorts will pay less than overnight guests for parking.
The only exceptions: Circus Circus will not charge a self-parking fee and The Signature at MGM Grand, an upscale condo complex,won't charge any parking fees.
“We don’t take this change lightly,'' MGM Resorts Chief Operating Officer Corey Sanderssaid in a statement. "We recognize this is a significant departure from a long-established paradigm in the Las Vegas market. However, after months of analysis, we believe these enhancements and new technology solutions will become welcome additions to our overall guest experience.”
Absher said hotels in other top destinationsaround the country already"charge far more than we plan to.''
Parking fees at hotels in major citiescantop $50 a night for guests, even in smaller metropolitan areaslike San Diego. In Phoenix, the topdowntown hotels charge $28-$30 pernight for valet parking and $19-$23 for self-parking.
Many resorts in Phoenix and Scottsdale charge more than $25 a night for valet parking on top of nightly resort fees of $25 and up.At Four Seasons Scottsdale Resort at Troon North, valet parking is$35 a night. Self-parking is included in the nightly $30 resort fee. The Arizona Biltmore Resort in central Phoenix charges $12 for self-parking and $28 for overnight valet parking in addition to its $28 nightly resort fee.
Resort fees are prevalent in Las Vegas, too, and have been for several years. Hotels in the MGM family charge $21-$32 pernight plus tax.
Unless MGM's parking fees hurt business, expect competitorsto follow suit eventually. When MGM began charging resort fees in 2010, competitors saidthey had no plans to charge them but eventually did.Caesars Entertainment, another Las Vegas casino-hotelgiant whose properties include Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Harrah's and Paris,touted its"no resort fee" stance in ads for a couple of years before adding the feesin 2013. Similarly, the swank Cosmopolitan Las Vegas bragged about its no resort fee policy when it opened in late 2010. It added a resort fee in early 2013.
Will MGM's new parking fees change where you stay or play in Las Vegas? E-mail your comments to dawn.gilbertson@arizonarepublic.com.
Travel ticker
•Travelers who like topark in the East Economy garages at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport should be aware of construction work going on through April 18. Maintenance and upgrades on the north and south garages will close variousgarage levels for two weeks at a time. The work in Garage B will occurthrough Feb. 10 and the work in Garage A runs Feb.10-April 18. The airport said there will be no work or parking restrictions from March 4-14, one of its busiest times with spring break and Major League Baseball spring training.
Details: skyharbor.com/ParkingTransportation/RoadwayRestrictions.
•UberX, the ride-hailing service’s cheapest option, is now available for passenger pickups at Los Angeles International Airport.The per-trip charge, which is in addition to the fare, is $4. Competitor Lyft started service at LAX on Dec. 23. Airport officials say there were 50,000 drop-offs and pick-ups at the airport in the first two weeks. Uber and Lyft, whose fares are generally cheaper than taxis, are allowed to drop off passengers at Sky Harbor, but only driverswith permits can pick up passengers. Most UberX drivers don’t have permits, which require a fingerprint background check and other security measures. The companies are in negotiations with Sky Harbor to allow pick-ups but the talks have stalled on the background-check requirement.
Travel club meeting
The Phoenix chapter of the Travelers' Century Club will meet at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at a home in Phoenix. The topic will be travel in southern Africa and there will be a photography display. Contact Matt Cohen at602-793-8666 or Mattread@cox.net for directions.
