Limit on booked rooms

New limit on booking is 7 nights in a calendar month. I had an extra night and was forced to cancel the last reservation in November.
Odd limit.
Let them know if you disapprove. I have a feeling that enough criticism would get that policy changed.

I don't know why the El Cortez, a/k/a Hell Cortez, has made this sudden alteration to their room policy but I do think that most casinos are hesitant to comp long stays. When rooms are quite cheap the casino wants to avoid anyone hogging the rooms. I would have hoped a 10 day limit would have been selected but so be it.

As to your going elsewhere because of it, I would have contacted a host before cancelling the reservation.

The casino has to make a tradeoff between visitors and regulars. Many casinos think that after 3,4 or 5 nights, you are all "gambled out" and your probably just "playing tourist" after that.

In California, the hotels have a 30 day limit, otherwise they're considered apartments and the hotel has to abide by stricter laws. Maybe something like this is going on, but it wouldn't be just at EC if that's the case. Or maybe they want to keep those that would otherwise be homeless from taking up residence.

When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, an amazing
number of people lived in expensive hotels. It was
a lifestyle that went back decades, especially in big
cities. My mother worked at the biggest hotel in the
area and they had at least 15 people who lived there
year round.

A hotel guest is considered to be a transient not a tenant. Although in the People's Republic of Santa Monica anyone staying two weeks was considered a tenant. (Probably repealed by now).

Most casinos are hesitant to comp long stays simply because they feel you are going to have gone through your bankroll by the fourth day anyway and they want to comp gamblers not those who are partying.

I would have contacted a host via email so they have time to look thoroughly at your history and decide to waive that eight day surcharge. Some policies they can waive instantly, sometimes though they need to check with someone else first.

The casino's desire to fleece us more quickly and then move us out makes sense to me as their position.
I find it interesting that it seems to have gathered a good bit of sympathy from gamblers.
I think of it like the move by some to 6:5 blackjack, clearly in the casino's favor. So is JOB 6/5. I guess we need to start celebrating when casinos make moves to fleece us more efficiently.

The argruments that include reference to the rush of the homeless to the EC seem ridiculous to me.
I doubt that many homeless in Vegas are staying at the El Cortez. I play poker with some guys who have had periods of being down and out and they don't rent at the El Cortez. They get much better deals in nearby hotels. In fact, for $900 a month, a guy could rent a three bedroom apartment in Vegas with laundry facilities and skip the Cabana room sale price.

Or contrast this policy with the policy of the Stratosphere. There we can rent for 28 days. And rather than a resort fee of $25 being added after day 7, the resort fee of $7.50 is only charged for the first 5 days and then dropped while the amenities stay the same. So over a 28 stay, for about $1.30 a day I could have free access to the Tower, to the pool. I could have coffee every morning and watch the sun come up over Vegas.

Since I gamble at the El Cortez mostly on the live poker table, although the staff there knows me by name they have no way to follow me. I suggested to the hotel manager that perhaps my staying at the poker table for 10-14 hours a day might be enough to casino advantage to drop the $25 charge, and he said he would bring it up at the next meeting.
And while I know the argument that live poker players are not often seen as worthy of comps, I have two free nights this trip at Harrah's and another for $30 based only on poker play at Imperial Palace, O'Shea's, and Flamingo. They seem to want to attract me to play and their game are softer.

Meanwhile, I have scaled back my booking because the Gold Spike, a few steps away, has cheaper prices and no limits that affect flexibility in booking. I am down to just a week in October at the El Cortez, cheaper than my 8 days were in November, using their give away night offer as well. If Four Queens gives me free nights, I'll be reducing that stay, probably by 3 closer to the time. The video poker is better at the Four Queens. The Gold Spike gives free wifi and a pool and while they charge an $8 resort fee, when the room rates are $12, it is still a good deal.

Also, Vegas Club comes up as the LVA number one value this month with $16 and no resort fees mentioned. If those prices hold once the Plaza opens, they will be a great frugal choice as well with a nice pool amenity and an upscale casino right across the street.

And while the EC did make me cross the line and play some of their VP last trip, I'll invest in other venues for my 22 night trip in Oct/Nov. The whole thing soured me.

Oh, while I don't know of any homeless inconvenienced by this rule, I do know of six people who regularly booked at the El Cortez who were inconvenienced. One was from England and I am chagrinned to admit that my over the top praise for the EC Cabana room caused him to book his two weeks at the El Cortez rather than the Golden Nuggett. I doubt that will happen again.

Perhaps the EC will gain some money fleecing folks for just a few days and tossing them. I have not seen that their rooms were often booked up, but perhaps the new Freemont East Rennaisance will cause that to happen as the economy improves. Or perhaps all the folks on discussion boards who seem so attracted now to the EC since they have discouraged the homeless so efficiently will book their stays and take up the slack of the frugal folks who will be moving other places. At any rate, they no longer rate as a frugal, flexible choice for those of us who are able to go to Vegas for more than seven days.

