The huge Consumer Electronics Show scheduled for the first week in January makes Las Vegas a travel nightmare. But 2022 may make Las Vegas a destination of rare travel deals for travelers ready to take advantage of last second deals. Let me explain:
CES
CES is the most massive individual convention in Las Vegas. Hundreds of thousands of conventioneers descend on Las Vegas the first week in January, locking up hotel rooms, crowding restaurants and sending prices through the roof. Just think of a room that typically runs for $100, suddenly going for $250 a night plus resort fees. Ugh, no deals here!
In fact the CES is so big, steadily outgrowing the convention space in Las Vegas, that it prompted a $1 billion expansion of the main Las Vegas Convention Center. The complex now boasts over 14 million square feet of exhibitor space and is the second largest convention venue in North America.
By the way, the first is in Chicago, but who wants to convention in Chicago in January?
In fact the event is so big that even with the massive space of the Las Vegas Convention Center filled to the brim with meeting rooms and massive product show floors that other convention and event venues are called in to provide space for secondary events. Even airlines scheduled extra flights to handle the expected rush into Las Vegas.
The bottom line is that in the typical year you do not want to visit Las Vegas during CES week. Rooms are hard to get and expensive, and traffic hits Los Angeles rush hour bad. In fact, after New Years Eve, bargain hunters stay away until around the 15th of January, because of the massive disruptions caused by armies of advance teams installing and tearing down the event and the massive product displays of 2,100 businesses big and small.
Then Came the Pandemic
In 2021, the pandemic canceled the physical CES and the massive event became an abridged Internet affair. Excitement in all corners rose with the thought of CES returning in 2022. Yet with mere days away before the event begins the Omicron variant is sweeping the country. Cases are rising all about North America but especially in Las Vegas and Nevada.
Tech companies are last minute canceling their physical attendance in Las Vegas. As of 22 January some of the big names already canceled include Amazon, Twitter, Pinterest, and Meta (the new name of Facebook). With pandemic worries more cancellations are expected, although the actual event itself is expected to come off. Each cancellation equates to hundreds, if not thousands of fewer people actually filling the rooms. Hotels are likely to find themselves with empty rooms last minute.
The Opportunity May Came
And that is the potential opportunity. Empty rooms mean cheaper prices and for people willing to travel in today’s world with a quick lead time then the 4th-10th of January may offer some last minute deals. How good the deals will be will depend on how more cancellations there will be and how fast deal hunters swoop up on the last minute rooms.
Monitor Vegas visitor websites like vegas.com or travel sites like Kayak or Hotels.com and if on New Years Day prices swoon, then be prepared to pounce.
The Vagabond Horizon 