MGM CEO Hoping CES 2022's January Return Will Be ‘at Full Scale’

MGM Resorts found it “encouraging” that CES “just announced they’ll be back in January” (see 2104280023), said CEO Bill Hornbuckle on a Q1 earnings call Wednesday. “Hopefully, they come at full scale,” he said. “With any luck, if people get more comfortable with the meeting business and the social distancing gets relaxed, I think there’s a chance, a slight chance, early 2022, we could start seeing 90% occupancies.” MGM’s Las Vegas properties reached 73% occupancies in April, he said. MGM, as Nevada’s largest private employer, continues to work with local leaders “to safely bring large-scale events” to Las Vegas, said Hornbuckle. “With the larger groups expected to return at scale in 2022, our business in 2022 and 2023 is on pace with pre-COVID levels,” he said. The company expects airlines operating into and out of McCarren airport will reach 93% of pre-COVID passenger capacity in June and 99% in July, including “very little, if any, international travel,” said Chief Operating Officer Corey Sanders. CTA said about 1,000 companies had committed to CES 2022 exhibit space, with more signing up continuously, but it didn't offer show attendance projections. About 4,400 exhibitors and 175,000 attendees participated in the last physical CES in January 2020.