MGM Resorts, which operates a host of properties in Las Vegas, is reportedly considering the introduction of "tiered seating" fees at restaurants located at the company's hotels.
This would mean diners would have to pay extra to sit at the restaurants' best tables—like the ones next to windows perhaps.
Word that MGM is contemplating such a change comes from a recent note to investors by Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli, who wrote, according to gambling industry news outlet CDC Gaming, that MGM is mulling over "new revenue-generation strategies" at its casino resorts, which include Strip mainstays such as Aria, the Bellagio, the Cosmopolitan, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and others.
"One of these potential paths [to revenue generation] would be tiered seating in restaurants," per CDC Gaming, "where customers pay a fee for a specific seating area or table in a restaurant, much like an airline seating up-charge."
Note to corporations everywhere: When you are considering a policy change that reminds anybody of how airlines do business, for the love of God turn back.
This search for new ways to make money comes, Casino.org notes, "as a shift toward digital operations eats into MGM’s revenue from brick-and-mortar casino" business. The company has already hiked up resort fees and parking fees at its Strip hotels—most recently in December, when some mandatory charges reached a whopping $55 per day at certain MGM properties, including the Bellagio.
It's unclear how exactly tiered seating at the hotels' restaurants would work. As of this writing, media reps with MGM Resorts haven't responded to our request for comment.
Many observers assume that guests would likely have to pay more for tables with the best window views.
Such charges aren't entirely unheard of in Vegas.
As SFGate points out, the Eiffel Tower restaurant at Paris Las Vegas (a Caesars Entertainment resort), charges $40 per person—which does not include any food or beverages—for a guaranteed spot at a table overlooking the Bellagio fountains (pictured above). And the Strat’s rotating restaurant, Top of the World, charges $25 per person to guarantee a window table. And that doesn't count toward a required minimum of $55 spent per guest.
Of course, those restaurant upcharges arguably come with views of something special. The concern among critics of MGM's possible change is that every window table could soon come with a surcharge.
Reactions to the tiered-seating idea on social media have been opposed to put it mildly. We struggled to find a post without swear words.
Oh wait, here's one. On Reddit, user @jhussong91 writes, "It’s generous that they even call these 'strategies.' there are no new ideas or new offerings, the strategy is just to price gouge every way possible."
