IHG to cut ties with The Venetian Resort Las Vegas at the end of the year
IHG One Rewards members have a limited time to earn and use points at one of the most popular resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.
IHG Hotels & Resorts is ending its partnership with The Venetian Resort Las Vegas and The Palazzo at The Venetian Resort at the end of 2024. The license agreement, which has been in place for nearly 15 years, affiliated the two properties with IHG’s InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand — meaning it was also a great way for InterContinental Ambassador program members to deploy their complimentary weekend night benefit.
Even though the partnership will be no more in the new year, IHG One Rewards members can still earn points on existing bookings for stays through March 31, 2025. An IHG spokesperson notes the partnership is only ending with Las Vegas properties and that guests can still book other alliance properties at gaming resorts like The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao and The Londoner Macao in China.
IHG leaders noted during an earnings call this week that the nixed partnership in Las Vegas means a reduction of 7,092 hotel rooms — or 0.7% of the company’s total room count — from IHG’s overall network. However, the nature of the partnership means the company is losing a negligible amount of revenue from The Venetian complex in Las Vegas no longer being associated with IHG.
While details are sparse, one can’t help but wonder if this presents an opportunity for an IHG competitor like Hyatt to swoop in and become a new partner, especially in light of Marriott’s new dominating partnership in Sin City with MGM Resorts, which just this week announced a new W Hotels property slated for the Strip.
IHG leadership doesn’t appear to be losing much sleep over the deal winding down.
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“The legacy agreement is from 15 years ago, and we (are) a very different company from 15 years ago,” IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said on this week’s IHG third-quarter earnings call.
The company in the third quarter opened double the amount of new hotel rooms that it did during the same time last year. Further, the company’s pipeline of hotel rooms in development around the world is up 12% from last year.
It appears there will be more than enough opportunities to earn and redeem IHG One Rewards points around the world — just maybe not so much on the Las Vegas Strip.
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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
