Wynn Resorts Sets EBITDA Record for Las Vegas Property in Q2 2021
During its Q2 2021 earnings call, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said occupancy at its resorts continued to grow week-over-week during the quarter. He added that the strength across all segments was “quite apparent” from night clubs to hotel to restaurants and gaming volumes.
“We were able to achieve $133 million of EBITDA without international high-end play, which in the past had been almost 20% of our results and without conventions,” he added.
This trend continued into July when the Wynn Las Vegas experienced its single largest EBITDA for a month since opening in 2005. Occupancy rose to the mid-90s on the weekend and remained in the 80s during the week. But most importantly, Maddox said the resort focused on keeping its rate up and was achieving $500 ADR on the weekends. The company’s Boston property also experienced a record Q2 with each month stronger than the last.
Loyalty was another high point for the company with new sign-ups for its Wynn Rewards program up 70% in the second quarter compared to Q1 2021.
But Maddox doesn’t believe that Q2 2021 was a peak for the company. Instead, he thinks it’s a preview of what’s to come.
How so?
The pandemic has helped the company streamline its expense structure and better understand how to yield properties.
“The ability to generate significant EBITDA out of these assets is quite clear,” he added. “And as we see conventions come back and more international play from around the world, I am very confident that we will continue to see growth in Las Vegas and Boston.”
Group Bookings Return in August
When asked to give more color on what its event booking schedule looks like for the second half of 2021, Marilyn Spiegel, president of Wynn Las Vegas, revealed that August 2021 would be the first month the property would be “almost back to a normal run rate for group bookings.” Additionally, she noted that this year the Las Vegas property will have more group bookings than it has ever had before during the second half of the year.
As for 2022 and 2023, the company is above pace from where it was in 2019. Additionally, the ADRs are higher for 2022 and 2023 as well.
“So we feel good about that group business in addition,” Spiegel added. “The pace of leads has been also accelerated.”
No Labor Challenges Here
While other hospitality brands have been candid about their labor and staffing shortages, Maddox said Wynn is not having that same experience.
“The applicant flow that we’ve seen coming to our properties has been extraordinary,” he explained. “We've had a hard time interviewing people versus finding people.”
In fact, the company recently hired 500 new staff members for its Wynn Las Vegas property to maintain service levels.