The Mirage joins the list of resorts taking part in midweek hotel closures
With coronavirus cases surging nationwide and the pandemic continuing to batter the travel and tourism industries, MGM Resorts International is announcing reduced hotel occupancy hours for its Mirage resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
Beginning November 30, The Mirage hotel will operate from noon Thursdays to noon Mondays. The midweek closure is expected to remain in effect through December, with no word on when the hotel may return to seven-day-per-week occupancy. Guests currently booked at the hotel will be able to transfer their reservations to another MGM property.
In communications to employees, Mirage leadership said the closure decision was based on “occupancy and business demand,” adding that the company would work to “reduce the impact on employee schedules as much as possible.” No new layoffs have been announced. Roughly 18,000 furloughed MGM employees nationwide were notified that they would be let go in August.
Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Still Open for Business
Though The Mirage casino will be open daily, as will select restaurants and even the resort’s famed Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, the reduced hotel hours are further evidence that Las Vegas is suffering during a normally robust holiday season.
Las Vegas’s visitor volume has plummeted in 2020, with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority estimating just 1.7 million people visiting in September. That’s a 57 percent decline from the same month in 2019. Last year, Las Vegas welcomed 42.5 million people to the city.
3.4 Million Visited in December 2019
Though the holiday season is not typically as popular as summer in Las Vegas, more than 3.4 million people visited in December 2019, driven by events such as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which has relocated to Fort Worth, Texas for 2020.
Additionally, Las Vegas tourism has been impacted by the shortened 2020-2021 National Hockey League season. The city’s Golden Knights team, which would be playing in November and December, will not take the ice until 2021, when the delayed season begins.
New Restaurant Hours
