Atlantic City Takes Off

Atlantic City Takes Off

David Luber, President of Casino Marketing at All Inclusive Collection (AIC) Hotel Group is anticipating Atlantic City’s most exciting summer ever. Excitement is building as two new resorts prepare to open this June. With new resorts comes new mouthwatering restaurants and bars, beat-bumping nightclubs, luxurious hotel rooms, and  brand new Atlantic City experiences for all to enjoy.

The former Trump Taj Mahal, now Hard Rock will feature a 120,000-square-foot casino. Throughout the casino, you will find 2,144 slot machines and 120 table games. In addition to the casino games, Hard Rock also will provide 2,000 state of the art guest rooms, a number of food and beverage options throughout the property, and a 7,000 seat event center. That just begins the list of facilities to be experienced at Hard Rock.

Luber says, “Hard Rock has identified itself in the marketplace as much more than a gaming hall. It is a world class product that is hyper transparent in its brand commitments toward guest experience and total entertainment.”

Down the boardwalk a bit, Ocean Resorts Casino will be opening its doors this summer as well. The former Revel, now Ocean Resorts, will offer a 138,000-square-foot luxury casino, five swimming pools including a salt-water pool and a sun deck with cabanas. Guests will also find brand names like Top Golf and Wahlburger’s along the retail row within the property. A 90,000 square foot outdoor event space will offer home to events overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The two casinos will combine to restore about 6,500 of the 11,000 casino jobs that were lost since 2014 due to shutdowns. Luber is confident that the two casinos will thrive during the much anticipated “rebirth” of Atlantic City stating in an interview, “Both of these properties are extremely talented in leadership. I don’t think they could have picked better people to market and operate these anticipated resorts.”

Luber has spent his career working in both Atlantic City and Las Vegas. He is often approached with two common questions: Will Atlantic City survive? And will it ever be like Las Vegas?

According to Luber, “Because Atlantic City and Las Vegas are hospitality & gaming centric destinations, they often get compared. Both cities offer gambling, day-life, night clubs, music, dining, entertainment, and shopping. Yet, the one thing Atlantic City has that Las Vegas will never replicate or add-on, no matter how hard it tries, is a big beautiful Ocean and sand alongside of it. We call it “The Shore.” Now Try building that!”

“It is outfitted as a tourist haven – an original gaming destination before the expansion of casinos worldwide! It has history; showcasing the third tallest lighthouse in America (the Absecon Lighthouse). It has beach bars, boardwalks, water-ice, famous pizza & cheesesteak joints, shopping piers, hidden getaways, and shore towns that stretch nearly 30 miles.”

So why has McCarran International Airport Las Vegas reported an all-time annual high of 48.5 million airline passengers in 2017, breaking a 10-year-old record while Atlantic City is hugging nearly 1 million passengers in total. Why does Las Vegas tourism see nearly $10 billion more in retail spending? Why more conventions, more international travelers, more trade shows, more in every category?

Luber says simply – “Because you can get there.”

The direct economic impact of our global tourism industry, which includes accommodations, transportation, entertainment and attractions, are approximately 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars annually.

“A key piece to Atlantic City’s short term and long term success is accessibility.” Luber says, “Right now, almost all of Atlantic City’s marketing efforts are directed at Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. All of which are opening city (submarket) casinos & hotels. Those of which are being carefully designed with low overhead and succeed at catering to locals who once frequented Atlantic City more often.”

Making Atlantic City trips more easily accessible to neighboring cities as well as cities across the U.S. would be a game changer for the tourism in Atlantic City. More flights to ACY and direct access ground transportation would encourage visitors to come see all of the new and exciting opportunities happening this summer and in years to come.

Booking trends today show people spending more money on life experiences than consumer goods. They are up for spontaneous trips, travel to destinations as often as every one to three months. Travelers are now, more than ever, mixing business with leisure in the U.S. Statistics show that 43% of business trips are what people are calling “Bleisure” (Trekk Soft, 2017).

ABOUT AIC HOTEL GROUP

All Inclusive Collection – the brand that introduced the world’s first-ever all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels and Hard Rock-branded golf courses – is thrilled to announce its new company name, AIC Hotel Group. This name change serves as an indication of the brand’s commitment to diversify and expand its current portfolio to include EP hotels, and reflects the evolution of the brand as a more all-encompassing collection. AIC Hotel Group is exclusively contracted by RCD Hotels to spearhead the sales and marketing efforts for luxury resort properties in Florida, including Eden Roc Miami Beach Resort and Nobu Hotel Miami Beach, as well as throughout Mexico and the Caribbean, including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana (the world’s first all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel) in addition to seven Mexico properties including Hard Rock Hotel Cancun, Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta, Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos (set to open in 2018), Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Cancun (set to open in 2018), Nobu Hotel Los Cabos (set to open in 2018) and UNICO 20˚87˚ Hotel Riviera Maya, the first of a new luxury all-inclusive concept.