Cosmo is looking to lure visitors with remodeled and upgraded rooms, private jet service, and revised parking policy
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is nixing parking fees following the completion of a massive renovation project at the high-rise Strip resort. News about Cosmo’s reversed parking policy arrive a few months after Wynn Las Vegas and Encore became the first Strip properties to dump parking fees.
The changes at The Cosmopolitan will take effect from January 1, 2019. Guests will no longer be charged separately for parking and valet service. The parking fee will instead be incorporated in the resort fee. That latter fee will rise to $39 come next year from $35. At present, parking and valet services are charged at $10 and $18 a day. The change will result in guests saving $6 and $14, respectively. Vegas residents will continue receiving a first hour of parking for free.
It is also important to note that the new resort fee puts Cosmo in line with the Bellagio, Wynn and Encore, Aria, and other luxury properties on the Strip that are at the higher end of resort fees. Las Vegas Sands’ Palazzo and Venetian are currently topping the list with overnight resort fees of $45 plus tax.
Gaming and hospitality giant MGM Resorts International was the one to start the trend of paid parking along the Strip. The company changed its parking policy in 2016, introducing a parking fee at a number of its Vegas properties. Caesars Entertainment Corp., which along with MGM dominates the Strip in terms of hotel rooms owned, followed suit shortly after.
Both companies increased their parking fees earlier this year, dismissing criticism and warnings that their parking policies could affect visitor numbers not only at their own properties but across Las Vegas, as a whole.
Commenting on The Cosmopolitan eliminating parking fees, Ted Newkirk, founder of gaming and tourism tips site Access Vegas, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier this week that the move would make “people of all incomes feel good” and would ease a growing feeling that Las Vegas visitors are “getting nickeled and dimed.”
Room Renovation
As mentioned earlier, The Cosmopolitan recently completed the planned remodel of its more than 3,000 rooms and suites and announced a plethora of other upgrades at the resort. The property equipped all of its rooms with tablets that guests can use to buy tickets for shows, order room service, control room temperature and lighting, book a spa, and other services.
Cosmo also launched what it lauded as the fastest Wi-Fi network on the legendary Strip. It is complimentary for both hotel and non-hotel guests of the property.
To cater to elite clients, the resort started earlier this month a private jet service. The Gulfstream jet can seat up to 16 passengers and make international flights.
Last year, The Cosmopolitan unveiled its 21 new penthouses with stunning views of Las Vegas. The property also launched its exclusive high roller gaming parlor – The Reserve.
Cosmo commenced operations eight years ago but enjoyed mediocre interest from visitors at first. According to analysts, the property’s lack of rooms for wealthy gamblers was one of its main drawbacks. In 2014, American private equity firm The Blackstone Group purchased the ritzy property for $1.73 billion and undertook a series of renovations and remodel projects in a bid to draw more visitors and hotel guests.
Most recently, reports emerged that Florida-based gaming and hospitality company Hard Rock International had entered due diligence to buy The Cosmopolitan. The property’s owners denied those reports in an emailed statement to Casino News Dailylas veg.
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