Las Vegas hotel occupancy is in decline

Even the WSOP could not help the casino industry in Las Vegas, which has seen a heavy decline in international visitors this summer.

While numbers at the World Series of Poker have been remarkably healthy, they are an outlier. Las Vegas hotel occupancy, a major metric to measure the success of the US casino industry, has just been reported as in decline. 

June saw hotel occupancy drop nearly 15%, and early July has not looked much better, with another 16.8% fall bringing the rate down to around 66%. Revenue per available room, the golden metric of hotel health, tumbled by almost 29% to about $102.75.

Lots of factors have contributed to the decline, but perhaps the most telling one is international visitors. Canadian visitor numbers alone dropped more than 13% in June compared to the previous year. No doubt this is heavily influenced by Donald Trump's trade war rhetoric aimed largely at Canadians.

What can the casino industry do?

In response, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has increased its marketing budget by 30% and doubled down on digital campaigns to bring visitors back. At the same time, resorts are doing what they can to entice locals and regional tourists.

Resorts World has waived resort fees, added dining credits, and promoted pool-day offers. The Sahara, Caesars and the Strat have rolled out similar packages, each hoping to outvalue the next.

Despite the slump, not everything is bleak. Convention bookings remain solid. May saw a 10.7% rise in convention visitors compared to the previous year, and bookings into 2026 suggest business travel is holding steady.

One thing that will not help going forward is the tax bill awaiting Americans in 2025 as a result of Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill. If the casino industry and Las Vegas in particular are to thrive in 2026 and beyond, action will need to be taken to reverse that bill going forward.