The 3rd Annual Las Vegas Leadership Roundtable

It's been 36 months since Successful Meetings hosted the first roundtable comprised of leaders of the Las Vegas hospitality community at Caesars Palace to give them a chance to respond to the perfect storm of bad press, proposed legislation, and statements from the White House that had groups canceling meetings in Las Vegas at an alarming rate.

In September, we hosted our third roundtable, also at Caesars, to see how the city is rebounding. Here are the highlights. (For video of the event, click here.)

Successful Meetings: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the third annual Successful Meetings Las Vegas Leadership Roundtable, hosted for the third year by Caesars Palace. And also, thank you to Encore Productions for the video recording that is being made of this roundtable. Let’s get to it. 

It has been a very interesting three years since we first started doing this. And it really has run the gamut from a total disaster to things getting better. Where are we right now in this moment? 

Amy Riley: The best term to use is “steady.” Steady increases and steady growth; groups are coming back. The hotels could probably talk in a bit more depth about the markets that they’re seeing return. 

Michael Massari: Well, we’re very thankful that things have really improved here, starting about June of last year. I don’t want to sound like the executive cheerleader for the company here, but the preceding two-and-a-half years were remarkably difficult, and since June of last year, we’re growing by a quarter or even a third, so it’s been a fantastic turnaround.

Danielle Babilino: We went into 2011 with 85 percent of our business on the books, which is really unheard of. We were normally at 70 percent. And we have continued to grow that pace. Right now we’re way beyond what we forecasted for this year. Our rate has increased, and we’re also seeing a spend increase. We’re seeing groups that had pulled back on ancillary spending starting to spend money on golf, spa, and dinearounds. 

And the AIG effect has somewhat dissipated. Companies are not as concerned, as long as they can show the ROI, and I think it’s across every segment, whether it’s association, whether it’s corporate, and certainly incentives are on an uptick. Obviously, certain sectors were affected more than others, but the financial sectors have come back, and insurance and tech are doing well. So we’re really pleased and very hopeful that it will continue into 2012.

Massari: One of the really interesting things I hear, as I talk to customers, is that the commitment to face-to-face meetings has never been higher than it is now. Two-and-a-half, three years ago, I was really concerned that face-to-face meetings were going to have difficulty for a long period of time, because there was a generation coming up that was not as big of a believer in the benefit of face-to-face meetings, and people had stopped having face-to-face meetings. 

But customers right now are extremely committed to these meetings and the value they bring to the table. Clients are not spending quite as much as they did, but the volume’s there. They’re having meetings. They’re not bringing as many people as they did two-and-a-half, three years ago, but they’re having them and they’re committed to them, more than they’ve ever been in my career. So it’s really interesting to see that.

Bryan Gay: I would have to agree. We experienced huge attrition numbers for groups in the past few years, but this year it’s very minimal and, in some cases, some groups have increased by 10 to 20 percent. So to Mike’s point, I do feel that recognition of the importance of face-to-face meetings is coming back, and I really think that we’re seeing that impact. And as Danielle mentioned, RevPar is actually increasing and going in the right direction for the first time in awhile, so that’s a great thing.

SM: And has everybody experienced that? Even amongst the sectors that wound up taking TARP money during the meltdown of 2008? 

Gavin Mealiffe: I think we’re finding less concern regarding the AIG effect. Two years ago, when we really started this, meetings were in the throes of a media witch hunt because of the misperception of excess due to what was happening in the economy, and also from some comments that were made by our President regarding Las Vegas in particular. That was very, very damaging back then, and I think at this point most of the planners are past that. It really hasn’t been an issue over the course of the last 18 months, and that is refreshing to see. 

I think, to Mike’s point, what happened is that the meetings business contracted heavily two years ago when the market went bad. Companies are now finding that having those face-to-face meetings is so important to what they do, because not having them was not producing the results that they needed in their organizations.

SM: The meetings industry has seen some positive changes in 2011—including the debut of some new trade shows. AIBTM debuted in Baltimore earlier in the year, and we have IMEX America in Las Vegas. What effect do you think they’re going to have on the meetings industry?

