First Impressions

I arrived yesterday afternoon in Las Vegas in anticipation of the PPAI Expo, which starts this morning. This gave me a chance to look around a bit and make some observations:

- They Haven't Given Up. Despite the horrendous economic conditions here, they are still building - mostly revenue generating projects, like the City Center project on the strip. It may be that some of these projects had too much inertia to be stopped by the economic tsunami, but seeing a project like that going up means there are still jobs, and thus still hope in the area.

- They Are Trying Harder. I have stayed at the Excalibur each year for the 5 years I've been coming to the convention. In previous years, I was not thrilled with what I had here - dingy rooms, dusty hallways with burnt out lights, a hotel casino with almost no amenities. This time - what a difference. New carpet, brighter color scheme, and tons of amenities included - and all at a daily rate that is less than what a Motel 6 would cost me in Seattle. It's obvious - they want my business, and they are willing to do what is reasonably necessary to get it.

- They Are Being Creative. At the Excalibur, the hotel buffet has a $29 special - all you can eat - all day. That's right - for 24 hours, yiu can have breakfast, lunch, second breakfast, sevenses, dinner, supper, late evening nosh, and any other meal you can think of - and only have paid once. This is thinking outside the box. The same applies to the gaming floor - a "party pit" area that combines gambling, dancing, drink specials, musical acts, designed to attract younger gamblers.

All of these indicate a desire to not only reduce costs, but also to provide a much better value for their customers.

So here's the question. In a down economy, these are things that any of us can choose to implement. So how many of them have you done?