The Ritz-Carlton “5-diamond” Las Vegas property is closing due to a lack of demand.  Could this be one of many hotel closings to come in Vegas?  The 350 room property seemingly was hurt by two “perception” factors – 1. It’s a Ritz-Carlton and that name is not a good name to speak of if you’re a business traveler and 2. It’s in Las Vegas and we’ve heard the comments from the President and other leaders criticizing extravagant spending in Las Vegas.

I think it’s just amazing how just a few short years, we go from every developer and hotelier wanting to build in Las Vegas to a major iconic brand closing down due to lack of demand.  This is definitely not a positive sign in the “recovery” of the U.S. economy and Las Vegas which is one of the hardest hit cities.  You can learn a lot about the economy from destination management and other travel related newsbits.

Looking at my own life, I went to Vegas four times within a single year just a few years ago.  While there are other factors such as being married, overall, I would not even consider going to Vegas these days because I don’t want to spend the money.  I believe Vegas has peaked and it’s not coming back to previous levels.  As such, I anticipate more closings.