Chandra Allison: I’m happy to say that the floor plan this year for the 2011 kickoff of IMEX America was actually just as strong as what they’ve seen for the show held in Frankfurt. So I think that’s really positive and speaks to the interest in having this meeting in Las Vegas. I think that’s going to help Las Vegas, and I think it’s also going to bring a lot of buzz to the meetings and events industry. 

Babilino: Another interesting component to this is that the trade show industry itself has changed. We’re seeing the move more towards appointment-based shows, because we’re able to show a better ROI. You see it with AIBTM and you see it with IMEX and you see it with a series of other programs that actually are being designed by industry publications. And I think that’s huge. 

Massari: It’s such an interesting dynamic, because in a time where social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are becoming such a common piece of our lives, a trade show that’s never been held in the United States is going to be the largest trade show ever in our industry. 

So there is this need to balance the use of both non-face-to-face and face-to-face communication to grow your business. There has been a shift in the last two-and-a-half years that really has caused people to think through their meeting strategies in a way that they never had to before.

And I think it’s really good for all of us. I think it’s good for our industry. It’s good for our city, and it’s good for all of our businesses too.

Michael Lee: Organizations such as MPI and PCMA are pushing social media, and it’s interesting that although they’re doing that, the face-to-face interaction with the attendees is still very, very important. 

I think for us at the Riviera, our sales execs really need that face-to-face, because the positioning of our hotel is different. We’re coming out of a receivership and starting all over, if you will. And it’s been a big challenge, so the face-to-face meeting has been very, very important.

SM: What impact do you think IMEX America will have on Las Vegas, and specifically on reinforcing the city as an international destination?

Riley: It definitely reinforces our identity as an international business destination, which has already been established by trade shows like CES, NAB, and ConExpo. This is just going to continue to support that. What it’ll do is reinforce that perception in the corporate meeting planner and the international corporate meeting planner. Our entire hotel community has really stepped up for IMEX.

Allison: The launch of the international airline terminal in 2012 is going to add more strength to the city, and having IMEX here really promoting that international business is going to go a long way toward keeping our meetings business strong. 

SM: What’s going to happen to The Motivation Show? Is there a place for it? What do you think about the future of that show as a meetings and incentive show?

Riley: As a destination, we went. As long as there’s return for us and business comes out of it, we will go. 

Babilino: I think the dynamics will change—I mean, we saw a change after September 11 and over the last 10 years it’s just been downsize, downsize, downsize, and so I think it may end up becoming a regional show. It certainly is a show that’s very easy for our incentive buyers to get to, because a lot of them are located in the Midwest. We’re there supporting the LVCVA, but I think the international attention and the national attention is really shifting to Las Vegas and to IMEX. 

Another component to that is that MPI, PCMA, and Site are all behind IMEX, which adds a lot of credibility to that show.

Massari: Just to build on what Amy said, we’ll all continue to support and attend trade shows, or any events really, that put us in front of customers that we want to get to know better. It was that way in 1995 and in 2005, and it’ll be the same way in 2015.

SM: Let’s talk a little bit about the economy in general. What effect does it have on your relationship with meeting planners, and how does it impact meeting planners in terms of their decision-making processes, their ability to visit a destination, or even whether they can have face-to-face meetings at all? 

Right now we are still on this up-and-down roller coaster ride with the economy. What effect does that instability have on the process of a company deciding to have a meeting, and whether they come to you?

Gay: I think it’s different than when we had the challenges a few years ago with the TARP money and the criticism of meetings by politicians and the bad press at that time. I think in the past few years companies have realized that it’s still very important to have these face-to-face meetings because there is some benefit to it, and there’s certainly ROI, and they’re justified.

As normal business, if a company is not doing as well, they revisit and look at their future as far as budgeting for next year, and obviously programs may change a little bit, but we’re certainly not seeing the devastating effect that we had a few years ago.

