FORUM CHALLENGE: What would YOU do differently?

[Maximus]

While I am the first to admit I am no expert, I feel like there is too much emphasis being placed on where the club is, and not what it is. I understand the casino's mentioned are considered old and passe to most, but if you had the right club, offering the right things, people would still venture into that casino to get to the club. You just have to have something the others don't.

The things I would have mentioned, some others already have. Being older than most on here, I think a club catering to 30's/40's could really work. It doesnt have to be lax in dress code, or bottle service either. It could just be as simple as a 30 and above rule. There are a lot of people who shy away from the Vegas nightlife, who would love to partake but just dont want to feel out of place.
And I think Jack's idea of a gay club is the other thing that occurs to me is really missing in LV nightlife, really branded well and in a casino.

[wowzers83]

One day I'm gonna get some investers......and then ill show my ideas. Until then

[presto]

The things I would have mentioned, some others already have. Being older than most on here, I think a club catering to 30's/40's could really work. It doesnt have to be lax in dress code, or bottle service either. It could just be as simple as a 30 and above rule. There are a lot of people who shy away from the Vegas nightlife, who would love to partake but just dont want to feel out of place.
And I think Jack's idea of a gay club is the other thing that occurs to me is really missing in LV nightlife, really branded well and in a casino.

if you swing both ways, krave at planet hollywood is a popular one.. not that ive been there or anything. just word of mouth while sitting in taxis haha

[HunnyBadger]

I would like to see more new and emerging venues focus on the non-peak times for partying. Similar to how daylife and afterhours are huge now, a new club at one of the hotels, not known for nightlife, should be open all day, similar to Carnival Court at Harrah's. It would have to be wild all the time, lol. Or they could be open all night, like Drai's, but that might be a little riskier, even if more patrons come.

Also, more clubs should have food available. Food should definitely be available with bottle service at the very least. Day clubs have this, but I haven't seen too many food options at night. If I'm going to spend hundreds on a bottle and a place to sit, I should get some chicken fingers or something. I've snuck sandwiches into clubs before. But if there was some world famous chicken wings available that I could eat at a table, I'd make a point to go there.

[cm4short]

Tropicana almost got it right. Except, they only put ONE bed in all their suites but are still charging the same price as two beds... 'gotta get em to bite before you reel em in.'

MGM has the right idea. Renovate the rooms and drop prices, then advertise a new mega club as people continue to come. It also help when your renovations are decent instead of gimmicky like Tropicana.

[Dean of Selection]

I would start another afterhours spot.

[JK33]

So we all understand that these hotels have different clientele, which is why I wouldn't ever try to put a big time (Tier 1) club in any of them. The only exception would be Tropicana. After my last trip there I think they've done wonders with that place. It's going to take time to change people's attitudes about it, but it looks really good. The sportsbook is unbelievable. I couldn't believe the quality of the projector screens....but anyway.

PS I haven't read anything in this thread yet, but I'm going to go back and do that after.

Excalibur - I actually think something could be done here. Every time I've walked through I see two groups. Very young, first time Vegas kids (20-23), and alot of middle aged people who love to have a good time (just not necessarily at XS or Marquee) and families. We'll forget about the families. This is ideal for an open-bar type place, and after my last trip to GDBC I'm almost wondering if more day clubs/bars could succeed with the right promotion. We'll call it the Water Hole and I really think it could be done right. There are a couple places here that have beer taps at the table, and I really don't recall seeing anything like that in Vegas (not sure of the laws either). Competitions could be held about who can drink the most, etc. And you could also pay a set fee and drink unlimited (up to a certain amount, so sort of unlimited). I really don't see a club working in this place so this is all I imagine.

Flamingo - I do think the Flamingo could do a better job with a pool party. I mean, the location is so perfect, right in the center of the strip almost, and they have a pretty decent pool as well. I don't know if it can be promoted as a EBC/Wet Republic type spot, but why not switch it up and this could be the hip hop pool party people are asking for? Not sure if it would work/if it's the right hotel, but it's an idea to test...see what kind of interest there is.

I think Hooters could do sort of the same type of deal, but for a different crowd. They should exploit the living hell out of their waitresses "fame" and I think that the Nascar/less well-off college crowd (no offense by the way I've been there) would LOVE something like this. Rather than bottles, do beers at cabanas, things like that. I know the location isn't the greatest here, but I think they have a pool and I really think the poor college kids and 28-45 crowd would love something like this. Don't charge an excessive cover, offer drink specials, things like that. Let the music roll with more top 40/rock hits some weekends, rap some weekends depending on the dates and who they could see showing up.

Just a couple ideas. I honestly didn't put much thought into this so I'll think of other things I"m sure and post more.

[chrisbru]

Vegas could use another after hours spot or two. Drais is awesome, but I'd like more variety. I think the only other one is Artisan (that I know of) and I've heard its small. A patio party as the sun comes up would be killer.

Also - What about an evening party venue? Something in between day/pool parties and nightlife? It could be like a dinner club - EDM, dance floor, and lots of tables for eating and drinking. Minimums could run like lounges/cabanas at the day clubs where both food and drink goes to the table minimum. The people who want to come part without spending as much could do the GA thing like the nightclubs and eat their dollar menu meal while they wait

There are always people wanting to party at any time of day. It would be great if there were killer spots to party at all hours - Wake up at 9, pre-game, pool party, dinner club, nightclub, after hours.

