Formula One hotel rates lower than in past, but Thanksgiving stays will delight

With consumer confidence jittery, especially after a record-breaking shutdown of the federal government, Las Vegas resorts have taken a measured pricing strategy into next week’s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix and for Thanksgiving stays the week after.

A Review-Journal survey of hotel prices for those two events showed that hotel stays during the F1 race won’t be as pricey as the past two years.

While resort companies generally don’t comment on their pricing strategies, it’s likely that uncertainties surrounding the 43-day shutdown and how it was affecting travel through major U.S. airports resulted in lower prices at hotels near the 3.9-mile course that includes the Las Vegas Strip.

In a survey of 161 hotels listed on Hotels.com conducted Nov. 11, the average price for rooms from Wednesday, Nov. 19, through Saturday, Nov. 22, was $194.04 a night. For 15 downtown Las Vegas hotels, the average for the same time frame was $106.67 a night.

There were 16 hotels priced at more than $500 a night, but 43 priced at less than $100 a night.

Priciest hotels

The priciest rates were posted at resorts typically considered luxury hotels. Among the price leaders were Wynn Las Vegas and Encore ($1,095 a night), The Venetian ($751 a night), the Four Seasons ($750 a night), Palazzo ($749 a night), Bellagio ($588 a night), Caesars Palace ($559 a night) and Fontainebleau ($508 a night).

With resort and other fees, the four-night stay at Wynn and Encore would cost $5,215 with the total price at The Venetian costing $3,656, and Palazzo, $3,647.

Other expensive stays could be booked at the Waldorf Astoria at CityCenter ($578 a night), Vdara ($574 a night), The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas ($559 a night) and W ($504 a night).

The most expensive stays in downtown Las Vegas during F1 were available at The English Hotel ($267 a night), Circa ($187 a night) and the new AC Hotel Symphony Park ($127 a night).

On the inexpensive end, during the survey time frame, rooms at Oyo were selling for $30 a night, meaning a total outlay with fees for the entire stay would be $340.

Strip property Circus Circus was selling rooms for $31 a night and the least expensive downtown hotel was the Downtown Boutique at $55 a night with Gold Spike offering rooms for $58 a night.

Five locals and downtown properties were listed as sold out during four days of Formula One: Durango, Red Rock Resort, the California, Main Street Station and the Fremont.

Thanksgiving outlook

The price outlook for Thanksgiving was the exact opposite of F1 with even the most luxurious of Las Vegas resorts going for bargain prices.

The Review-Journal’s survey incorporated a different four-night span: Wednesday, Nov. 26, through Saturday, Nov. 29. The survey of 166 properties determined the average price to be $126.81 a night and on 15 downtown Las Vegas properties, the average was $84.33 a night.

Only two of the resorts had prices more than $500 a night and 69 — 42 percent of them — offered prices under $100 a night.

The most expensive places to stay during the Thanksgiving holiday are the penthouses at Palms Place ($1,021 a night), Vdara ($542 a night), Durango ($349 a night), Crockfords at Resorts World Las Vegas ($306 a night) and Four Seasons ($300 a night).

Of downtown’s 15 properties, only three had prices of more than $100: The English Hotel ($179 a night), Circa ($166 a night) and AC Hotel Symphony Park ($127 a night).

Some of the high-end Las Vegas properties were offering bargain rates, including some under $100 a night.

Wynn Las Vegas and Encore offered rooms for $267 a night with Bellagio at $251 and The Venetian at $191.

Among the under-$100 offerings were Mandalay Bay ($94 a night), the Hilton at Resorts World Las Vegas ($93 a night) and MGM Grand ($93 a night).

Several Strip resorts were offering bargain prices during the four days, including Luxor ($29 a night), The Linq ($34 a night) and Horseshoe ($42 a night).

The cheapest of the cheap: Oyo ($15 a night, with all-in fees costing $272 for four nights), Silver Sevens ($18 a night) and Circus Circus ($19 a night).

Last week, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill cited consumer uncertainty about the national economy as the main reason visitation has lagged in 2025 and uncertainties about flight scheduling certainly has had a role in recent bookings for F1 and Thanksgiving.

Aviation experts are optimistic some of the doubt will subside by the time visitors start making their plans for Wrangler National Finals Rodeo travel to Las Vegas in December.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.