MGM Resorts Now Charging Parking Fees at its Casinos

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Friday, June 24th, 2016 | Written by Stephen Smith

A vacation on the Las Vegas Strip invites you to spend money and take in shows, eat fine food and gamble at local casinos. Historically, there has been one place along the Strip where you didn’t have to reach for your wallet, though–the parking garage. For decades, free self-parking has been the norm at casinos up and down the Strip, but in early June, MGM Resorts ended that long-standing practice, announcing that it is beginning to charge for parking.

The New Cost of Self-Parking

MGM Resorts announced that all of their Las Vegas Strip Casinos would begin collecting fees from people who self park and leave their cars in their garages for more than an hour. The cost for stays under an hour will be free. Until the end of 2016, people with valid Nevada driver’s licenses will also be able to use the self-parking lots for free, but in 2017, they will become subject to the standard rates.

The prices are as follows:

– For the Aria, Bellagio, Circus Circus, Delano, Mirage, New York New York and Vdara casinos, the parking fees will be:

– $7 for parking for 1 to 4 hours
– $10 for 4 to 24 hours
– $10 for each additional day that the vehicle remains in the lot

– For the Excalibur, Luxor and Monte Carlo casinos, the parking fees will be:

– $5 for parking for 1 to 4 hours
– $8 for 4 to 24 hours
– $8 for each additional day that the vehicle remains in the lot

All MGM properties already charge for valet parking at rates of $8 to $18 per day.

Critics of the Parking Policy

As soon as MGM Resorts made the announcement about their new parking fees, people began speaking out against it. The media as a whole blasted the move, saying that free parking is a Vegas tradition. The news interviewed a number of casino goers who said they will no longer patronize MGM Resorts and will instead go to casinos managed by LVS, Caesars or Wynn Resorts. As one visitor by the name of Jimmy Davis commented:

“If I’m already paying for parking, I’m less likely to stay there I’m less likely to visit there to pay because I’m already staying somewhere else.”

While LVS, Caesars and Wynn Resorts have said that they do not have any plans to institute parking fees at the moment, other Las Vegas visitors, however, have expressed their concerns that these casino operators may decide to follow a similar path, with Angela Jennings stating:

“I imagine if they find that it’s beneficial for them, the other hotels would follow suit behind them.”

Potential Effects of the Parking Policy

While the news media was easily able to find people swearing never to patronize MGM Resorts Casinos again, most experts believe that the change to the parking policy is unlikely to really impact MGM Resorts casino presence on the Strip. Many of the MGM Resorts properties cater to a wealthier clientele that is unlikely to balk at having to pay a few dollars per day to park. Plus, the parking fees are low enough that it would be easy for most people to win enough to cover them. The only real threat to MGM Resorts is that players will find having to stop to pay for parking inconvenient enough to take their business elsewhere.

Wait and See

With the changes to the parking fees already in place, we’ll begin to know soon enough whether or not MGM Resorts made too great a wager betting on the fact that parking fees would not impact their business. In the meantime, MGM Resorts is naturally standing by its decision with MGM spokesman Gordon Absher stating:

“It’s just going to become the new normal. There’s still going to be a lot of people upset about this but these are changes that reflect the current reality here.”

When the operator announced its intentions at the start of this year, it is also stated that the parking fee collected would be used to help construct a 3,000-space parking garage near the Excalibur Hotel & Casino located on the Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection. Construction on the $54 million project is expected to start sometime in early 2017.

M life Rewards Points

Finally, MGM Resorts and First Bankcard announced a strategic partnership recently, with customers subsequently holding an ‘M life Rewards MasterCard’ granted access to a number of perks. The more spending a customer does using the card, the more rewards they can then accrue, with benefits including priority hotel check-ins, buffet line passes, and complimentary self-parking.