Caesars planning to bring its brands to top vacations spots

Caesars Entertainment Corp. is putting its chips on non-gaming, global expansion.

The Las Vegas-based company announced Monday it is seeking hotel licensing and management agreements to bring four of its brands — Caesars Palace, Flamingo, The LINQ, and The Cromwell — to top vacations spots in the U.S. and abroad.

The announcement comes two months after the company struck its first deals to bring a Caesars Palace-branded property to non-gaming, international resorts. The company will manage a Caesars Palace in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Los Cabos, Mexico.

Las Vegas casino operators have over the decades built an entertainment portfolio that goes well beyond gaming. Now they are trying to leverage that experience to run properties in non-gaming locations at home and abroad.

Caesars last year hired Marco Roca, a former Hard Rock International executive, to head up its new Global Developments department to source international deals. The department has members based in Hong Kong and Europe, said Bob Morse, Caesars president of hospitality.

“We have a lot of projects we’re kicking the tires on and hopefully we have some new announcements,” Morse said by phone.

Caesars will seek to leverage its 55 million Total Rewards members to bring clients to its new destinations, said Mehmet Erdem, a hospitality professor at UNLV.

“Their loyalty members don’t just want to come to Las Vegas,” Erdem said. “Now they can market new locations to them.”

While Caesars Palace would fit well in resort destinations, The Cromwell, a boutique brand, could be opened in a wider variety of locations, including cities like New York and San Francisco, said Morse.

MGM Resorts International has also taken steps to bring its popular brands to international destinations. The company announced last year it would manage an MGM Grand and Bellagio in Dubai.

Contact Todd Prince at 702-383-0386 or tprince@reviewjournal.com. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.