MGM Resorts Sees Lost Pricing Power in Las Vegas as Travel Costs Bite

Photo Credit: A flagship MGM Resorts property. MGM Resorts MGM Resorts reported weak summer performance on the Las Vegas Strip, where rising airfares and gasoline prices led to less demand for rooms. MGM Resorts controls 40% of the Las Vegas Strip's hotel rooms, and visitation softened in late summer. Executives said expensive flights and gasoline ate into room rates, with the damage deepening each month of the third quarter before easing in October. "We're going to need relief on fuel, gas, and airline pricing," said CEO Bill Hornbuckle on a Wednesday earnings call. Jonathan Halkyard, chief financial officer, laid out the sliding performance: July room rates were roughly flat with a year earlier.