Room rates buck as NFR fans converge on Vegas

Roughly 340,000 people are expected to converge on Las Vegas for the kickoff of the National Finals Rodeo, and they are causing room rates to buck.

The average daily room rate for the first weekend of NFR, which begins Thursday night at the Thomas &Mack Center, is just shy of $400 a night.

While that isn’t as high as the eye-popping rates for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, which drifted between around $650 to $1,500 a night leading up to the inaugural event last month, it substantially exceeded December 2022’s average rate of $176.71 reported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Price-conscious consumers could find value waiting for the second weekend of NFR, Dec. 15-17, when the average rate was just under $270 a night.

The Review-Journal on Monday researched room rates by surveying prices as listed on Hotels.com for Friday and Saturday night stays this week.

A survey of 84 hotel rates from throughout Southern Nevada found the average for the upcoming weekend to be $399.65. Several properties, including The Mirage, Crockfords at Resorts World Las Vegas and Green Valley Resort already were sold out before Monday.

A survey of 77 hotel rates from similar locations had an average price of $269.65 a night for Dec. 15-17.

Many properties with higher-than-usual rates for the coming weekend dropped prices by at least $100 a night for the second weekend.

For the upcoming Friday and Saturday, none of the hotels surveyed had rates below $100 a night, but there were several below $100 for the second weekend.

Among the hotels with the highest nightly rate this week are Bellagio, $1,974 a night; the Waldorf Astoria at CityCenter, $1,200; Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, $1,097; The Venetian and Palazzo, $948; and Aria, $902.

Rodeo fans who could put up with the lengthy drive to and from Buffalo Bill’s in Primm could find rooms for $54 a night.

For the second weekend, rooms were available at Bellagio for $631; Waldorf Astoria, $950; Wynn and Encore, $989; and Aria, $579. There were no listings for The Venetian and Palazzo.

The highest price tag for the second weekend was at Aria’s Sky Suites, which were offered for $2,210 a night. The second weekend at Buffalo Bill’s was $55 a night.

Several low-budget hotel chains, including Motel 6, Super 8 and the two Arizona Charlies’ properties in Southern Nevada have rates ranging from $155 to $191 for the the first weekend and $79 to $155 for the second.

Fontainebleau, which opens its doors between the two rodeo weekends, is offering a nightly rate of $435. Durango, which opens Tuesday, was not on Hotel.com’s list of available properties.

Hotel rates can change without notice and generally are set based on supply and demand.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.