by Steve Norton

CEO, Norton Management

Does fewer casino hotel rooms mean fewer big conventions? | Atlantic County | pressofatlanticcity.com

Fewer rooms in Atlantic City obviously translates to smaller sized conventions. But the lack of rooms impacting on the number and size of major conventions and trade shows is much more critical on those 200 mid-week nights annually, where we have little overnight demand. Placing full paying business in those Fall, Winter and Spring Mondays thru Thursdays would do far more good for the casino and non casino resorts, by creating profit centers, apart form the casino department.

With all of our rooms, including the Taj and Ten (Revel), we have more accommodations than Philadelphia, and our rooms and meeting facilities more consolidated than any Eastern competitor. Plus AC doesn't have mid-week commercial business travel demand that drives room prices much higher than weekends for the large Eastern Metropolitan Cities, like Manhattan; meaning we can offer competitive pricing, along with our gaming and entertainment.

Just look at the Strip in Las Vegas, where their occupancies and average rates far exceed those of AC casino resorts, with a casino win that is 50 percent less, but other departments earning 73 percent of the overall departmental profits. We only need air service from several major hub airports, that would also open our casinos to markets beyond the reach of our once prosperous line run busses.

Look for further ‘Vegasization’ of Macau in 2017 =This is a valuable lesson for Atlantic City


Neither Macao nor Atlantic City are likely to reach a point where non casino revenues will surpass gaming win. But there is no question in that both Macao and Atlantic City will benefit from higher occupancies and average rates, as they promote more of the mid-week convention/trade show business. The Las Vegas Strip has seen its dependence on casino revenue decline from over 70 percent to less than 35 percent, and the other operating departments now produce 73 percent of overall operating profits.

Macau, with a typical customer spending 10 times more on gaming than the average Las Vegas visitor, and in Atlantic City, with the majority of visitors still being day trippers, reducing the revenue potential of major departments, like rooms.

However in the future, AC will continually try filling 200 mid-week, off season rooms, with profitable convention demand, that broadens room profits, plus function and public space revenues. Plus it will reduce the need for AC giving 50 percent of food, beverage and rooms away, and severely discounting the rest of their room rates.