[HunnyBadger]

I think a hotel needs to just advertise that they are the place to be for singles. Not necessarily pretending to be a place to hook up, but at least a place to be if you're not married or lugging your whole family along. Many of the high end hotels cater to couples or newlyweds. The lower end hotels seem to be remnants of when Vegas decided to be a place for families with kids.

If hotels renovated their rooms to have more beds in a suite, like cm4short mentioned, and also had an evening or afterhours spot like chrisbru alluded to, then the clientele that frequented would most likely be there to party. More younger groups like stag and stagettes, would pick that specific hotel and put more money back into it.

[presto]

I would start another afterhours spot.

word. if drais can get away with it inside bill's.. then i dont see why any of these hotels in questions can't.

[PhillyGreg]

I have to echo the sentiment that a few of the other people on this thread have mentioned already. I think buy-in from the hotel is huge. Many of the places that I've seen fail in Vegas (ROK which is closing, Gallery in PH which never seems to get any shout-outs), and more so back home in AC, had their casinos treat them as an afterthought since the success (or lack thereof) doesn't act so much as a drop in the bucket to their gaming profits.

You have the get the property behind the club in a joint effort if you really want a powerful presence out there. For example, when I think of the Cosmopolitan or even the Palms, I think of Marquee and the Playboy Club (which unfortunately is also shutting their doors), respectively.

Get the casino to be a champion for you club, and you're laying the groundwork for effective promoting which is unified and consistent across the board.

[Andrew@LasVegasNightclubs]

PhillyGreg:

You are correct, but most all of the hotels are actually active partners in their nightlife venues. The split is usually in the 45 - 55% range, so they are usually very involved.

Steve Wynn once said "you'll make more money from your club than you'll make on Blackjack."

Regarding Rok, they opened with the intention of being a mainstream nightclub with a tight dresscode, celebrity hosts, etc. My personal opinion was always that they should have taken the venue less seriously and gone more towards the Coyote Ugly...Rockhouse model, especially since they had a open patio directly on the strip. Would be perfect to open up to walk up traffic, and keep a frozen bar open during the day. Also more in line with the NY NY clientele.

[PhillyGreg]

Good knowledge, JC. This forum should count as continuing education credits!!

So far as ideas are concerned, for resorts that cater to the younger crowd on a budget like Excalibur does, take a page out of Blondie's book in the Miracle Mile Shops. A 3-hour open bar for $20 with all-day beer pong...seriously?? You can tag it the "Damsels in Distress" happy hour to keep with the medieval theme, have the gals drink for free, get a decent sized crowd and some foot traffic, and appease the masses and your pockets.

[WT661]

Regarding an afterhours spot, I think a summer afterhours place at Chateau Gardens would be cool. I like the open feel of the balcony and the place under the tower. There's plenty of seating areas that people can just get chill out to while winding down. Its close to Marquee, Haze, Bank, and Chateau and another option to Drai's. Only thing is its a CET property too so that may conflict with Drai's. But if they can pull it off, a complimenting place would be Sugar Factory which can bring people in for the breakfast or late night dining.

As far as the Trop, I dont think it can ever pull a EBC type dayclub or XS type nightclub. It has never been a desirable spot for that crowd. They have to look past the idea of thinking they can be what they are not. Embrace the clientele that is already there and cater to that. Look at Margaritaville, Diablos, Blondies, etc. Those places are often in other forum chats. That means people know about them and enjoy going there. The clientele that goes there are not the average Vegas nightclub patrons that we know.

What I gather from people that dont know much about Vegas top tier clubs is that they all think that its too pretentious, expensive and you have to be in your 20s to be accepted in there. We all know that thats not necessarily true. You see plenty of age groups in the clubs. I'm 36 and my choice of clubs are M, X and S. Its not uncommon to see people my age and even older at these clubs on a daily basis.

Alot think that there's this bouncer dude picking which people can get in and who is turned away. We all know that numbers and money is what runs that door. They want capacity and they want cover charge. They dont care as long as you dress well and you are paying up. Not everyone is a 9 or 10 in looks in the clubs thats what many think about these top tier places.

So what I'm saying is, break that idea and feel to attract the untapped market of Vegas. Have a place that will give the M, X, S experience without the barrier of pushing away the clients who think they dont belong there. There's plenty of those people that end up staying in their rooms or sleepin in early since they dont know they are ok to go to these places. Give them what they want and they will come.

[ashroid]

I think that with the amount of old f$%kers like me that still enjoy partying that an 80's club would go good. There seems to be an 80's resurgence lately.

A club that appeals specifically to people over 30 would do well... it's nice to party with you young pups, but it might be cool to party with the 30-40 crowd sometimes as well, without having to sit at a boring assed 'Ultra' lounge. Ultra lounges remind me of retirement home cafeterias that serve booze.

Most of the people that I know that go to ultra-lounges are ironically, in their 40s.

Regarding 80s music, one night that seemed to do well was Saturday nights at Body English when Clinton Sparks played there. I remember one of his signature tracks was a mash-up of Timbaland and Journey. I think it can be done again and on the strip (and I don't mean a place like Rockhouse). It just probably shouldn't be pushed as tier 1 club.

Man...I can't wait for mAyOD.