In a tableau of opulence and grandeur that only the shimmering Las Vegas Strip can furnish, a notable partnership in the hospitality industry approaches its twilight. After a monumental 15-year alliance, the iconic Venetian and its prestigious sibling, the Palazzo, will bid adieu to their hotel licensing agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), effective as the clock ushers in the New Year on January 1.
Once intertwined destinies on the tapestry of Las Vegas’ rich offerings since October 2010, these integrated resort complexes stood as illustrious members of the IHG booking system, proudly bearing the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand—a global symbol of luxury and refinement.
IHG, a titan in the hotel industry, distinguished by its sprawling dominion of rooms across the globe, refrained from illuminating the reasons behind the uncoupling. Yet, under its corporate gaze, the dissolution is but a ripple on the vast ocean of its business, with minimal effect on the company’s formidable booking platform and a negligible blip on the financial radar.
Despite the imminent removal of 7,092 rooms—approximately 0.7% of IHG’s system size come 2025—the distinctive fee structure of this particular license allowed its financial contribution to whisper at just under $1 million, a mere 0.1% of IHG’s fee business revenue in 2023, and a net neutral impact on operating profit from reportable segments. Thus, spoke a statement released by the hospitality behemoth, heavy with corporate gravitas yet devoid of sentiment for the end of an era.
Coincidentally, this revelation unfolds in the shadow of another strategic shakeup, with MGM Resorts International’s announcement of the Delano’s transformation into a W hotel, thereby enriching its partnership with Marriott International.
Delving into the heart of this split, the Venetian and the Palazzo’s departure from IHG’s reservation network may be entangled with the complexities of ownership changes. The inception of the original agreement with IHG was courtesy of Las Vegas Sands. Yet, in a game of high-stakes Monopoly, this titan of the casino world relinquished the Venetian, Palazzo, and its namesake convention center in 2021 for a staggering $6.25 billion, passing the baton to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for operations while VICI Properties claimed the real estate.
As to who called for the curtain close on the IHG-Venetian alliance, speculation waltzes around the hotelier or Apollo. Notably, a previous accord struck by IHG and Sands was intended to endure until 2027 concerning three of the gaming heavyweight’s Macau-based hotels. However, those properties have since vanished from IHG’s digital listings like illusions on a Vegas stage.
The saga between IHG and Apollo is no fleeting affair. The year 2014 witnessed Apollo’s $459.52 million investment, measured in contemporary currency, for a collection of 18 European hotels from Ivanhoe Cambridge, each adorned with the InterContinental brand.
Beneath the neon glow, the fluid dance of partnerships in the Las Vegas hotel sector is an intricate choreography. Gaming magnates and traditional hoteliers, although of distinct realms, often find synergy in strategic alliances, weaving together their loyalty offerings and reservation systems. Yet the constant in this desert of chance and change is that casino and hotel collaborations, like the one between IHG and the Venetian, are mutable and destined to ultimately part ways.
As the narrative unfolds, Apollo keeps its cards close to the vest, leaving the world in anticipatory silence regarding the Venetian and Palazzo’s next dance partner in this ever-spinning roulette of Las Vegas alliances.
