Business:

The Plaza is first local hotel to offer free bag service to the airport

Customer service agent Jessie Cleveland checks his computer at the Bags Inc. branch in the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas Wednesday, November 14, 2012. Bags recently opened the airport baggage service at the Plaza, which is free to Plaza guests.

When guests check in to a Disney Resort hotel in Orlando, Fla., they automatically get their suitcases delivered free from the airport.

Bags Inc. negotiated the deal with the Orlando resorts to provide a value-added service to the thousands of families who attend Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme parks. Bags Inc. offers luggage delivery and remote check-in services at more than 200 hotels nationwide.

Now, the Disney model has arrived in Las Vegas.

The Plaza downtown recently became the first hotel in Southern Nevada to offer guests free delivery of bags to and from McCarran International Airport. Other hotels offer a similar service but charge a fee.

“The biggest challenge we have is making sure guests of the Plaza know about it,” said Roz Santangelo, who oversees Bags’ operation in Southern Nevada.

The Plaza is one of six Las Vegas resorts that contract with Bags. The others are the MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Harrah’s and the Riviera. Check-in counters for outgoing bags also are available at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the McCarran Rental Car Center.

The service is available to passengers who fly Southwest, Delta, United, American, US Airways, JetBlue, WestJet and Virgin Atlantic. Santangelo said the company’s goal is to add more properties and airlines to the list.

The Plaza, which a year ago completed a $35 million renovation, began offering the baggage service Oct. 1. Details of the contract were not disclosed, but the Plaza’s agreement with Bags is based on hotel occupancy.

Santangelo said the hotel’s proximity to the downtown business district makes the service useful to businesspeople flying out of town, even if they aren't staying at the Plaza.

“You don’t have to be a guest at the Plaza to use the service,” she said. “People who work downtown in the government centers and the courts can use our remote check-in service by dropping their bags at our counter at the hotel. They can then spend the rest of the day working and can go straight to the airport to their flights without worrying about checking their bags.”

The standard service costs $10 per bag. VIP service that delivers bags to a final destination address costs $30 for the first bag, $40 for two bags and $50 for three to 10 bags. Customers requesting that service have to make arrangements at least an hour before their flight time. Bags will be delivered within four hours of arrival.

“It’s great for large families with strollers, car seats and suitcases or for youth sports teams traveling together,” Santangelo said.

Bags hopes to expand its free Disney service to other local hotels in the coming months and years, Santangelo said.

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