The elevated area hosted by Hilton Grand Vacations returns for the Las Vegas Formula 1 race.
Premium hospitality at motorsports events as growing sector of sports business. For the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix set to take place in November, hotels along the street course pull out all the stops to lure fans. Hilton Grand Vacations provides an inside look at how they plan to do so.
If “location, location, location” ever held true for entertainment options in Las Vegas, when Liberty Media Corp. entered into an agreement to bring a Formula 1 race to Sin City, the hotels and casinos around the circuit would be the ones to reap the benefits. For Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), nestled on the south end of The Strip on Harmon Ave., they’ve jumped into the luxury hospitality space given the massive competition.
Renewing their option for a second year, HGV will once again, be an official partner with the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix, providing trackside viewing on over 400 feet of elevated space at the HGV Clubhouse.
Leaning into sports tourism is a growing sector. According to a UN Tourism report, tourism around sporting events comprises 10% of all world tourism. The report indicates that sports tourism is expected to grow at a rate of +17.5% between 2023-2030.
For Mark Wang, CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, F1 is more than some random sporting event to tap in to. In an exclusive interview with me for Forbes, he said Formula 1 is a passion where he’s attended 28 races around the globe dating back to 1982 when Las Vegas last hosted F1.
“We were very fortunate from a strategic standpoint sitting right on the track, and immediately, we pulled together the teams in our event group and our ultimate access group, and said, ‘Hey guys, I don’t know how much you guys know about Formula One, but it is a big international sport that’s become very, very popular here in the US over the last couple of years,’ Wang said. “So that in itself, gave us a really great place to position and figure out how we could, how we could benefit from it.”
Understanding that F1 appeals to an upscale audience, those enrolled in the flagship HGV Ultimate Access event platform allows those seeking a premium experience to tap into Formula 1 in style.
It’s a competitive space, that Wang and HGV understand. Since Hilton Grand Vacations works on a global membership model, it allows HGV to target members to come and experience Formula 1, if not for the first time, to come back again.
“I think [F1] really reaches a wide demographic profile right now.,” said Wang. “There’s a lot of segmentation, and there’s a lot of different experiences that you can you can buy into when you attend to an Formula 1 race from the hospitality suites that are part of the teams and F1 itself. Those are the ultimate hospitality suites. But then there’s other segmentation that’s going on around the track. So what we heard from our members last year was that they were thrilled to be there. They had never experienced a live Formula One race, and were blown away by the experience. That’s not easy to do in Las Vegas given the entertainment options. I’ve been a lot of races. I don’t know that I’ve been to a race that is as dynamic as the one in Vegas.”
So, what will Hilton Grand Vacations offer? According to HGV, chef-curated menus, top-shelf bars and exclusive entertainment, including nightly performances and interactive fan experiences.
The Elara Terrace, where musical performances will occur will see headliners including hip-hop artist Flo Rida on Saturday, Nov. 23. Starship, featuring Mickey Thomas on Thursday, Nov. 21, and country music duo Locash on Friday, Nov. 22. Popular Australian DJ Brooke Evers will also join the lineup playing DJ sets all three evenings.
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