Mealiffe: I think you’re seeing a lot more cautious optimism. Meeting planners are bullish on having their meetings. They want to have them. They’re excited about them, and they’ve retooled their meetings based on what’s happened to the economy. They can’t have the same setups that they had years ago. So they’re making changes, and those changes are thankfully paying off for them and for the hotel community by the increases that we are seeing here in Las Vegas. And as Bryan mentioned, it really is just about looking at what their needs are. And if they have to adjust their programs down because of economic conditions, we’re prepared as hotels and as a community to respond to that.

Tara Russell: And to Gavin’s point, they’re asking for just a little bit more leeway with attrition and cancellation, and we’re giving that. We are absolutely open to negotiating things that we haven’t in the past. But to Bryan’s point, we haven’t seen that either at Bellagio. It’s definitely short term, so we don’t have these great programs booking three years out, at least for us, although 2013 is very strong, 2012 is also solid, but we’re making concessions to adapt to their requests.

Chris Bond: And as a follow-up to Tara, New York-New York is a different-sized property than a Mandalay Bay or a Bellagio or a Las Vegas Hilton, but you know, we continue to have to show value as a destination and as a property to the group. It’s still a very short-term booking window. Over half of my room nights still are booked within 90 days of arrival, so it’s not a good feeling for your stomach, day to day, but they are coming back. Their budgets are becoming more and more positive, so we just try to turn it as quickly as we can and service it.

Allison: To the opposite of that, we’re seeing trade shows specifically wanting to book further out into 2015, 2016. They’re asking for that, and trying to take advantage of the economic flexibility that we have today for those future years. That’s something that we’re seeing as a trend specifically in the trade show market.

Gay: And we’ve also seen corporate meetings, for some of the larger programs, starting to book further out. Obviously taking advantage of the opportunity, but they see it, and they get it, and they want to secure the dates further out. So we’re seeing that, where we weren’t a few years ago.

Allison: And I think the IT sector seems to be very strong in wanting to book future years for these very large, full-facility programs at our facilities.

Riley:  We’re also seeing meetings and events that had been dormant as far back as 2006 coming back, and that’s when you realize how quickly time does fly, when you have an event that was here in 2007 that we’ve been soliciting and soliciting, and all of a sudden they’re ready. You look back and you realize how time has flown by and how we’re on to a new time.

SM: Have we made the shift yet from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market? 

Babilino: I think you’re seeing the pendulum start to move. It hasn’t gone to a seller’s market, but I think it’s equalized, definitely off-season, and they know when off-season is. It’s still, you know, “I want the best deal, this is what I know my business is worth, and this is my wish list.” Not only do they want business concessions, but they want contractual concessions, and you have to make the decision based on what’s right for them and what’s right for the hotel and the shareholders. So I don’t think there’s a definite buyer’s or seller’s market right now. I think it depends.

Massari: So many people always want to ask that. My answer is the same in good times and bad times. We have to understand what our customers want, understand how we’re going to help them achieve their objectives, and put together an availability and a pricing and service package that helps meet all those needs. And, you know, sometimes that’s priced higher than other times, but I don’t know that buyer’s or seller’s market is the right term for it. 

Gay: I would agree. I’m not sure that’s a good way to put it anymore. I’m not sure we’ll ever get to a buyer’s or seller’s market again. I think the last few years have shown both sides that it’s a partnership. Everyone’s smarter about the way they’re doing business, not only on the planner side but on our side as well, because everyone’s been affected by what’s happened the last few years and everybody has learned some valuable lessons. I think we’re going to be better for that in the future.

Massari: We all want to develop unbreakable relationships with our customers that last 20 or 30 years. I mean, none of us are in this for the short term. The same people sitting around this table today will be here five years from now, so I think it’s just the wrong way to think about it.

Babilino: I also think, to Michael’s point, that it’s taught us the values of relationships and partnerships. And I also think it’s taught us to be better salespeople. It’s taught us to ask the right questions and to understand what both sides need, and ultimately, that just makes us all better as salespeople.

