Las Vegas' once robust economy is struggling, and "Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison thinks excessive hotel fees are contributing to Sin City's tourism slump.
"I've heard so many people complain. They go to a hotel, they go to check out, and there’s $500 in stupid fees on their bills — resort fees and parking fees and this fee and that fee," Harrison told Fox News. Harrison, whose Gold and Silver Pawn Shop isn't far from the Las Vegas Strip, also said he's seeing a noticeable decline in tourist activity.
The numbers back up his claim. Las Vegas' 3.1 million tourist visits in June were an 11.3% decline from June 2024, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority. The 78.7% average hotel occupancy rate for June was also 6.5% lower than the previous June.
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Harrison told Fox he thinks the declining numbers are part of a "COVID Hangover," which he believes contributed to local inflation. “For a couple of years, everybody was just making crazy COVID money," said Harrison. "The government was giving everybody money left and right. Everybody had tons of money to spend." He said that the influx of government money increased tourism in the short term but may have set the city up for its current troubles.
Harrison said many hotels and casinos responded to the boom by tacking additional charges, such as resort fees, onto the daily room rate. That may have boosted profits in the short term, but Harrison said those extra charges can be counterproductive when people start tightening their belts in a down economy. The downturn has arrived, but Harrison told Fox that many hotels and casinos are still charging extra fees, which he sees as counterproductive.
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“I think trying to scrape every single penny you can out of a customer, eventually, is going to turn your customer off," Harrison said. "I just think that the casinos on the Strip have to straighten out a little bit.” Harrison said that casinos must adapt to the new reality by offering a more consumer-friendly price structure if they want to survive.
He refers to that adaptation process as "financial Darwinism," and he sees it as essential to the health of any business. “You have to evolve or die. You have to give your customers what they want and not p— your customers off,” he said. “Customers need to be happy to be with you. And it’s just a general — it’s a good business plan.”
Harrison may not be a casino mogul, but he's proven he can run a successful business in Las Vegas. He's a second-generation business owner whose shop has been open for 37 years. Harrison told Fox that profits are up at his pawn shop, despite the citywide slump. He also said that he believes his success is the result of having a service-first ethos and an attentive staff.
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Despite the current downturn, Harrison is still bullish on Las Vegas' long-term future. “I've lived here almost my entire life. It’s the greatest city in the world,” he said. “You just have amazing shows with $100-million-dollar sets. I mean, no one can replicate that. There is still tons of value in Las Vegas.”
He also noted that Vegas has bounced back from numerous downturns. “Everyone said this town was going to fall when New Jersey got gambling," Harrison told Fox. "And then when Mississippi got gambling, they said it was going to fall."
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