Bloggers experience in Vegas- and yes they took a timeshare tour!

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Family adventure year - Wendy: A Time Share in Vegas Anyone?

She complains quite a bit, about the sexuality and adult themes throughout Vegas, as well as the salespitch of the Grandview tour.. (I haven't seen many marketing campaigns touting Vegas as a family oriented vacation destination, but hey- everyone's expectations are different!)..

This blogger may have felt the experience was negative (I think she felt that way about her entire time in Vegas, not just the tour)- but in the end, I think she got more than fair deal! Her family was able to experience a world-class Vegas show that they otherwise would not have attended, and she didn't have to purchase a timeshare, just sit through the presentation....

I'm not a fan of most blogs- but I do think this particular article is a great description and example for individuals considering a tour for tickets promotion.

Bottom line- you give up your time and agree to attend a well-crafted sales presentation in exchange for the opportunity to receive discounts or free gifts.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Bottom line- you give up your time and agree to attend a well-crafted sales presentation in exchange for the opportunity to receive discounts or free gifts.

There is no gift or discount that is worth giving up our time for.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

I have seen Vegas being marketed as a "Family destination".

Not that I agree with that but I think there was a time when Vegas
was trying to reinvent themselves to appeal to families, maybe with
the building of the timeshares, not sure.

Anyway, maybe it didn't work out so well so it's going back to it's seedy
roots. Obviously sex sells. I haven't been in about 3 years so I guess I'll have to go back to see what's new.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Las Vegas was an adult playground up until the early 90's when the recession hit. Southern California was hit very hard by the recession which impacted Las Vegas a great deal as it lost many of the weekend regulars.

That is when they decided to go after the family business. A good friend of mine was a VP at the Flamingo. We used to talk about this and I told him that it was a bad idea. He replied that hotel occupancy went up but I told him that you are filling your rooms with non-gamblers taking advantage of low hotel prices. Because of this, the casinos could no longer subsidize the hotel and restaurant operations. They then split the casino, hotel and restaurants into separate profit and loss centers meaning the hotels and restaurants had to pay their own way. As a result the cheap rooms and meals disappeared for folks that weren't gamblers. They had put in arcades, amusement parks, etc. to attract the families. After a few years of this, they realized what a mistake it was. A few years ago Steve Wynn said that catering to the family business was the stupidest thing they ever did. They then reversed themselves and the arcades and amusement parks have pretty well disappeared. This also occurred in Laughlin on a much smaller scale.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Well that explains the $20 + buffets and expensive hotel rooms. First time I went to Vegas the Buffets were around $5 but not the last time I went.

I'm not a gambler so I appreciated the subsidized vacations but if I had kids I certainly would not be taking them to a hotel with a casino. Maybe I'd stay in one of the timeshares that had no casino but not the nice hotels with casinos. That IMO should be an adult playground only.

THere are tons of other places to take the rug-rats.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

You knew Vegas gave up its family pitch when they switched to "What Happens in Vegas..."

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

I remember when there was an amusement park on MGM's back lots....
1985 ish??

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

I remember when there was an amusement park on MGM's back lots....
1985 ish??

The MGM amusement park opened in 1992 and closed in September 2000.