Playing to Wynn Big

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 4/26/2004

The local convention and visitors authority reports that, between its dozen major convention hotels, Las Vegas has more than 5 million square feet of exhibit space and some 24,000 meeting rooms. But do you think that's stopping developers from adding more? No way.

Soon to be added are Steve Wynn's new business travelers' paradise and an expansion to Harrah's Entertainment's convention center at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Having topped off in early April, Wynn Las Vegas is on track for its scheduled opening on April 27, 2005. Formerly called Le Reve, the $2.5-billion project was rebranded to leverage its owner's image as a forward-thinking casino mogul.

The 2,700-room hotel is going up on the site of the Desert Inn, a former Las Vegas landmark that Wynn bought and demolished to make room for his dream. Located on the Strip between Sands and Desert Inn boulevards, it's across from the recently opened Fashion Show shopping mall and adjacent to the Sands Expo & Convention Center.

The property is clearly geared toward business travelers. Besides having 630 square foot rooms wired for high-speed Internet access, 200,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, 75,000 sq. ft. of ballroom space, 18 meeting rooms and two boardrooms, Wynn Las Vegas will be the first hotel on the Strip with an 18-hole golf course. If the links aren't your thing, you can shop for a sports car at the Ferrari and Maserati dealership, accessorize it with an outfit from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cartier or Gaultier, or go see Franco Dragone's new show, which will be playing in the theater there.

Chris Flatt, vice president of sales and marketing for Wynn Las Vegas, said the resort will have something for everyone, although she conceded it won't exactly be a family destination. "But if somebody is coming on business and wants to bring their spouse, we have a spa, sculpture gardens, Jacuzzis, lots for them to do."

The Wynn sales team is mainly targeting corporate and incentive groups. "We will do some association and tradeshow business, but because we're sitting between the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands, we can partner with anything they might have that we could pick up rooms or events for," said Flatt. The hotel will offer free shuttle service to the LVCC and be connected to the Sands by a pedestrian bridge over Sands Boulevard.

Difficult as it is to believe – with the much publicized rivalry between Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, principal owner of Las Vegas Sands, parent company of the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino – Flatt insists she and her team have a good working relationship with the Venetian team. "Between the LVCVA and the hotel companies, we all have to work together. We have to sell the city and destination as well as our individual properties," she said. Flatt said bookings are coming in at Wynn Las Vegas, but wouldn't name any groups. Room reservations will open later this year.

What will distinguish Wynn Las Vegas as a meeting destination is its effort to enclose visitors in a luxurious microcosm, giving them the impression of being in a removed resort, rather than on the bustling Vegas Strip. Every meeting room will have its own outdoor patio with a view of either the golf course or the gardens. And architect Marnell Corrao, who worked with Wynn on his other Vegas projects, has even designed an outdoor mountain.

Not to be outdone, however, Adelson is busy preparing the second phase of an expansion to the Venetian, located at the corner of Sands and Las Vegas boulevards, just across the street from Wynn Las Vegas. The new resort, to be called the Palazzo, is expected to cost more than $1 billion and open in 2006 with 3,020 suites and 400,000 square feet of meeting space. If all goes as planned, the Palazzo's 53 stories will overshadow Wynn's 50 by 105 feet.

The Venetian's new 1,013-room Venezia Tower just completed its first year. In the fourth quarter 2003 financial report for Las Vegas Sands, President and COO William Weidner said the new tower had "contributed considerably to increased revenues and margins." The opening of the tower coincided with that of the 150,000 sq. ft. expansion to the Venetian Congress Center, including three ballrooms, 64 meeting rooms and three boardrooms.

The Sands-Venetian and Mandalay Bay aren't the only hotel and convention center packages in Las Vegas. Just a block off the Strip, on Flamingo Road, the 2,500-suite Rio currently has 98,000 sq. ft. of meeting and convention space – including a 65,000 sq. ft. ballroom that can be used for exhibits – in its freestanding convention center connected to the hotel by a corridor.

The Rio is currently working out a $37-million plan to add another 63,000 sq. ft., in the form of the Pavilion Convention Center. Although the project hasn't broken ground yet, it's scheduled for completion in May 2005. Reina Herschdorfer, executive director of sales and pavilion operations, said the goal is to seamlessly blend the new space with the existing convention center.

Herschdorfer estimated that about 25 percent of the hotel's meetings business comes from tradeshows. Banquet revenue in the convention center, used as a barometer of the hotel's meetings business, grew from $10 million in 2002 to $26 million in 2003. The new space is meant to help continue growth in that area, but Herschdorfer said the Rio, like so many other venues, has shifted its focus to the corporate market in recent years.

"With the additional meeting space, we'll have 50 breakout rooms, so we'll be able to go after groups that have intense breakout needs, like pharmaceuticals – which was a challenge for us before," she explained. "We're also doing a lot of work in the IT market, but we look across all segments for groups of about 2,000 to 3,000 attendees."

In addition, Herschdorfer said, the expansion will allow the Rio to grow with some of its current customers. Women's Wear in Nevada, for instance, has held its exhibition at the hotel for many years, but had to extend to tents in the parking lot to accommodate recent growth.

Like Flatt, Herschdorfer said the Rio works with the LVCVA and participates in citywide conventions. "But we focus on getting groups here that use our meeting space," she added.

She believes what will set the Rio apart from its competitors is the high level of customer service offered by its convention salespeople. "Harrah's has a very strong service culture, and we have an incentive program for each employee." According to her, the Rio alone gives away $3.2 million in incentives annually. "That has impacted our customer service tremendously," she said.