Ritz-Carlton to close down Las Vegas hotel

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will close its five-diamond property in Las Vegas this May, after the hotel struggled with a slide in demand and revenue.

"It's nothing the hotel did. It's a simple lack of business and a decline in the tourism," said Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman Vivian Deuschl.

The owners of the 348-room property, Village Hospitality, an arm of Deutsche Bank, will stop funding the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas day-to-day operations on May 2.

"That was the owner's decision and we reluctantly agreed to go along with it," said Deuschl.

Luxury properties have been hit hard in the past year and a half. Corporate travel and business from associations accounts for the bulk revenue of these hotels, but firms and groups have cut back on travel spending in the past year.

Village Hospitality, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank's German American Capital, acquired the hotel in a non-judicial foreclosure sale in February 2009.

"The unprecedented economic downturn has had a significant impact on the hotel's operations," said Deutsche Bank spokesman Scott Helfman. "As a result, Village Hospitality concluded that continuing to fund operations was no longer economically viable and consequently decided to close the hotel effective May 2, 2010," he said.

Ritz-Carlton is a division of Marriott International.

The hotel opened seven years ago and has played host to an array of celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Celine Dion and the late pop icon Michael Jackson.

The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas property employs some 350 people.

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