Airport shuttles

The lack of airport shuttles in Vegas came up in another thread. I know they have them for some of the neighborhood casinos. For example, I've seen them for the Palace Station, Red Rock, and Suncoast. The damn resort fees should pay for something! In Reno, all the major casinos have them, as far as I know.

The question for the poll is why don't the Strip casinos offer them?

I think that strip casinos have very heavy peak times (Friday evenings, Sundays) that prevent airport shuttles from being viable. You have to have the fleet to support that crush and hire the drivers to provide the service. Therefore, the cab remains for the casino the most viable option along the strip. In addition, i don't think the shuttles could support a schedule due to traffic at certain times of day.

You can argue that all hotels would have the same issue, but I think there are particular times of day and times of the week where the traffic would far outstrip the supply and you would have to support the shuttle with some kind of whacked out preference system based on reservations and status.

I think it is simply a case that the taxi companies will boycott any strip casino that does it. The taxi companies are very powerful in Las Vegas.

I also think it's the taxi companies, along with the paid shuttle services. For out-of-towners booking a bundled vacation, there's almost always a 2 way airport shuttle ticket in the package. But there's heavy (in my experience) enforcement of commercial pick-up and drop-off vehicle licensing at the airport as well; I've twice been in a cab that was stopped and inspected on the spot for the right to operate, which means they've paid some fee to do so. One of those was ticketed over $100 (can't remember the exact amount) for some licensing infraction. Never been present for that in Wash DC (where I've used 10x the taxi service, at least) or other large cities. Enforcement to that degree would indicate to me that the Port Authority and the legacy taxi/shuttle companies have a strong lock on the revenue stream and won't kill the goose by licensing the hotels to operate free shuttles. All speculation on my part.

Casino-hotel doormen make a fortune and often steer airport customers to limousines for a fee despite it being unlawful.

Only some taxicabs are airport licenses and drivers who turn in low trip logs (ie who do NOT long haul) can be punitively assigned to a non airport cab.

Some hotels do not WANT the people who would arrive by airport common haulage rather than private limousines. If you take the airport shuttle to the Venetian they drive you to a REMOTE door and make you walk past security.

Shuttle fees and expenses are divided between subscribing hotels but each hotel somehow always feels its getting shafted by the driver who steers room seeking customers elsewhere or goes first to a different hotel or something.

Many casinos operate a register in advance for our airport shuttle so as to maintain their own control rather than surrender control and costs to shuttle company that also operates limousines and so is not particularly inclined to make the shuttle fast or convenient.

Taxicab pickup at the airport is restricted. One cabbie was pulled over for picking up a wandering couple but he claimed it was a "prior arrangement" (which is legal). The cops will usually investigate further but since the couple was en route to a wedding chapel, the driver got away with his excuse.

Hotels have the right to ban a certain cab but only for 24 hours.

Venetian causes traffic jams by inspecting arriving taxicabs who must stop in designated security area.

I returned a rental car in May on a Tuesday and had to
go the airport to get the bus to the Strip.. It was a ghost
town. I saw a tumbleweed blow across the baggage
area. Shuttles love steady business, Vegas is all about
peaks.

Of course one of the bad things about the regular Airport shuttles that do serve the Strip from the Airport is you never know if you will be the first or the LAST person dropped off.

But one nice thing I came across last year was that the IP/QUAD has a dedicated shuttle bus service that doesn't make any other pick-ups at other hotels on its way to the Airport. You still had to pay about $ 7, but there was a regular schedule and it left the IP/QUAD pretty much on time.

Who said the Mob left Las Vegas?

The wise guys still wet their beak in the desert, same as always.

I voted other and here's the explanation.
My understanding is Strip hotels are not allowed to operate airport shuttles due to Clark County regulations.
This regulation is probably to keep congestion down at the airport.
Depending on timing of my arrival, usually pay for a shuttle to downtown hotels when I arrive, The Bus only leaves once an hour. If I have to wait 20 min or less, I take the Westcliff Airport Express bus to downtown. On the way back to the airport, I always take the Westcliff Airport Express bus from Downtown back to the airport.
Will be in Vegas Nov 2 for 5 nights, cant wait.