January: A Month of Minuses

Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 3/14/2008 3:15:00 PM

Look at the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Executive Summary for January, and the minus signs are almost blinding.  

January convention attendance was down 13.1 percent compared with January 2007; 4.8 percent fewer conventions were held than a year ago; economic impact from convention business was 8.8 percent lower; and Las Vegas, Laughlin and Mesquite all had fewer total visitors than during the same month in 2007.

The story behind the story? According to LVCVA spokesman Jeremy Handel, Las Vegas may be its own toughest competition, having boasted such strong January statistics in recent years that 2008 looked grim by comparison. Even with what appears to be a slower month than usual, hotel occupancy in January 2008 was 84.9 percent, still the fourth highest January in Las Vegas history.  

Among the reasons Handel listed for January’s downturn: the month had fewer smaller meetings this year than last; World of Concrete, even with its second highest attendance in history, was still down from last year; a Redken corporate meeting with 12,000 attendees held in January 2007 did not return; and SIA SnowSports, held in January last year, took place in February this year. 

The good news? Average hotel room rates, on a rise every month for well over a year, finally saw a decrease compared with last January: Down 2.5 percent to $130.96.