It seems that loyalty program in Las Vegas have been a state of constant change over the past several years, including adjustments to Caesar Rewards, MGM Rewards, and MGM’s flip from the World of Hyatt to Marriott Bonvoy. Well, it isn’t stopping there, as the Venetian and IHG are parting ways now, too.
For the past fifteen years, IHG has maintained a licensing agreement with Las Vegas Sands company, affiliating the Venetian and Palazzo with the InterContinental brand, and allowing IHG members to earn and redeem points at the two. But, as the title of this post states – the Venetian and IHG are parting ways, which means that this ability is going away soon.
The Venetian and IHG are Parting Ways
Entered into in 2010 as a 10-year agreement between IHG and the Las Vegas Sands, the licensing agreement was subsequently extended another five years. If you’re doing the math, that means the relationship is set to end next year. That’s kind of right. Rather, the Venetian and IHG are parting ways at the end of this year, with the last day being December 31, 2024. Interestingly, TPG notes that IHG executives told them that members of their programs will continue to earn points on stays booked before the end of the year at the Venetian and Palazzo stays through March 31, 2025.
Now, to be clear, the Venetian and IHG are parting ways only in Las Vegas. That means that the Venetian Macao, the Parisian Macao, the Londoner Macao, and the Marina Bay Sands all continue to maintain their relationship with IHG.
While no reason is given for the break up, I suspect it has to do with a change in ownership. You see, Las Vegas Sands sold the Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas to Vici Properties and Apollo Management in 2022. In fact, it seems as if Sands has sold off all of its U.S. holdings. So, my guess is that Vici Properties and Apollo Management no longer wanted to maintain the relationship with IHG, which I’m sure costs them money, even though IHG states that provided just 0.1% of their total revenue, despite the two properties accounting for 0.7% of their total room inventory.
Final Thoughts
I’m not an IHG One Rewards program, nor have I ever stayed at the Venetian or Palazzo – though I did thoroughly enjoy Mott 32 on the campus – so the fact that the Venetian and IHG are parting ways doesn’t have any impact for me. Heck, I didn’t even know they were affiliated until writing this post lol! Then again, I never thought to stay at the Venetian or Palazzo, so that’s probably why. However, I’m sure it’s a major disappointment to InterContinental Ambassador members, as they will no longer be able to use their free weekend night award at either of these iconic Vegas properties.
Unfortunately for them, IHG has no other properties on the Las Vegas strip at all. Their remaining properties in the area are all lower tier Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, and Atwell Suites, all of which are off the strip or in Henderson. However, company don’t appear to be concerned that they’re losing what was their flagship Las Vegas properties and nearly 1% of their entire room inventory.