Sands Pours $1 Billion More Into S’pore Resort and Cements Non-Gaming Effort
Marina Bay Sands Singapore: More non-gaming attractions. Photo: Las Vegas Sands
By Raini Hamdi, February 8, 2022
Marina Bay Sands Singapore will undergo a $1 billion reinvestment program, its biggest since the resort opened in 2010 at a development cost of $5.6 billion.
The plan will be carried out in phases over 2022 and 2023. All rooms and suites in Towers 1 and 2 of the hotel will undergo extensive upgrading, and new signature experiences introduced across the 55th floor of all three hotel towers. These are new luxury lifestyle offerings in fine dining and health/wellness, details of which will be announced later.
The latest reinvestment is on top of a multi-billion-dollar expansion expansion announced in April 2019 to develop a state-of-the-art entertainment arena, an ultra-luxury hotel tower and additional meetings and conventions space adjacent to the current resort.
The US$1 billion reinvestment for Marina Bay Sands is part of parent Las Vegas Sands’ ongoing aim to “elevate design and the customer experience ”across its properties in Singapore and Macau, said a company statement. In Macau, this includes an investment of US$2.2 billion in The Londoner Macao, Grand Suites at Four Seasons Macao and The Londoner Court.
The billions being spent are in keeping with a desire for more non-gaming revenues, especially in Macau, where reliance on gaming is too heavy.
Macau’s gaming revenue in pre-pandemic 2019 was $36 billion – six times that of the Las Vegas Strip.
Non-gaming components such as meetings, events, shows, entertainment and dining form on average just 5 percent of Macau casino resorts’ gross revenue, compared with 30 percent in Singapore and 50 percent in the Strip, according to experts interviewed.
Singapore was able to achieve a much higher non-gaming revenue than Macau because “the government pushed it that way,” said Ian Wilson, who worked six years at Marina Bay Sands and was senior vice president of non-gaming operations before forming is own business.
“The government pushed it that way and it’s the amalgamation of successful assets that gives non-gaming a critical mass in Singapore”, said Wilson, now CEO of Wilson Innovation Lab, a firm that helps tourism and hospitality firms transform with data, artificial intelligence and automation.
“Macau is a one-trick pony, whereas Singapore is multi-dimensional. The two integrated resorts [the other is Resorts World Sentosa] offer two different experiences. Moreover Singapore has developed cruising and is big in curating events and meetings,” said Wilson.
Singapore even uses the term “integrated resorts” rather than “casino resorts” to send across the idea the developments aren’t just about gaming. The acronym “IR” is now the default for casino resorts in Asia, which are mushrooming in the region.
Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting, said Singapore was “extremely prescriptive” with guidelines for developers, which is the key to achieve more non-gaming revenues.
“Gaming operators will always try the old bait-and-switch strategy to gain licenses, promising governments non-gaming attractions then deviating from the original plan or making half-hearted attempts to develop them,” said Lee, whose company advises clients on gaming development strategies throughout Asia.
Since it opened 10 years ago, Marina Bay Sands has welcomed more than 380 million visitors and helped attract more than 1,000 new meetings and events to Singapore, it said in the statement.
“We are firmly of the view that Asia will continue to lead as a primary driver of growth in travel, and Singapore will remain a top destination of choice,” said Robert G. Goldstein, Las Vegas Sands’ chairman and CEO.