Distribution Business Articles

Well, I'm just getting back from CES 2008 in Las Vegas and I have a lot of interesting companies and products to start covering next week.  One of the things that caught my attention out at the show was the amount of buzz from many different people and companies, complaining about the high costs of Las Vegas hotels.

During CES, hotel prices are usually at least $200 per night at hotels that typically charge $50 and $400 - $600 per night at hotels that charge $150.  The show lasts 4-6 nights depending on how much pre-show activity you go in for and 4 nights at $500 per night per person in your company adds up fast!

It would seem that this charge (as opposed to the CEA booth fees which can start off in about the $5k range and rapidly work their way up too very high rates) really got under people's nerves this year and there are rumblings that the show may try and move to a different city sometime soon.  I suspect that there are not too many cities that can handle a show the size of CES with 150k visitors coming in just for the show, maybe Los Angeles or San Francisco. 

The complaints did seem a little odd.  These prices have been this high for several years.  Its hard to tell if the reason for the recent complaints are due to a sagging economy, weariness of paying too much for hotels for several years running, or maybe everyone is just upset that the chameleon didn't really deliver a great auto insurance quote with Geico or something.  I suspect that its highly possible that this complaining might even be some sort of concerted campaign to pressure hotels to drop their rates during CES next year if they want to keep the business at all!