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The Algiers Hotel is one of a handful of small Strip properties that has survived in the shadows of megaresorts. The hotel's sign is seen here, next to the now demolished El Rancho. The Stratosphere can be seen in the distance. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. The La Concha Motel -- with the Riviera in the background -- advertises color TV among its amenities. Though the motel has managed to maintain high occupancy rates, plans are in the works to replace it with a new facility. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Guests of the Algiers Hotel don't have far to go for a dip in the pool. It's conveniently located just outside the rooms in the center of the property. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Small Strip hotels and motels, such as the Algiers Hotel, are popular with salespeople, Europeans and other travelers. A motor home is seen parked outside the 105-room hotel. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. The La Concha Motel, with only 350 rooms, is dwarfed by other Strip properties that have casinos, restaurants and other amenities. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. ROOMS FOR RENT Here are some of the options available for people who prefer small hotels and motels along Las Vegas Boulevard: - Algiers Hotel, 2845 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 105 rooms. - Holiday Motel, 2205 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 41 rooms. - La Concha Motel, 2955 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 350 rooms. - Laughing Jackalope Motel, 3969 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 200 rooms. - Tam O'Shanter Motel, 3317 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 100 rooms. - Thunderbird Hotel, 1213 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 92 rooms. -- SONYA PADGETT

Tuesday, March 06, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

THE STRIP: Limited Lodging

Smaller hotels and motels have a special appeal for some

A 1960s-era sign advertising color television is the first clue that La Concha Motel isn't like other Strip properties.

The motel itself is another.

The lobby looks as it must have on the motel's opening day in 1961.

On a recent Thursday, there are no crowds waiting to check into rooms as they do at Bellagio or even the Stardust. The front desk is a small affair and, if not for the lone woman standing behind it, one might mistakenly think La Concha is closed.

The slot and poker machines that have become so entrenched in every nook and cranny of Las Vegas are conspicuously absent at La Concha.

But despite all that -- the absence of a casino, a restaurant and other popular Las Vegas hotel amenities such as room service and a swimming pool -- this 350-room motel at the heart of the Strip has managed to eke out an existence surrounded by such neighbors as the Riviera, Circus Circus and others.

La Concha is one of a handful of small hotels and motels remaining on the Strip that survive mostly off of room revenue.

"When you've been here a long time and you don't have a big mortgage, it's not very hard to survive," said La Concha's owner, Fred Doumani. "But I wouldn't want to start out with a new motel today."

When La Concha opened, it was one of the bigger properties on the Strip. The motel had a casino until the mid-1980s and a strong repeat customer base. Now, with all of the megaresort competition, Doumani and the owners of other small hotels have to rely on a certain type of customer to keep the doors open. "There's quite a following with small hotels especially among Europeans," said Larry Kifer, owner of the 105-room Algiers Hotel. "They like the European flavor with the hotel built around the pool."

Salespeople, convention attendees and people who don't like megaresorts, those are the kinds of visitors who stay at small Strip properties. They stay in motels because they can park outside their rooms and keep an eye on their cars.

"(Small hotels) are not as crowded and I think you get more personal service," said Douglas DaSilva, owner of the Thunderbird Hotel. "I believe some people have a phobia of staying in the large hotels. It's a mixed bag of people in the world and not everyone is for megaresorts."

Occupancy rates for Las Vegas hotels averaged 89.1 percent last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, well above the national average of 63.5 percent.

"Between conventions and weekends, you have about 100 days a year you're not full," Doumani said.

The Thunderbird, a 92-room hotel built in 1976, averages 85 percent occupancy during the week and 100 percent on the weekends. On weekends, small places fill up with the people who can't find rooms elsewhere, DaSilva said.

"Las Vegas seems to have forgotten small properties can be successful. There are hotels throughout the world with no casinos that manage to survive only on room revenue. You can still do that," DaSilva added.

Even though small Strip properties are surviving, DaSilva said they will eventually disappear from Las Vegas Boulevard, between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road. Hotels such as the Thunderbird that are north of Sahara Avenue and newer properties along Paradise Road will continue to thrive as long as they're kept clean and well maintained, he added.

"I think some of the smaller (Strip) properties will be swallowed up because the property value is so high," DaSilva said.

In fact, Doumani is considering his options for La Concha because his overhead is so high.

"Property taxes are huge and power is expensive," Doumani said.

Then there are the miscellaneous costs such as the Strip beautification project. Each property along the Strip had to shell out a $1,000 per front foot to fund a new median with trees and foliage, Doumani said.

"I had to pay $295,000 for what amounted to five palm trees," Doumani said. "A large place can absorb that, we can't. We're probably going to knock (La Concha) down sometime this year. The land is more valuable than the buildings on it."

In its place, Doumani plans a boutique hotel, shops and condominiums. Those kinds of facilities would make better use of the property from a monetary standpoint, he added.

La Concha isn't the only place making changes. The Algiers will also be remodeled or even razed. With the exception of routine maintenance, it has changed very little since opening, Kifer said.

"We've worked on keeping the property in great condition," Kifer said. "We continue to look at opportunities for redevelopment."

Kifer said he has been approved to develop a 1,000-room hotel but hasn't been able to fund it because the eyesore that was once the nearby El Rancho scared investors off. He's confident that will change since the El Rancho is gone now.

Whatever changes are planned, Kifer wants to incorporate as much of the existing property as possible, since it harkens back to the Las Vegas of yesteryear.

"That's something we constantly hear," Kifer said. "It's a piece of old Vegas. The place has a lot of history."