Virgin Hotels Las Vegas President Cliff Atkinson, a veteran of the hospitality industry who stepped into his current role about four months ago, said the property near the Las Vegas Strip is treating Formula One as it’s “coming out party.” Tuesday, November 13, 2023.
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 | 2 a.m.
In August, Cliff Atkinson, a longtime leader in hospitality, stepped into the role of president of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, which was formerly the Hard Rock Hotel and is part of Hilton’s Curio Collection.
With two major events on Las Vegas’ calendar — Formula One’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in November and the Super Bowl in February — Atkinson didn’t have a lot of time to settle into his role.
Last week, when the Las Vegas Sun sat down Tuesday with Atkinson at Virgin, Formula One guests had already begun arriving ahead of the racing weekend, and an array of cars could be seen on display around the casino floor.
The excitement of the race was infectious and, despite the headaches created by preparation for the inaugural race, beneficial to the community, Atkinson said.
“This would normally be a quiet week the week before Thanksgiving,” he said. “But I am sensitive to the community and I just ask everyone — let’s wait and see how it worked.
“But I can tell you from MGM’s earning calls, Wynn’s earnings calls and what we have on our books — we know it’s a significant economic event … It’s also something the market has never experienced before. ... This is a global event.”
Here’s more of our interview with Atkinson:
As someone who loves Las Vegas and gaming, what about Virgin Hotels in particular was so appealing to you?
Two things that came to mind: One was the physical assets … when you walk around, you see the rooms, the quality, the amount of money that was put in — $300 million into the guest rooms and spaces.
I love the physical property. It’s also really spread out. We have beautiful outdoor grounds — you would never build this today. So we have these very unique opportunities.
And then the second thing, the most important thing, was the people. You have people who’ve been here since it was the original Hard Rock, you have employees who have been here 25-plus years — Day One, they call themselves. And I felt immediate responsibility to them, as well.
So those are the two things. An asset that really, really works and has great things — the first Nobu outside of New York, Kassi Beach. We have a lot of bells and whistles that I think people just don’t know about yet. And great people delivering great service. That’s why I took it.
What sets Virgin apart from other Las Vegas properties, from its slightly off-Strip location to the amenities you just mentioned?
Physically — geographically — it is a monster property. But we’re as close to the 50-yard line of the Strip as Mandalay Bay is. So we need to prove that and tell that story. I love our proximity, plus (we’re) five minutes from the airport.
You do have this ease of access to the Strip and the escape from it here. So I really do love that. So I think that’s different. I also think we’re pretty eclectic, like with our theater — the original Joint — we have rock, we have urban, we have country. We have a pretty wide range of activity here.
So, like this week being Formula One, the whole property is geared toward Formula One. Two weeks we’ll have the (National Finals) rodeo, and the whole place will feel like rodeo. We have Lainey Wilson, country music artist of the year, four sold-out nights here. And this will have a very country music, rodeo vibe. At other hotels, you’re one of a few other groups. Here, you’re the whole place.
The Super Bowl is another massive event headed our way in the next couple of months. How is Virgin going to be involved and make its mark in both the Super Bowl and other events in the future?
That’s what’s great about the city is, it continues to reinvent. So we have this first time-ever F1 event, and then within 90 days, the first Super Bowl.
Our role here at Virgin is to really identify the property for what it was known for historically — entertainment and fun. You can let your hair down here. It’s not corporate, it’s not stuffy and I think people are looking for that in Las Vegas.
How has the Virgin brand grown in Las Vegas since its debut nearly three years ago, and what about it do you think has really resonated with customers?
One — we opened in an incredibly difficult time in March of 2021. Omicron was coming back out, Resorts World had opened a month after or before, so the world just wasn’t ready for us. And so F1 is our coming-out party. It’s like — here we are again. And it’s our time to shine.
It takes awhile for properties to open and stabilize … It takes awhile to find your customer, do what you do well and build it up. It takes time. And now that we’ve been open for two-and-a-half years and we have this incredible event, this location next to Formula One (and the) Super Bowl right around the corner — it’s our time to shine.
That’s really important, not only for our investors and our partners, but for the employees and for the community, as well. We are something different and we need to continue to tell that story.
You’ve been here about four months now. What are some of your goals for the future, and what are you looking forward to about what’s on the horizon for Virgin?
Well, besides bringing entertainment back, (bringing) the vibe back.
I’ve been asked by many people about the famous Center Bar and — oh, yeah, we’re bringing that back, for sure. Without going back in time, I think we can bring in a very modern, contemporary, but have all the elements of what people loved about a Center Bar, back. We were the original.
And there’s also ways of elevating and evolving day life. Rehab was the first day life party ever in Las Vegas, and we had it here for years. So how day life evolves with, like one of our concepts, Kassi Beach — we’re very excited about opportunities like that.
There are other restaurants and (food and beverage) concepts that we’re looking at right now. And we’re looking at things that don’t exist in the market and doing things a little bit differently.
But we have a lot going on. Our new show that just launched — Lady Like, literally two or three weeks ago now. Continuing marketing that, and telling people that it’s here. That’s new. And so, we have a lot of those opportunities. So in 2024, I’m excited about just moving the property forward, launching new food and beverage concepts, launching new interactions with sports and entertainment and just really taking the property forward.
