Incentive - February 2009 - (Page 39)

TRAVEL silver lining emerges for incentives As Las Vegas’ economy sags, a By Marc Boisclair F The MGM Grand is one of a growing number of Vegas properties offering unusually good rates for incentive travel ew planners, especially firsttimers, book Vegas expecting to find bargains or score a deal. Swank casinos, glitzy shows, fashion malls and trendy restaurants provide the Type A draw, all right, but at a price. So when Lynn Poynter came calling last fall to book a 150-participant program for this month, she simply hoped to get her money’s worth: an incentive-grade hotel and event package with good service that didn’t break her bank. “We wanted someplace safe, clean and relaxing, with products such as cookware and home décor items. “But we’re a two-year-old company, this was our first trip to Vegas, and we weren’t in a position to make a significant commitment.” That said, the deal Poynter walked away with, from the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa, proved quite a pleasant surprise. “They took time to understand our group, where we were at in our growth, and then sat down and negotiated with us,” she says. And when it came to the contract, they were incredibly flexible in almost everything, from Changing Fortunes with a nice spa,” says Poynter, executive director of sales support for the Wisconsin-based A Taste of Home Entertainment, a direct sales company that focuses on entertaining in the home room rates to food and beverage. LET’S MAKE A DEAL Rather than an exception, Poynter’s good fortune may turn out to be incentivemag.com the rule in Las Vegas—at least for 2009. Given the inevitable seepage from the slumping national economy, Nevada’s boomtown is definitely feeling the pinch. In January, CityCenter Holdings, the Vegas business venture comprising MGM Mirage and Dubai World, announced it would delay construction on its posh 400room Harmon Hotel & Spa (part of the overall $9 billion CityCenter complex), and do away entirely with the hotel’s residential component, saving some $800 million in the process. That follows similar cost-cutting measures by both Boyd Gaming, which has delayed construction on the Strip-sited Echelon resort until at least the end of this year, and Las Vegas Sands, announcing last fall the indefinite suspension of its St. Regis Residence project. Even Steve Wynn’s Encore Las Vegas, which opened amid much fanfare in late December, was offering online rates as low as $169.99 a night a month later, a bargain by anyone’s standard. With the recession affecting this seemingly Teflon-coated aspect of | February 2009 | Incentive | 39 http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - February 2009

Incentive - February 2009
Contents
Editor's Note
Headlines
The Incentive Survival Guide to 2009
Strategies: Nature vs. Nurture
Strategies: Thank God for the Recession
Research: Industry Trends 2009
Travel News: Where To Go and What To Do
Travel Strategies: Make It Work
Las Vegas: Changing Fortunes
Potentials Here and Now
Merchandise Strategies: Success in Small Steps
The Economy's Down; You Don't Have to Be
Gift Cards Strategies: Flexibility Is the Word
Advertiser Index
On the Web

Incentive - February 2009