SM: And what about the strategy of short-term bookings, which a lot of organizations have fallen into over the last few years? Is it becoming a little bit more difficult to accommodate a short-term booking? Have things picked up to the point where it might benefit planners to look a little bit longer term than they have been?

Mealiffe: I think it falls back to what was just mentioned with regards to high periods and low periods. If it’s a high period, absolutely. Planners need to look further out. Bookings are certainly happening shorter-term than they were several years ago, which is a testament to the gray hair that I have and probably many of us around this table as well. That’s just part of the market right now, and we are happy to see the short-term meetings, as long as they’re coming to fruition, but I also encourage planners to look further out. Everybody around this table has the ability to do that, and they should take advantage of that, because as those high periods continue to get better, it is going to get harder to find the short-term space they’re looking for.

Russell: I’ve seen it happen just recently. Looking at the first quarter of next year, I think we have one or two weeks available, but available on a second, third, and fourth option. That’s how desirable those dates are to our customers. So the short-term business is still there, but like Danielle said: We have become better salespeople, and we have to move these groups and secure the weeks faster and longer-term. And I think that, finally, the customers are getting that: “Wow, you guys have no availability at any of your properties in the first quarter?” We don’t. It’s a great feeling.

Lee: We’re getting a lot of short-lead calls and our sales team is trying to book them. But the good thing is that for our property the amount of calls and interest has increased dramatically in the last five months versus when I first came on board in November, when it was a little tougher. I think the economy, the marketplace, and with the other hotels filling up, our hotel on the north end of the Strip is starting to see a little more interest and we’re starting to fill in those holes. 

Massari: If you believe that companies out there that are coming to the realization that in order to grow you need to have face-to-face meetings, then it’s logical to move to the next step and say, “Hey, there’s going to be a lot of short-term business right now, because companies are going to have to have meetings in order to grow.” But it’s also logical, then, to think that over some period of time, that booking window would extend a little bit, because companies are more committed to face-to-face meetings over a longer period of time, and they’re more willing to commit longer out. 

SM: What does 2012 look like now? Is it looking better, the same, or worse in terms of meetings bookings?

Gay: Well, we’re pacing ahead, which is great, and as Danielle mentioned, we’re actually having a very, very strong 2011, and to be pacing ahead of that is a good sign, obviously. So we’re anticipating some good growth going into 2012 and beyond. The pace for 2013 and 2014 is even stronger.

Russell: And rates are up.

Babilino: Yes, rates are up.

Allison: We’ve seen tremendous growth in 2010 and 2011. And now looking forward into 2012, because of the tremendous growth that we saw from ’10 to ’11, we’re ahead of pace, but really where we’re seeing the most growth is in rate.

SM: And what do these meetings that are coming back look like? Are organizations holding more meetings? Are the number of attendees climbing? Are budgets increasing? What sort of trends do you see moving forward?  

Babilino: Well, what we’re seeing year-over-year is the trend toward larger meetings. In 2010 we did a lot more meetings to get to the total room nights than we’re doing this year. And we certainly have well surpassed our forecast. So they’re larger meetings. We’re seeing the acceptance of an increased room rate. As I said before, we’re seeing ancillary spend increase. The one place that seems to come up short is just the catering dollars. They are scrutinizing that a little bit closer, and we’re having to work with them—with discounts or whatever to help them through that. But definitely the budgets are there for the meetings, and again, 2011 has far surpassed 2010. For us, 2012 is more of a flat scenario in terms of room nights.

Massari: Our growth has been almost all in volume. We’ve had lots of customers doing more meetings and bringing more people to them. The customers are still very thoughtful about the money that they spend on all services. 

You know, in the heady days of 2005 and 2006 it was: “I just want what I want, I don’t care how much it costs.” Well, those days are not here again. I frankly don’t think or hope that they ever will come back. I want our customers to be very frugal and value-conscious about how they think about their meetings. That’s how they’re going to continue to have lots of meetings, and that’s what I want them to do.

Bond: The number of groups has increased quite a bit for us. It takes a lot more groups to get the number of room nights that we’re used to. For example, this year we’ll have probably the most or second-most number of groups handled in the past 10 years at our property. So just a lot of extra work to get those room nights secured.

