The days of free parking up and down the Strip do not feel that long ago. That is partly because they aren’t. Just two years ago, no major Las Vegas casino had the audacity to park.
MGM Resorts changed that in 2016. The group started charging to park. Now, two years later, the price of parking is going up once again.
MGM Resorts announces second pricing hike
When MGM first implemented paid parking, there was some leeway. For several months, locals could park free with ID. Additionally, short visits were free, and 2-4 hour visits cost a flat fee of $7.
The parking rates went into effect in the spring of 2016. Just one year later, the company increased parking prices. Four hours of parking was now anywhere from $8 to $12. Valet, meanwhile, went up to $21 a day.
Last summer, the price increases drew the ire of locals who claimed it was too much.
The latest increase is generating even more outcry. A day of valet now costs anywhere from $24 to $30. Two hours of self-park now costs $9. Here is a breakdown of the new pricing. The properties are divided into two categories:
Aria, Bellagio, and Vdara parking
- First hour of self-parking – free
- 1-2 hours of self-parking – $9
- 2-4 hours of self-parking – $15
- 4-24 hours of self-parking: $18
- Valet up to two hours – $21
- Valet for 2-4 hours – $24
- Valet for 4-24 hours – $30
Delano, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York parking
- First hour of self-parking – free
- 1-2 hours of self-parking – $9
- 2-4 hours of self-parking – $12
- 4-24 hours of self-parking: $15
- Valet up to two hours – $16
- Valet for 2-4 hours – $18
- Valet for 4-24 hours – $24
MGM Resorts hurt by Oct. 1 events
Like most every casino in Las Vegas, business at MGM properties dipped in the wake of the Oct. 1 mass shooting. None were hit as hard as Mandalay Bay though.
While convention business remained steady, the property was noticably emptier in the final weeks of 2017. So much so, the property ended up cutting employee hours.
With such a struggle to get non-convention customers back to the property, one has to wonder whether these parking rates will further hamper business. Mandalay’s location as the southernmost property on the Strip is a tough sell to begin with. Now there is yet another reason on the list customers can write off the place altogether.
Will other casinos follow suit?
In the two years since MGM moved to a pay-parking system, several other casinos followed suit. Caesars properties and the Cosmopolitan are the two biggest examples. Now these venues can either choose to hike prices too or try to undercut the competition by keeping the current rates.
There are still some holdouts though. Venetian and Palazzo still do not charge for parking. Wynn and Encore held out for a while, but began charging last August.
With this latest price increase, the differentiation of offering free parking could stand out even more. If you can park for free at one casino or pay $18/day on top of hotel room costs, the difference adds up quickly.
