An event that Las Vegas hotels and resorts have been gearing up for for months is finally here: Super Bowl LVIII.
On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. The big game is happening less than a 10-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip, where some of the city’s most famous resorts and casinos sit.
Operators MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts have anticipated the Super Bowl for many months, with all three companies pointing to the game as a growth driver during their earnings calls in 2023.
The Super Bowl comes a few months after Formula 1’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix race in November, which was similarly touted as a growth generator before raking in an estimated $220 million in revenues citywide, according to CoStar.
In August, MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said he was “encouraged by the pacing of Formula 1 and the Super Bowl,” while Caesars CEO Tom Reeg forecasted the game alone would bring increased occupancies. Then, during Caesars’ third-quarter earnings call in November, Reeg said the Super Bowl would likely boost hotel performance.
STR analysts agree, with the company’s senior director of market insights saying the weekend could lead to “record-breaking” rates.
Record ADR projected
For Friday, Feb. 9, through Sunday, Feb. 11, STR predicts the market’s hotel ADR will reach $573, the highest level for any Super Bowl weekend on record.
STR also forecasted Las Vegas hotels will have 87.9% occupancy during the weekend, resulting in RevPAR of $504.
“The Super Bowl’s unique volume of demand, driven by not only the game but the leadup festivities, as well as the attractions Las Vegas has to offer, is the perfect recipe to drive record-breaking prices."
Chris Klauda
STR’s senior director of market insights
If STR’s projections are accurate, Las Vegas would surpass the current record holder for Super Bowl weekend ADR — Miami’s $559 Super Bowl ADR in 2020 — by approximately 2.5%. Las Vegas’ occupancy and RevPAR, though, are expected to lag behind Miami’s.
Compared to last year’s Super Bowl weekend in Phoenix, Las Vegas will be up across all performance categories, STR forecasted. The city’s hotel ADR and RevPAR are projected to increase by 7% and 7.7%, respectively, compared to last year.
Las Vegas’ experience-oriented market will drive this year’s Super Bowl weekend hotel performance growth, noted Chris Klauda, STR’s senior director of market insights.
“The Super Bowl’s unique volume of demand, driven by not only the game but the leadup festivities, as well as the attractions Las Vegas has to offer, is the perfect recipe to drive record-breaking prices,” Klauda said in a statement.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported Super Bowl LVIII is expected to draw some 450,000 visitors to the city.
Past performance
Las Vegas’ ADR and RevPAR during Super Bowl weekend will not likely reach the levels the city saw in mid-November on the nights surrounding Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
ADR was heightened during the week of the racing event and at its highest from Thursday through Saturday, reaching $629 per night, according to CoStar data. Citywide, CoStar estimated that hotel room revenue hit approximately $220 million from Wednesday to Sunday.
One operator that is expected to see similar performance, though, is Wynn. The company’s CEO Craig Billings said Wednesday during a fourth quarter earnings call that the Super Bowl is “not going to be as impactful in the casino [but] it'll be equally, if not more, impactful when it comes to hotel revenue.”
Wynn Las Vegas President Brian Gullbrants’ added that hotel revenues and rates during Super Bowl weekend will be very similar to those during Formula 1. While Wynn has not disclosed its financials for the weekend of the race, a company spokesperson previously told Hotel Dive the reception from patrons was “exceptional.”
While Formula 1’s impact “was the greatest on and around the Las Vegas Strip, the reach and impact of Super Bowl LVIII will spread to areas well beyond the Strip,” Klauda said.
That includes suburbs like Boulder City, Nevada. The town is roughly 30 miles away from the Strip and boasts hotel prices for the weekend that are significantly cheaper than those in Vegas’ core, Business Insider reported earlier this week.
Rob Loredo, general manager of the Best Western in Boulder City, told Business Insider that the majority of the hotel is already booked for Super Bowl weekend.
Beyond the big game, Las Vegas has seen a recent boost in hotel performance driven by heightened group demand, according to CoStar. It’s one of several cities across the country to see increased room nights sold as group travel resurges following the pandemic.