Riley: We’re up seven percent over last year as far as the actual number of convention and meeting visitors to the destination overall.

Lee: We’re less in the amount of groups booked, but we have more rooms per group that are booking and staying at the hotel. Our summer 2012 and 2013 look very, very strong. We do have holes still in the first quarter, and last-minute bookings will hopefully fill them in, but for our property it’s a little different from what you find at the Strip properties here.

Allison: We’ve seen some very large organizations that have booked business with us for very short-term customer events whose numbers just skyrocket 21 days out, 14 days out, and that puts a lot of pressure on our building, in terms of compensating for the food and beverage needs of the attendees. We’ve seen a tremendous amount of that in some of these customer events. Customers want to come to these meetings, and they’re blowing their numbers out of the water, so it’s a great problem to have, and we’re continuing to see that within certain sectors.

Massari: You know, optional attendee meetings are still very high in demand in this city. People still very much want to be here, and I think everybody’s probably experiencing that.

SM: What about optional activities in the meeting? Are organizations feeling more confident to add those sort of bells and whistles now than they had been a couple of years ago? Things like spa and golf?

Riley: Not a formal number, but just from what we do every day, we’re seeing more inquiries for our golf partners, our activity partners, and the show partners, so we’re seeing a little bit more activity in terms of inquiring about contacts and things like that. 

Russell: I think where it was once a full day of activities or maybe two days, one in the front and one at the end, it’s now a half-day here, and a half-day there. But no golf or spa. It’s Vegas. Let’s be honest, there’s a lot of things to do here. Lot of great activities. The weather’s phenomenal, the pool is always full. So, yeah, they’re coming back, but slowly. And they are experiencing everything that all of our hotels have to offer.

Massari: Companies are just very thoughtful, and it depends on whether it’s a small meeting or a large one, and whether it’s a sales manager meeting or a distributors’ meeting, and whether it’s an IT company or a financial company. I mean it—across all of them, they’re all very thoughtful about the money that they’re spending and what they’re spending it on.

Babilino: Another aspect that we’re starting to see more of is corporate social responsibility programs. Groups are interested in how they can give back to the communities that they’re meeting in. We had a program in the spring where the executives stayed behind and did a Habitat for Humanity program as a teambuilding event. So we’re starting to see more of that. Actually it’s gotten to the point where we decided to build that into the educational forums that we do when we bring in customers in the spring and the fall.

Massari: It’s a fantastic way for you to spend a half-day or a full day with your company or organization, and we do it for our customer events as well. You know, it’s a much better half-day than a round of golf.

Russell: It’s a feel-good activity; it’s awesome.

SM: What about green initiatives? Is everybody asking for them or are they similar to an optional activity? Is it important to some groups, but not to others? Where are your clients falling right now? 

Massari: We don’t have many customers that it’s not important to.

Mealiffe: I think there’s a difference from a few years ago when it was a hot topic, and now it’s one of those things that is expected, and it’s not discussed as much typically. They just expect you to have a green program in your property. I don’t necessarily know that they’re making strict business decisions because of it, but it is top-of-mind for them.

Allison: I think there are also a lot of expectations around our facility’s ability to measure what green initiatives have meant to the group. So we’re really being pressured to provide that type of measurement and to prove that what we provide has helped that meeting or event become green.

Massari: This is a city that, by and large, has really good programs around this activity. Our buildings are generally newer than buildings you’d find in other cities, and so when you open a building like the CityCenter, it’s state-of-the art. Our properties have state-of-the-art facilities around this activity, and state- of-the-art programs around this activity. And I think our green programs, by and large, compare very favorably to all the cities that we compete against. You can pick a property in this town and get a really robust green program just about anywhere.

Russell: One thing that is so important to remind our customers is that these buildings are so huge and for a Mandalay Bay, a Venetian, honestly, we do a lot of the recycling behind the scenes, and a lot of customers don’t realize that. So for Bellagio, we rolled out a green statement saying that this is what we do, and so many people were amazed. 

