Recommend November 2013 - (Page 84)

This is the place for the connoisseurs of high fashion with boutiques that range from Miu Miu, Tom Ford, and Louis Vuitton, to Hermes and Dolce & Gabbana. Chocolate...Prada...tapas-what more could a visitor to Vegas ask for? Cirque du Soleil, of course, and ARIA has a new one on its roster, "Zarkana," which Yousﬁ describes as "a visually stunning modern acrobatic spectacular," adding that it will leave theatergoers "breathless." Oh yes...there are the rooms, more than 4,000 of them, and, which, Yousﬁ points out, "greet" guests as they walk in. "Light ﬁlls the room, the curtains automatically part to showcase the spectacular city or mountain views, and the TV turns on to display a list of automated controls for guests to personalize," he says. We didn't have a single complaint about the spacious and comfortable 520-sq.-ft. Deluxe Room with dual closets we called home during our stay, and service was top-notch and friendly from check-in to check-out. Rates for ARIA range from $129 to $799. For non-gaming clients, recommend the all-suite Vdara, with 1,495 rooms and which is physically connected to Bellagio and adjacent to ARIA. travel agents, there's some incentives in it for you The LVCVA is offering a special reward points program for travel agents that's an extension to the Cash in on Vegas booking incentive. The program allows retail travel agents to have the opportunity to accrue points for every room night booked in Las Vegas. Through July 31, 2014, travel agents may submit eligible bookings online at trackmylasvegasbookings.com. Bookings must include hotel accommodations bundled with air or land only in Clark County, NV, and travel must be completed by Aug. 31, 2014. For each valid room night booked, each travel agent will accrue 100 points in his/her program account. The points can be redeemed for accommodations, show tickets or activities provided by select merchants. "Travel agent customers are valuable to Las Vegas," says Jimenez. "They book further in advance, stay longer and spend more money while they are here." ● getting away from the glitz with tauck Not everyone solely hits the Strip when they go to Vegas. In fact, Art Jimenez, sr. director of leisure sales for the LVCVA, says that visitors shouldn't miss the outdoor experiences like Hoover Dam or Red Rock Canyon. To explore the destination's great outdoors, you can book your clients with Pink Jeep Tours Las Vegas, which has launched the Red Rock Canyon with Rocky Gap Adventure Tour that includes a scenic drive and off-road tour, and even an optional horseback ride. Of course, still others who visit the area only want to take in the great outdoors. Tauck, for example, uses Las Vegas as the ﬁnal destination for three tours highlighting the region's national parks: the 8-day America's Canyonlands; the 10-day Spirit of the Desert: The National Parks of the Southwest; and a Tauck Bridges family tour, the 8-day Red Rocks & Painted Canyons. "The southwestern U.S. is known for its wide, open spaces and for being home to a number of national parks, including Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands and more," says Tom Armstrong, Tauck's corporate communications manager. Armstrong adds that Tauck does assist clients who want to spend a few days in Vegas after their national parks tour. "We'll assist them with hotel reservations and we'll provide them with a complimentary airport transfer on their day of departure." (800) 788-7885; agent.tauck.com Archived related articles (available on recommend.com/magazine/ issue-archive): Hail Caesars! (October 2013) contact information ARIA Resort & Casino: arialasvegas.com Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority: lvcva.com or lasvegas.com/travel-professionals tour operator intel MGM resorts vacations monograms "One of the most fascinating aspects of Las Vegas is that it is a city that is constantly changing," says Melissa Backus, director, destination strategy and supplier engagement-domestic, The Mark Travel Corporation. "The excitement of continuous re-invention and rapid growth has helped Las Vegas achieve 39.8 million annual visitors." She goes on to say that travel agents should book with MGM Resorts Vacations because they have a choice of major airlines; they can book up to eight people and four rooms in one reservation; they can take advantage of the "Book Now, Pay Later" with the Vacation Payment Plan: and they offer the "best Las Vegas hotels & casinos": Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur or Circus Circus. "MGM Resorts International believes in re-investing in their properties to continually make their properties better," she adds. (800) 360-7111; mgmresortsvacations.com According to Jennifer Halboth, director of channel marketing for the Globus family of brands, "For travelers looking to stay close to home, Las Vegas isn't usually a very long or very expensive ﬂight. It's a quick little jump to a vacation oasis." She points out that there is so much to see and do, "much more than is available in a typical hometown region," adding that "even if you can't afford to stay in places like Wynn, Vegas still affords you the opportunity to have a drink at the bar and take in the opulence." Monograms packages that include Vegas are for travelers who want a little Vegas at the beginning or the end of their Western vacation. For example, Monograms offers the 8-day Canyon Escape and the 10day Canyon Discovery, both of which begin and end in Las Vegas. "Monograms," says Halboth, "helps make an up-sell of a normal Vegas vacation to a more complete vacation easy for agents. We help the agent earn a lot more money than they would just booking a few hotel nights in Vegas." (866) 270-9841; monograms.com 84 november 2013 82-85 NA Vegas.indd 84 recommend.com 10/23/13 9:04 AM http://www.trackmylasvegasbookings.com http://agent.tauck.com http://www.recommend.com/magazine/ http://www.arialasvegas.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.lasvegas.com/travel-professionals http://www.mgmresortsvacations.com http://www.monograms.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend November 2013

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Generator
Tour Talk: Vistas by IsramWorld
Sailing the Danube With Viking (and a Teeneger in Tow)
AmaPrima
Bhutan: The Eternal Kingdom Beckons
The Greening of the Caribbean
The Saint Lucia Travel Agent Specialist Program
Merida: Gateway to the Yucatan Experience
Nicaragua Now
Las Vegas Embraces the Future
Tasmania: A Devilish Destination
Zimbabwe: Southern Africa's Comeback Kid
Georgia: Off the Radar

Recommend November 2013