At Resorts World Las Vegas, the staff has waived some resort and parking fees. Over at Caesars Entertainment, a big property on the Las Vegas Strip, they've offered a two-night stay for $300, including a $200 credit for food and drinks. And other businesses, including apartment owners, have also started giving discounts.
Las Vegas businesses are taking new steps to cope with a months-long visitor slump as consumers grow jittery over slowed hiring and shifting tariffs. That's got hotels, casinos and restaurants piling on the special offers to keep up cash flow to pay for their high-profile properties. At the same time, developers are easing back on commercial projects as some real estate executives watch out for more vacancies in coming months.
The latest Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data found August's regional visitors slid 6.7% from a year earlier to about 3.1 million people, while convention attendance fell 8% to about 587,000. Hotels on the iconic Las Vegas Strip were hit hardest, with preliminary hotel data through September from CoStar showing occupancy dropped 7.8% from last year and revenue per available room slid 12%.
Las Vegas hotels have long used cheap rooms as a loss leader in a bid to draw in people to spend at casinos, stores and other properties. Longtime developer Jim Stuart, who has built office, retail and industrial projects in the area, said there's less dependence on that strategy these days with other discounts on offer as the region reels from a significant drop in international visitors, caused partly by tensions over trade tariffs.
Stuart, partner in development firm Matter Real Estate Group, said conditions are slowing project plans for some: “A lot of developers are just hitting the pause button until we can get a little more certainty. It could be another three or four quarters before you see people getting opportunistic again.”
Some properties are affected more than others. Stuart said office occupancy has reached 100% at UnCommons, his company’s $400 million mixed-use complex completed this year about 10 miles from the Strip. Its retail occupancy is about 99%, with most overall space leased before the multiphase project’s full buildout.
Hotels feel pressure
Coming off a stellar 2024 when the region hosted the Super Bowl and several other big events, Las Vegas hotels have been under pressure for much of 2025.
Michael Stathokostopoulos, senior director of hospitality analytics at CoStar Group, said Las Vegas hotel performance has cooled notably this year, after three years of strong post-pandemic recovery. Most significant metrics had slipped into negative territory through the end of August, with the region’s revenue per available room down 11% year to date. Revenue per available room was growing at nearly double-digit rates during the same time last year.
While leisure travel to Las Vegas has held slightly positive, critical group business — from conventions and other large gatherings — has fallen sharply in 2025. “By June, group demand was down nearly 50% compared to a year earlier, pulling total demand 16% lower,” Stathokostopoulos said.
While not as affected as hotels, the Las Vegas tourism setbacks have created some blowback for the region’s apartments owners. An August report from brokerage Northmarq noted renter demand was still being fueled by formation of new households, though rapid construction growth of the past two years was likely to slow by year’s end.
“Despite some near-term softness, infrastructure and redevelopment projects are expected to support long-term housing demand,” Northmarq said in a report by research director Pete O’Neil. “Completions in 2025 will reflect a pullback from more active periods in 2023 and 2024.”
CoStar data shows that Las Vegas regional apartment vacancy has risen to 9.9%, largely attributed to slow lease-ups for a large supply of apartments completed in recent years.
With high competition for renters, including those affected by widespread job cuts at the region’s hospitality properties, nearly 70% of all multifamily properties in Las Vegas were offering concessions in August, up from 60% in January and well above the 2024 average of 46%.
Rent growth has slowed considerably in the process, currently posting an annual rate of negative 1.7%, according to CoStar data.
Office demand dips
While Las Vegas offices have traditionally fared relatively well amid limited new construction, even during the pandemic, leasing is expected to post a slight decline for the rest of 2025 — mostly tied to national conditions rather than tourism metrics, according to a report by Danny Khalil, CoStar's associate director of market analytics. CoStar tracking showed Las Vegas offices ranked 14th among major regions for occupancy at about 90% in mid-September.
“Office demand has dipped a bit, especially in areas close to the Strip where businesses rely on tourism and hospitality,” Patti Dillon, executive vice president in the Las Vegas office of Colliers, told CoStar News. “Some companies are holding off on expanding or renewing leases until they have a better sense of where the economy is heading.”
She added that “we expect things to level off for the rest of 2025 — not a big drop, but not much growth either,” as demand should start picking up as tourism rebounds and conventions return in full force.
On the retail side, Colliers Executive Vice President Deana Marcello said despite headlines amplifying the recent drop in visitors, “the reality is that markets are cyclical and Las Vegas has always experienced natural ebbs and flows tied to macroeconomic conditions and consumer spending.”
CoStar data showed current Las Vegas retail vacancy still tight at 5.1%, as regional and national chains seek out space in high-traffic areas like the Vegas Strip.
“From a capital markets perspective, Las Vegas continues to attract institutional and high-net-worth investors across all asset classes, drawn to the market’s continued growth trajectory and favorable tax environment,” Marcello told CoStar News.
Marcello noted the Vegas region still holds global appeal as a top destination for sports and entertainment, combined with a rising population, diversified job growth and a tax environment still considered pro-business. Las Vegas has significantly raised its entertainment and sports profile in the past five years, with the opening of the high-tech Sphere concert venue and the expansion of pro sports including the NFL and Formula 1 auto racing.
Several developers began betting on rising demand for sports, entertainment and retail in the gambling capital, along with more hotel rooms, before the recent downturn. The most high-profile project in the works is Bally’s planned mixed-use stadium and resort complex, planned for the 35-acre site that formerly housed the Tropicana hotel. Bally’s plans include a $1.5 billion Major League Baseball stadium for the relocating A’s, along with hotel towers with 3,000 rooms and a casino.
That development also includes a separate planned 2,500-seat entertainment space and 500,000 square feet for retail and dining. A Bally’s statement said the project is expected to begin construction in the first half of 2026.
“Las Vegas is one of the most important markets for food and beverage, entertainment and retail in the U.S,” Michael Hirschfeld, vice chairman at brokerage JLL, which was hired by Bally’s to spearhead retail leasing at the development, said in the statement. “The extended hours of operation in the market yield some of the highest sales per unit in the country.”