Massari: We actually do, and I think you guys probably all do as well, tours of our recycling programs, and of our green facilities. Not only for meeting planners but for executives of companies. I mean, these are miniature cities, right? They’re 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 employees, and the programs are amazing and people like to see them. They take ideas back with them and I think they incorporate some of the stuff into their own companies.

SM: Let’s talk a little bit about technology, and the requirements that meetings are placing on facilities in terms of bandwidth. With the explosion of social media, it’s almost like the attendees and meeting planners just expect to be able to access the internet, even when they’re on the trade show floor. Has that reached a tipping point with facilities, in terms of providing that type of access?  And what is that discussion like with planners?

Babilino: I think it’s an expectation.

Mealiffe: It’s definitely become something they’re asking about. They want specific figures for bandwidth, what the facility can actually handle, but I think most of the hotels and the partners that we work with to provide that service are growing with the times. I mean we understand that, and see it in the industry with cell phones and smart phones and the iPad tablets and whatever tablets people are using. People expect it, and if facilities need to add new equipment to make that happen, then that’s what’s going on behind the scenes.

Massari: You have to provide a level of service for the individual similar to what they have at home, and then also provide dedicated bandwidth to companies for their use while they’re here, it’s the minimum expectation. It’s the bar you have to cross to get in the game.

SM: What about ROI? That’s something that we have talked about for years. Is it still just talk or are meeting planners asking you for help to track the return on investment of a meeting during the negotiation process?

Massari: It’s very important to our customers. And more and more of our customers have very good algorithms around the ROI that they get for their meetings. But they know what our costs are and they know what we bring to the table in that regard, and they incorporate that into their work. So I don’t get asked about it personally, but it is very important to our customers.

Gay: Every meeting has to be justified, and there have been things that have come out that allow the planners to do that, and so everyone’s doing business a lot smarter now. And to Mike’s point, in the negotiating process, they know what our prices are, and they’re calculating that into their ROI.

SM: Let’s talk about what’s going on locally here in Las Vegas. Now that the dust has settled, how has the city absorbed the hotel inventory that’s come online the last few years? Maybe you want to lead off with that, Amy?

Riley: Sure. We’ve added 9,000 rooms over the last couple of years. And even with that, we’ve maintained over an 80 percent occupancy, which is about 20 to 25 percent over the domestic average, so we’re very happy. 

SM: And how has it affected hoteliers?  What’s been good about it and what’s been bad?

Gay: It’s always great to open a new property. It gives new recognition to the city. It gets more interest in the city, and we encourage it. And speaking for us, sometimes you get a little bit more competitive with some of the conventions and the rights and everything, but I think the biggest sectors are more competitive on the leisure and the FIT side when a new property comes on board, and that’s where I think we feel it the most. As far as meetings are concerned, it just creates more interest in Las Vegas. We always view new resort development on the Strip as a great thing for the city.

Massari: The competition part, I think it does have an effect, which is great, because it causes every one of us to be very introspective about the services we offer and how we interact with our customers in the face of new competition from fantastic products. So I think we just all get better from it. Every time that a new opening is on the horizon, we take a look at ourselves and examine how are we interacting with our customers, what types of service are we providing, what the value proposition is, and how what we’re doing affects our customers. And, you know, we go through that process, and it just makes us all better, so bring it on.

SM: And what’s the prognosis for the north end of the Strip? I know there are a few stalled projects there. What does the future look like?

Riley: You know, at this time it’s really too early to tell what’s going to happen with those projects. We’re just kind of still in that recovery mode. But as far as new development, our existing hotel partners still have some great projects coming up.

Gay: A lot of our focus is putting money back into the properties now. I’m not sure if you’re going to see a new CityCenter coming on board for a while. But when you look at it, the reinvestment’s going to be into our properties. As the new properties opened up over the last few years, we were always trying to reinvent ourselves. We have a new show coming on board, the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson Immortal tour. So there are always new things coming, and we’re always trying to reinvent the properties, which is really where I see the development happening in the next few years. I really don’t see much happening down the Strip as far as huge developments and huge openings.

