Resorts World Las Vegas Makes Thousands Wait Up to 7 Hours to Check In

• Thousands of guests were forced to wait hours to check into Resorts World on Friday night
• A systemwide computer upgrade took more time than expected
• Resorts World is offering affected guests half off their next stay

Thousands of guests were forced to wait for hours to check into Resorts World last week and over the weekend, as a technical glitch caused the Las Vegas Strip’s newest resort to assign rooms manually.

“These are the lines of people being forced to wait for hours to check in at the NRL (National Rugby League’s) official hotel @ResortsWorldLV, three days after they were trying to blame a system reboot,” Danny Weidler, a sports columnist for the Sun-Herald newspaper in Sydney, posted to X on Friday.

“What a joke. Aussies travelling please pre book.”

A preplanned computer upgrade — reportedly designed to give the local desk more autonomy than the resort’s standard Hilton system had to offer — didn’t go as preplanned. It was scheduled to begin Tuesday night and end Wednesday morning, a typically slow period. Instead, it dragged on into the weekend.

“Resorts World Las Vegas recently implemented an upgrade to our booking and hotel technology platform,” is how Resorts World explained the situation in a statement to the press. “We experienced longer-than-expected delays in our guest check-in process due to an unforeseen outage related to this upgrade.”

A Resorts World of Hurt

According to Weidler’s tweets, NRL “avoided a PR disaster” by obtaining room keys for the actual rugby players in advance. On Saturday night. the USA Rugby League (USARL) Hawks played a men’s international match against the Greece Rugby League in Henderson, Nev., just outside Las Vegas. This pre-season exhibition game was tied into the official NRL Fan Fest, which takes place on Feb. 27 at the Fremont Street Experience. 

But the fans, crew and journalists were stuck waiting for up to seven hours to check in to all three Hilton hotels at the property — the Conrad, the Crockfords, and a Hilton. Non rugby-loving tourists were snagged in the quagmire as well.

After driving five hours from LA, Emily Palencia told NBC News she waited from 8 p.m. to midnight before finally getting a room.

“That was our Friday night, just wasted,” the 30-year-old special education teacher’s aide said. “It didn’t feel like a vacation anymore, just completely losing Friday night.”

The system upgrade was completed by Saturday, according to Resorts World, which is reportedly offering affected customers 50% off their next stay.

“We have thanked our valued guests for their patience and understanding during this time,” Resorts World said. “Our Guest Relations team has been working 24/7 to resolve any outstanding issues. We are committed to utilizing this new technology to enhance the customer experience going forward.”