>The casino's desire to fleece us more quickly and then move us out makes sense to me as their position.
Sure. Its sort of like the odds bet at craps. It is "free" but it drains your bankroll faster.
>I find it interesting that it seems to have gathered a good bit of sympathy from gamblers.
I think more its a matter of understanding and acceptance of reality than actual sympathy for the casino. There is no question that mid-level and high-level rollers have these policies promptly waived for them.

>The arguments that include reference to the rush of the homeless to the EC seem ridiculous to me.
I don't think anyone really thinks that will happen. There is a dividing line between transient and tenant and no hotel will let a guest come near to it. However, 8 days or 10 days is simply nowhere near this line and these casino policies we are talking about such as an eighth day surcharge have nothing to do with it.

>Or contrast this policy with the policy of the Stratosphere. There we can rent for 28 days.
>And rather than a resort fee of $25 being added after day 7, the resort fee of $7.50 is only charged for the first 5 days.
The Stratosphere is a jewel of value amidst a sea of low priced places that offer much less.

>live poker players are not often seen as worthy of comps.
I think its more they are seen as less worthy than casino patrons and certainly less worthy than slot machine patrons.
>I have two free nights this trip at Harrah's based only on poker play at Imperial Palace, O'Shea's, and Flamingo.
>They seem to want to attract me to play and their game are softer.
Exactly. Two free and one discounted nights. Not eight.

>I have scaled back my booking because the Gold Spike has cheaper prices and no limits that affect flexibility in booking.
Good for you. It might even be better for you to have gone to the Stratosphere despite its isolation but you are correct to go where you are well treated and appreciated. Some casinos have different market segments and a different focus. Not necessarily better or worse, just a different focus.
>The Gold Spike gives free wifi and a pool and an $8 resort fee, when the room rates are $12, it is still a good deal.
I'm glad you are rewarding the Gold Spike.

>I'll invest in other venues for my 22 night trip in Oct/Nov. The whole thing soured me.
It also made you look at alternatives and select different casinos, that is good. I think when dealing with policies that the person on the other end of the phone is not authorized to waive over the phone is useless. Its much better to use email since this gives him an opportunity to research your history, make calls to different departments and in general make up his mind before getting back to you. The casino may want to focus on the 3-5 night comps but they are probably willing to make exceptions.

Quote: AlanRRT

In California, the hotels have a 30 day limit, otherwise they're considered apartments and the hotel has to abide by stricter laws. Maybe something like this is going on, but it wouldn't be just at EC if that's the case. Or maybe they want to keep those that would otherwise be homeless from taking up residence.

Local laws vary. Residence Inn and the like are built over long stays. I had dinner at a hibachi place with a couple waiting for a lung transplant for the Mrs and they had been in town for almost a year with no end in sight until a donor came up. (ie: the right person died) My brother was in flight training with the USAF and was at a place for 180+ days. Oddly, he had to check out and back in twice because there was a limitation on "points" for long-term guests.

But I also remember an article about some woman living at a 5-star hotel in NY. She became a "tennant" in the 1930s and was still paying $5/night or so because of rent control.

They may just not want the long-term guest because the long-term guest does not play as much and they are a casino-hotel and not a hotel-casino. I do tell people all the time that you would be suprised at the number of people who need a mid-term (1-3 months) room because they are in town on a business project. A casino at a good price is a place I would stay even if I didn't play daily.

Quote: AZDuffman

I do tell people all the time that you would be suprised at the number of people who need a mid-term (1-3 months) room because they are in town on a business project. A casino at a good price is a place I would stay even if I didn't play daily.

I think I might have mentioned on here before that I spent just over a month at the Las Vegas Value Place extended stay hotel (mainly geared toward USAF families at that location) during a business project. I spent just under five months at the Bangkok Sheriton under similar circumstances.

I do think that the suggestion in this thread about contacting a host before cancelling might have at least been worth a shot. El Cortez is really big on encouraging repeat visits, as I understand it (never been inside the place myself). While I can also understand the logic in a hotel/casino possibly wanting to discourage long-term guests, El Cortez of all places seems like they shouldn't mind, if for no other reason, because the former owner lives in a hotel room there.

I understand Tuscany Resort had a good many long term workers there for awhile. So casinos have different views and sometimes are perfectly willing to make adjustments if given time to contact various executives for an okay.

I once flew into some place in Virginia or North Carolina or Somewhere for about a week. I had randomly selected a hotel based largely on the word Airport in its name but it turned out to be not near the airport, had no shuttle, no bar, no coffee shop, no room service. It was just one of these Extended Stay places with coffee and an ice machine. I've checked places more thoroughly after that. I've never trusted Travel Agencies after one of them long, long ago booked me into some sort of Motor Inn that was in a town that was just a gas station and a few fast food joints next to a freeway exit. Only the gas station seemed to be open past 8:00pm and there were no bars or nightlife of any sort but it was the closest hotel to the event I was attending. A hotel only four miles more distant but in the other direction from the event had a shuttle, room service, a nice restaurant, two nice bars and the town didn't close down at 8:00pm. The Travel Agent somehow just assumed that the closest hotel would be best. Never trusted travel agents after that.

Yeah, I think it's odd too. Most hotels have a 14 day limit. But you can book longer stays trough some booking sites online. But when you do that you're giving up the possibility to get a comped room.