Massari: I agree with Bryan, projects like the CityCenter will, I think, be few and far between in our future. But I think it’s projects like what we’re doing on the east side with the Linq, where you take one corner and make it a Margaritaville casino. You do a retail drive. You put a London Eye-type observation wheel in the back as an attraction, and you provide more for the attendees to experience and enjoy while they’re here. I think you’ll see more projects like that coming on and so we’re excited to see that one come to fruition. 

You’ll see more projects like the new Octavius Tower here at Caesars and, you know, additional towers and additional hotel rooms at existing brands that are strong and well-recognized by customers, and appreciated. And so I don’t think you’ll see projects like CityCenter come very often, but I think you’ll see a lot of continued work with the existing products, and then a lot of programs like the Linq that really provide a more robust experience for all of the visitors here.

Riley: And there’s always something changing to make it a new and refreshing destination for repeat meetings and events, whether it’s new chefs that are coming in, converting back-of-the-house space to a new restaurant, restructuring some of our shows, even, you know, golf courses—it’s everything. There’s always so much change, so there’s something different every time.

Massari: We’ve been put in this place where our competition has caused us to continually be thinking about how we get better. I mean, Caesars will do probably four or five restaurant turnovers here in the next six months, and I use that as an example, but I don’t think that’s unusual for any of the properties that are sitting around this table. And it’s in an effort to provide our customers with better and better experiences on a continual basis. And so while you won’t see $6 or $8 or $10 billion in new projects coming up, you won’t see us sit on our hands here in this town. That’s just not who we are.

Russell: We need to remember who our next-generation customer is. I think it’s important that when we look at our marketing and business plans, that we remember it’s a different generation coming on. Certainly for Bellagio we have a certain type of demographic and clientele, and when we sit around a board table we talk about what the next five years will look like: “Who are the customers that will be coming in to our hotels?” It’s a younger generation that is more tech savvy. They’re blogging about walking to the fountain show. They’re blogging as they’re walking to it. It’s crazy. So we have to adapt to that. And that’s a learning experience for people as seasoned as all of us around this table. That’s what I see.

SM: That’s an interesting point that I hadn’t even thought about. How do you think that bodes for the actual casino itself? Are table games in danger? Will this new visitor just want to go to the electronic games?

Mealiffe: We should probably have a slot machine manufacturer here. They’re definitely changing the way that they produce their games to be more in tune with the new generation coming up, there’s no question. More interactive.

SM: Why don’t we finish up with this one final question: Are there any critical issues that we haven’t talked about that are facing Las Vegas, both as a meetings destination and as a consumer travel destination? Amy, do you have any input on that?

Riley: We’ve been working with our congressional delegates and the USTA. The visa issue is something that we are pushing, doing everything we can to improve. In some countries it takes two weeks to obtain a U.S. tourist visa. In some countries it’s three months. So that’s a big, big push for us, to keep our international visitors coming and increase that number. That’s where our major efforts are right now.

SM: Does anybody else have anything that they think is critical?

Babilino: The airlines themselves are re-engineering and repositioning themselves and also re-pricing. We just saw US Airways cut the amount of flights that are going to be coming into Las Vegas. That’s the concern with the domestic carriers. Certainly the international carriers have helped. But domestic is important to us when you have 130,000-plus guest rooms in the city. So I think that’ll remain a concern, along with what they’re doing with fair pricing.

Mealiffe: I think having more direct international flights is something we’d all like to see, and also looking domestically, even on the leisure side, working with our partners in California to make that trek from Los Angeles on the I-15 easier for the guests who drive to Las Vegas.

Massari: Domestic travel, and the travel industry, is a massive employer in this country. So we’re all, as businesses, putting a lot of effort into making sure that we’re getting the right type of government support, whether it be for the visa issue or whether it be just from a tax standpoint, or from governmental travel, whatever the piece is, we’re all working with our own legislators to make sure that we’re getting the right type of government support for a big piece of the economy and a big employer.