Dive Brief:
Dive Insight:
Though Las Vegas revenues dropped 1.9% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, Caesars President and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Carano attributed the decline to tough year-on-year comparisons to the 2024 Super Bowl, held in Vegas.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas resort occupancy remains strong, he added.
“While we recognize the tremendous uncertainty surrounding the economic impact of potential policy change in the U.S., we remain encouraged regarding the forward outlook of Las Vegas,” Carano said on the earnings call. “We continue to experience solid occupancy trends driven by both leisure and group convention customers.”
Reeg echoed the importance of the group segment, noting that the company expects 2025 to be “a record year in group.” Ongoing economic uncertainty and President Donald Trump’s tariffs, however, could impact group travel volumes, hotel experts previously told Hotel Dive.
“If we get to later in the year, and you’re seeing real impacts macroeconomically, obviously, we would not be immune to that,” Reeg said on the call. “We just can’t see it in our business yet.”
A reported dip in international visitation to the U.S. has also not yet impacted Caesars, Reeg added, as it’s “primarily a domestic business.” Canada, however, is the exception.
“We have certainly seen reduction in Canadian visitation,” he said, adding that Canadians account for between 3% and 4% of Las Vegas guests. “We’ve been able to replace that business.”
Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta also struck an optimistic tone regarding the impact of recent economic changes on hospitality on a first-quarter call Tuesday.
“My own belief is you will see some of that, if not a lot of that, uncertainty wane over the next couple quarters, and that will allow the underlying strength of the economy to shine through again,” Nassetta said.
