Richard Branson buys Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Last Friday, Virgin Group announced that the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will become Virgin Hotels Las Vegas by the end of 2019. "This is a new era of positive labor-management co-operation at the Hard Rock Las Vegas", Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the union's secretary-treasurer said in a statement. 

It has been made official that the property will be renamed Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The hotel, on Paradise Road, just off of the Vegas Strip, will continue operating under the Hard Rock brand until it reopens as a Virgin hotel. Furthermore, the property's 60,000 square foot casino area will undergo a transformation during the renovation period, while Virgin's flagship Commons Club restaurant & bar will also be opened up inside the hotel, acting as a central gathering area for guests, and offering its traditional range of full-services.

"Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America have enjoyed flying to Las Vegas for years and I've always known that Virgin Hotels could thrive there as well". Branson, who has previously rappelled down a casino-hotel and got on a jet ski on the fountains outside the Bellagio casino- resort to promote his businesses, promised an "equally fun" event for the hotel's official launch.

"I'm really looking forward to painting the town Virgin red". "Following a strong 2017 in which we opened more than 70 Home2 Suites properties, debuting our first hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada is a major milestone for the brand", said Adrian Kurre, global head for Home2 Suites by Hilton. "To me, it's always been the ideal city for our next Virgin Hotel", said Virgin Hotels CEO Raul Leal.

It will likely be relocated closer to the more than 1,500 refurbished Chambers, Grand Chamber Suites, and Penthouse Suites. Last week, Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Group executives subsequently formalized their exciting announcement at an outdoor pool party held at the Hard Rock Hotel, with the fanfare including a DJ and female dancers hired by Virgin to add a bit of spectacle to the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Virgin group also has an ambitious plan to open up twenty Virgin Hotels in various prime cities across North America, with the move originally announced in 2010 as part of its business plan to acquire distressed businesses in the US cheaply during the economic downturn. Future locations planned for the brand include Dallas, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., and Edinburgh, Scotland.

According to the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents over 50,000 casino and hotel workers in Las Vegas: "Brookfield and Virgin Hotels have agreed to a process that will ensure management remains neutral as employees choose whether to unionize without management interference, harassment, surveillance, bullying, or litigation".