Fuelster app aims to fill a niche, and your gas tank, on the Las Vegas Strip

Fuelster delivery technician Mario Gonzalez pumps gas into a car at the Luxor parking garage, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021.

Many drive-in visitors to Las Vegas are familiar with the rush to get on the road to return home Sunday afternoon, knowing that delays in leaving will translate to hours stuck in freeway traffic.

And many can attest to the helpless feeling of realizing their car’s gas tank is empty as they attempt to leave the casino parking garage. That means trying to find a gas station to fill up before hitting the road and more delays.

That’s where Fuelster, an application-based gas fill-up provider that offers on-site service, hopes to be of assistance. 

Simply leave your gas tank door open in the parking garage, and one of the service’s technicians will drive by with a fuel truck and do the rest. Fuelster recently entered into a marketing agreement with MGM Resorts International to provide their service at the 10 MGM properties on the Strip.

Fuelster

Fuelster delivery technician Mario Gonzalez pumps gas into a car at the Luxor parking garage, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Launch slideshow »

“I think this is a service that’s been needed for a while in Las Vegas,” said Lance Evans, senior vice president of sports and sponsorships for MGM. “With the large amount of drive traffic that comes here from California and Arizona, we thought this was a good opportunity for us to improve the guest experience.”

Based in Los Angeles, Fuelster works much like ride-share services that provide transportation or food delivery. Fuelster, though, is filling up your tank, and available 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The service is usually complete within 30 minutes of ordering, although Fuelster works in two-hour windows from order to completion.

“Stopping at a gas station is something that everyone hates to do,” said Bill Stirewalt, the Fuelster co-founder and chief financial officer. “Since starting in Las Vegas, the feedback we’ve received has been really exciting. We know Las Vegas is a commuter city, and we know a lot of folks from our home, Los Angeles, like to visit Las Vegas.”

Customers need to download the app and create an account. The customer’s location is pinned through the app, and the vehicle owner simply opens their gas tank door for the attendant.

The company doesn’t provide the service on private property without written consent or a partnership agreement like the one with MGM. And they don’t provide roadside assistance — so you are out of luck if you run out of gas on the 215 Beltway.

Of course, customers pay a premium about $.50 more per gallon, based on the latest price on the Fuelster app. There’s no membership fee and no tipping.

“Somebody can use the service just once if they’d like without having to worry about a monthly fee,” Stirewalt said. 

It’s a good time to enter the marketplace, as drive-in traffic during the pandemic — especially with air travel still slowed out of virus fear — represents a significant portion of the visitation numbers. A weekend stroll around any of the parking garages on the Strip is sure to reveal a treasure trove of California vehicle license plates.

In 2019, according to figures provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, just over 42 million visited the city. About one-fifth of those visitors — over 8 million — arrived from California.

MGM has plans to unveil a marketing campaign soon to tout the Fuelster partnership, Evans said.

“Our drive-in customers have always been important, but they’re even more important now,” Evans said. “They are the vast majority of visitors coming to town right now. Arizona and Southern California customers are very important to us, and for us to give them a more convenient way to visit us, that was our focus with the partnership.”

Fuelster is only available in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but Stirewalt said the company plans to announce more U.S. cities this year. Stirewalt would like to partner with other Las Vegas resort companies to help expand the service. 

“We can’t wait to hit other markets across the U.S.,” he said. “In Las Vegas, MGM has been the best partner a person could imagine.”

Business

Share