20 Tips to Plan Your Event at MGM Resorts

If you think of MGM as the massive emerald green hotel with the lions in front, across from New York-New York resort and facing Excalibur in Las Vegas, you only have part of the vision. MGM Resorts International properties also include ARIA, Bellagio, Vdara, Mandalay Bay, Delano Las Vegas, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur, Circus Circus, Beau Rivage, Gold Strike Tunica, MGM Grand Detroit, MGM National Harbor and Borgata. Each has its own personality and they run the gamut from family-friendly experiences to high-end luxury. If you’ve been considering an event at any of these locations, there are a few things you should know first.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative

These properties know how to make an impression and MGM Resorts Event Productions, their internal event planning department, can help deliver on your vision. They create personalized experiences for their clients. For example, they once created customized fabric of a specific image that the client insisted upon having on each dining chair.

2. Their Staff Are Your Staff

They can be as involved as you’d like with your event. They have over 125 employees with varied experience including designers, technical and AV expertise, movie production and set design, sculpting and fine art, costumes and drapery, props, digital design and architecture, comic books and illustration. Phew! Let your imagination run wild.

3. They Have Plenty of Flexible Spaces

The sites have ballrooms, hotel suites, special alcoves, and entertainment complexes that can accommodate any size and themed event. Explain your vision and they can make suggestions about the best space to make it happen.

On average there are 1,200 events at MGM Resorts properties per year. This is often 12 events per weekend, although the record was 27!

4. Splurge on Dream Lighting

If there’s one place that knows a thing or two about the importance of lighting it’s a casino, and MGM Resorts properties offer a variety of lighting options. So don’t be bashful to express your vision, no matter how outlandish it may seem.

5. Want a Little Extra “Wow”? Go for the Entertainers.

MGM Resorts Event Productions has access to many different types of entertainers. From whimsically costumed actors to finish off your theme to headliners to wow your sales execs, it’s easy to find suitable entertainment.

6. Ask the Event Design Department

The design department within MGM Resorts Event Productions has a reputation of using custom fabrications to add layers to the space. From rich tapestries to gauzy streaming ribbons, the fabrics add another dimension that completes your vision.

At the Gala de Los Puentes the venue sparkled with star light using LED Star Drop curtains along with custom-made, beaded chandeliers and beaded-light columns to accent the stage.

7. Ask About Seating

Hate traditional hotel chairs? Ask about alternative seating options. They have a host of cool lounge seating.

8. Size Matters

One of the things that makes these resorts so appealing is their ability to accommodate very large groups, both at the event and from a hotel accommodation perspective. Many of their Las Vegas properties are within walking distance of each other so hotel overflow isn’t a concern.

Las Vegas may be known for its gambling but because of the size of these resorts, it is also one of the top convention and conference destinations. Keep this in mind if you’re looking to book a large group. There are many organizations that come back year after year because these facilities are some of the only ones that can accommodate their size.

9. Build a Set

As mentioned earlier, MGM Resorts properties offer more than just hotel ballrooms. MGM Resorts Event Productions has helped with the coordination and building of elaborate sets. Dream away.

10. Splurge for the Outdoor Ambiance

Many of the resorts offer outdoor and indoor spaces. Even if you select an indoor venue, ask about curbside wow options. For some events, the MGM Resorts properties have started the theme on the sidewalk so your guests become engulfed in your “world” before they even walk in the door.

11. Make Time to View the Demonstration Space

MGM Resorts Event Productions (MREP) has a 110,000 square feet facility that houses its fabrication studio, demonstration space, and warehouse space, just minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. It’s worth a look.

12. They Keep an Inventory of Props

Sometimes you have a vision for decor or theme pieces but end up scrapping those ideas because creating them becomes too costly. At MREP, they have an inventory of props (12 bays to be precise!) so don’t forget to ask if you had your heart set on something, like a giant multi-colored, sparkly mushroom. They might just have it.

13. Need a Woodshop or Sewing Facility? Done.

In stock you are spoiled for choice with 7,500 pieces of linen available in over 100 styles, 4,000 plus costumes and accessories, 3,500 chair covers, 3,000+ drapes, swag, tents and lantern covers and 200 plus types of fabric.

Not satisfied? Need a set or custom fabric created? No worries. That’s in-house as well.

14. They Do Their Own Signage Printing

MREP does their own signage printing so you needn’t worry about a signage vendor.

15. Check Out Their Event Social Media Pages

These properties host hundreds of events annually and many have won countless awards. MREP has its own Pinterest, Vimeo, and Facebook pages that can help you do your research and brainstorming before contacting them.

16. Use Concurrent Special Moments in Vegas

Talk with the event staff about what else is going on at the time. For instance, Mandalay Bay sometimes shoots off fireworks. You can coordinate your event to coincide with one of the many cool things that happen in Vegas daily.

17. Go Green

If using a venue that is environmentally attuned is important to you, consider ARIA, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, or Bellagio. These meeting facilities have been awarded the “5 Green Keys” designation. To achieve this award the sites had to construct programs that incorporate environmental initiatives to minimize their negative impact on the environment including areas such as energy and water consumption, travel and transportation, food & beverage, handouts, garbage and other categories. There are only twelve 5 Green Key-awarded meeting spaces in the world.

18. Don’t Worry About Wellness

If you’re hearing more and more about chemical sensitivities among attendees, MGM Grand can accommodate you with its Stay Well® Meetings option. Their meeting spaces include a state-of-the-art air purification system, circadian lighting, and offers wellness services guided by Deepak Chopra and a menu created under the direction of the Cleveland Clinic.

19. Use the Planner Tools

MGM Resorts offers several online planning tools to help you make the most of your event. Their Sales, Convention Services and event planning teams are also comprised of certified meeting professionals.

20. Convenient Business Services

MGM Grand alone has two FedEx locations on-site to make it easy to coordinate your business needs. You can even rent a laptop from their locations.

In Conclusion

MGM Resorts International provides a host of different venue options in several cities. Their staff help to coordinate hundreds of events a year, from small board meetings to 17,000-person conferences and even top-name concerts. Whatever your vision, they probably have space for it.