I never thought I’d see the day a casino charged for parking. Why make it more difficult to justify throwing away cash on a casino floor? But as more and more resorts orient toward other revenue streams such as restaurants, shows, hotels, and events it isn’t very surprising that parking follows.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that beginning in April the following MGM resorts will begin charging $10 (or less) for overnight self parking:
- Mandalay Bay
- Delano
- Luxor
- Excalibur
- Monte Carlo
- New York-New York
- Vdara
- Aria
- Bellagio
- The Mirage
- MGM Grand
Valet parking will cost more. Some shopping centers as well as the Circus Circus hotel at the north end of the Strip will still be complimentary. This development is related to the opening of the new T-Mobile Arena behind New York-New York and Monte Carlo.
What a coincidence that these are the same hotels that participate in the Hyatt Gold Passport partnership. 😉 Many people have some kind of M life elite status that was matched from their Hyatt status. MGM says that they will be providing some kind of “free parking rewards,” but I have yet to find any clear information on this. By using the term “rewards” rather than “benefits” it suggests that this will be another opportunity to redeem comps rather than a regular benefit of status.
I’ve only taken a car to Vegas once — my first trip — when I was living nearby in Irvine. I don’t bother driving when I fly in, so this development may not matter to everyone. Still, it’s an unfortunate and indirect way to raise the cost of a Las Vegas vacation even more given the prevalence of resort fees, and it comes hot on the heels of a few other devaluations to the M life loyalty program.
