.jpg?n=4535&tr=w-390%2Cfo-auto "Marcus Aurelius Villa")
Premio Individual Incentive Travel Gift Cards Now Available
The Venetian and The Palazzo debut a gift-card-based incentive program for incentive planners and sales executives.
The Venetian and its all-suite sister property, The Palazzo, have a new offering for incentive planners and sales executives looking for individual incentive travel with the high standard of service and VIP treatment expected in group travel awards.
The Premio Incentives program can be use to create one-off incentives or even gift cards to be handed out to top employees, says Eric Bello, vice president of sales at Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns The Venetian and The Palazzo.
"It allows individual employees to have a concierge experience by gift card," he says. "If you have a car dealership and they're just going to do two awards per month, they buy a Premio gift card, we have a concierge on staff who will take care of them soup to nuts, hold their hands."
Premio "has done wonders for us," Bello adds. "I can't believe how much business goes through that. Traditionally, they would just book individual incentives through the front desk [and nobody at the hotel knows]. Now we hold their hands. We work with a lot of our big group customers that now do these individual incentive programs. The company is doing it far more cost effectively and yet the individual is getting tremendous value."
Until very recently, the best, most luxurious suites in Las Vegas were not available to rent at any price. They were reserved for the "whales" -- the high-rollers who would come to gamble with a stake in the millions of dollars -- and top celebrities. But Las Vegas has changed from a place where the food, nightclubs, and shows were a means to bring people to the tables. Today it is a leading meetings and conventions destination where the fine dining, world-class nightlife, and shows and entertainers are the main attraction. That means the whales no longer rule the super-suites.
Many of these opulent accommodations go well beyond the definition of "suite." Many are duplexes or triplexes and can run past 10,000 square feet, with luxuries ranging from the best views in the house and private pools to personal boardrooms and dining facilities for a dozen or more, kitchen included. Increasingly, these boardrooms and dining facilities, as well as the expansive and sumptuous spaces they are set in, are being seen as the perfect setting for high-end meetings and entertaining for a half dozen to 100 or more clients, staff, or business partners.
Some of the biggest and most storied are the Villas at Caesars Palace, including the 9,500-square-foot Marcus Aurelius Villa and the 11,200-square-foot Titus Villa. They feature amenities such as grand pianos, pool tables, private pools, terrace fire pits, high ceilings, 103-inch 3-D HD TVs, and, of course, large entertainment areas.
Until recently, "selling Caesars Villas was unheard of," says Bob Morse, president of hospitality at Caesars Entertainment. "They have a lot of space -- you can host a party for 100 easily, and have dinner for 20 or more catered by restaurants like Restaurant Guy Savoy, Bobby Flay's [Mesa Grill], or whatever menu you want."
But with the Anthology Collection program launched in October, the top suites at Caesars' 10 Las Vegas properties are now open to the public. While the rates may be steep -- Caesars Villas start at $25,000 per night -- thinking of them as top-end meeting and event spaces makes it a lot more reasonable.
And it's not just Caesars that is making these super-suites available for group events. Top luxury properties on the Strip, such as MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Venetian and Palazzo, the Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, The Cosmopolitan and Palms have them available to planners. Click here to see all the offerings.
ARIA: This 6,100-square-foot Sky Villa is a duplex, and features amazing views, a first-floor living area for entertaining, a private exercise room and sauna, and a dining table for 10. Touches like this flowing gold staircase set the tone.
NOBU AT CAESARS: Another grand residence at Caesars is the 10,500-square-foot Nobu Villa at the Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace. Designed by David Rockwell, the rooftop villa features a modern, Japanese-inspired design, cuisine catered by Nobu chefs, and a magnificent sky deck with Strip views.
FOUR SEASONS: The Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas' 2,225-square-foot Strip View Presidential Suites come with fresh orchids, as well as separate dining rooms that seat eight, expansive living rooms, and kitchens.
THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS: Located on the 60th and 61st floor, these suites range in size from 1,992 to 2,744 square feet, and feature floor-to-ceiling windows. They come in two design styles: Dark suites of wood and ebony, and Light suites of alabaster furniture and white marble.
PALMS: Palms Las Vegas is particularly well known for its elaborately themed Fantasy Suites. The Real World suite, where the TV show was filmed, may be the most famous, but the biggest and most outrageous is clearly this 10,000-square-foot duplex Hardwood Suite, named for the 30-foot by 30-foot, double-height basketball court it holds.
TROPICANA: The Tropicana's modern and glamorous Sky Villa Suites evoke the hotel's Miami style with custom furnishings that make extensive use of a white-and-tan palette, as well as gold leaf, marble, and ostrich-leather chairs. The suites measure up to 2,700 square feet.
MGM GRAND: The 1,300-square-foot duplex Skyline Terrace Suite offers amazing views from a two-story window, but the real wow comes from its extra-large terrace.
THE MIRAGE: The two Mirage Villas are 6,995 square feet (two bedrooms) and 8,554 square feet (three bedrooms) of luxury, featuring a private gated entrance, elaborate furnishings and massive marble baths, fireplaces, and 24-hour service.
BELLAGIO: Cross a walkway suspended above a reflecting pool, and you enter the 4,075-square-foot Presidential Suite, which features an indoor garden, solarium, three fireplaces, and more.