Visiting Las Vegas is usually for a vacation. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. There are plenty of people who visit on behalf of a day job. Las Vegas is one of the most popular cities in America for conventions. Millions of visitors are in Las Vegas specifically to work (what happens at night is another story). Spending an entire day working in a hotel room isn’t easy. A hotel room might suffice for a few hours but it’s a bit cramped for an eight hour work day.
Co-Working Space at Venetian Las Vegas
In a previous life, I couldn’t work in a hotel room for more than a phone call or two. Today I can work anywhere but in the past, I was basically useless away from a desk. I can work anywhere but there are times when I prefer to work to work at a desk. This week The Venetian unveiled a unique co-working area. In conjunction with Zappos, they are now offering access to a first-of-its-kind co-working space. You’ll find it in the Congress Center just off St. Mark’s Square in the Grand Canal Shoppes between The Venetian and The Palazzo.
The 1,170 square foot pop-up lounge and workspace offers a place to recharge, work on the go with free wifi, or have a small meeting. The furnishings are from the world-famous Restoration Hardware and create a relaxed and comfortable residential feel. The co-working space is enclosed for noise management but is also transparent.
The purpose of the transparency is to invite other guests to come inside and take advantage of the amenities. Remember this workspace is inside of a mall at a casino, so it’s not totally private. Even if you’re not in need of workspace you can grab a seat and use the free wifi, charging stations, or use one of the four private phone rooms for calls. International tourists seem to think it’s okay to Skype in public. Maybe they’ll use these rooms for some of those calls.
The Co-Working Concept
“Our coworking pop-up taps into a growing trend of creating collaborative workspaces that can be used on a temporary basis in addition to traditional offices. Placing a coworking space in the heart of a meetings and convention destination combines two concepts that you do not often see together,” said Lisa Marchese, chief marketing officer at The Venetian and The Palazzo. “We know this unexpected amenity, with its comfort and functionality will appeal to our guests and help them maximize their time while they are here for a meeting or convention.”
“Coworking encourages the sharing of ideas and what better place to do that than in the middle of the largest meeting space in Las Vegas,” said Maggie Hsu, an advisor at Zappos. “Our team members will be staffing the lounge and will share the Zappos service philosophy of ‘delivering happiness’ with every ‘collision’ they make with a guest.”
I love this idea and hope to see other casinos follow suit. This pop-up co-working space is great for just about anyone visiting or living in Las Vegas. People looking for a place to work on the Vegas Strip should find it peaceful. Likewise, vacationers will enjoy somewhere peaceful to relax and recharge mobile devices. I’ll be visiting The Venetian shortly to see how this works as a mobile office.
Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.
