LVCVA signs contract to develop one-stop tourism website

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The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved a contract with LV.com LLC to develop a website to let visitors bundle and purchase tourism products from a single site.

The deal, approved Tuesday on a 10-2 vote, could generate an estimated $1.3 million revenue for the LVCVA over four years.

LV.com LLC is the parent company that will operate lasvegas.com, a sister company to the Las Vegas Sun and Vegas Inc, all owned by the Greenspun family.

Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the LVCVA, said a common complaint of visitors of the LVCVA’s visitlasvegas.com website is that it refers visitors to resort sites for information about lodging and attractions, but visitors could not bundle transactions into one purchase.

The lasvegas.com site, which will align with the LVCVA late this year, enables bundling and shopping cart purchases from a single site.

The LVCVA will receive 50 cents for every booking and attraction purchase made through the site.

Jim Gibson, president and CEO of VEGAS.com, said his company would operate the lasvegas.com site exclusively with the LVCVA and continue to operate VEGAS.com separately.

Southern Nevada resorts would have no obligation to list their rooms and attractions on the lasvegas.com site, but Gibson said his company would receive a $6-per-booking commission capped at no more than 8.5 percent of the transaction as an incentive for resorts to sign on. Most third-party booking companies require payment of commission by percentage.

The agreement is for 10 years with the LVCVA retaining the right to terminate the deal after the fifth year.

Board members Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Councilman Steve Ross opposed the deal, wanting a shorter term of two years.