Compared to April 2007, hotel room inventory grew by 2.6% to 136,585 while visitor volume fell 1.5% to 3.31 million, pushing hotel occupancy down 360 basis points to 93.6% from 97.2%. Motel occupancy fell 660 basis points, to 63.2% from 69.5%. The average daily room rate fell 7.4%, to $135.67 from $146.53.
Total passenger traffic through McCarran International Airport fell 5.5% to 3.77 million from 3.99 million. Vehicle traffic volume in Interstate 15 at the Nevada-California border fell 7.8% to 83,253 from 89,757. International travelers taking advantage of the weak dollar are partially offsetting somewhat the decrease in domestic tourism, according to gaming companies.
The drop in business for hotels also showed up in April gambling revenue data, also released last week by the state Gaming Control Board. Gamblers in Nevada lost just over $1 billion to casinos in April, a 5.1% decrease from April 2007, GlobeSt.com reported Wednesday.
The Las Vegas Strip fared better, taking in $524.11 million, off 1.28% from last year. Strip casino owners have been reporting that increased visitation from international visitors taking advantage of the weak dollar has been offsetting a decrease in domestic visitation.
The international travelers haven't been making it all the way Downtown, apparently. Casinos there saw gambling revenue fall 6.77% to $52.75 million.
In North Las Vegas, which is more of a locals market, gaming win fell 22% to $21.92 million. Clark County as a whole, which also includes Laughlin, the Boulder Strip and Mesquite, saw its gaming win fall 4.79% to $849.97 million.
In Washoe County, home to Reno, Sparks, and North Lake Tahoe, gaming win was $78.06 million, off 11.86% from last year. Reno gaming win was off 11.98% to 56.87 million, while Sparks casinos saw revenue fall 6.13% to $13.57 million and North Lake Tahoe casinos saw revenue fall 38.04% to $1.89 million.
Shares of gaming companies with properties in Macau --Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Mirage -- declined earlier this week on news that May gaming revenue grew less year-over-year than in the first four months of 2008. Although up 31% in May compared with the same month in 2007, April's growth rate, which had been the lowest, was 44%.
Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which operates the newly opened Palazzo casino and properties in Macau, saw its share price touch a two-year low on Wednesday after a Goldman Sachs analyst removed the casino operator from its list of recommended stocks while maintaining his buy rating because he expects the share price to hit $85 by next year, which would be a 58% gain from Wednesday's $53.77 closing share price. Today (Friday, June 13), shares of the company were trading at $55.17, up $0.99 on the day.
Wynn Resorts' share price closed trading Wednesday at $88.51, up $0.55 on the day but near the bottom of its 52-week range. Wynn shares stood at $90.98 on Friday, up $1.98 on the day.
Shares of MGM Mirage ended Wednesday at $42.32, off 5.3% on the day and also near the bottom of its 52-week range. In noontime trading Friday, the company's share price stood at $41.70, up $0.29 on the day.
All three casino companies have had triple-digit share prices in the past 52 weeks. Wynn's 52-week high is over $176 while Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s 52-week high is over $148. MGM's 52-week high is just over $100.
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