Web sites and all that glitters: Downtown Las Vegas should know better
I adore downtown Las Vegas. Drinks are cheaper, the $1.99 shrimp cocktail still exists, unique entertainment can always be found and its businesses embrace a sense of community. Much effort and press have been given to promote the artsy and cultural Fremont East district. Mayor Oscar Goodman and his public relations consultants strive to make downtown appeal to tourists and locals alike by holding many ceremonies and events on location. Just as I’m hooked on good deals and a taste of culture, so are small business owners looking to start up by way of tax incentives. Fremont Street glitters with promise and effort for revival. Why then, don’t the Web sites belonging to downtown’s casinos and hotels reflect such effort? They all possess the same general errors.
Take the Four Queens Resort and Casino for example. The property is located smack-dab in the middle of tourist destination Fremont Street. Great location, right? There’s much opportunity to take in guests and gamblers from passerby. And there’s always money to be made from those brave or frugal enough to stay downtown despite of its bad reputation. However, there is unlimited potential and opportunity to reach people through their Web page. I mean, doesn’t Four Queens want to snag people before they tour Fremont Street? Even with the current economy, a Las Vegas hotel with a small capacity should still be booked to capacity on New Year’s Eve. I called the reservation desk. It’s not. And with the current Web site, I’m not too surprised.
When first entering the Four Queens site, a pop-up appears. A tourist searching for a place to stay for an upcoming vacation is probably instantly turned off, especially if he or she has no interest in the game Texas Hold ‘Em. ONE CLICK.
After discarding the pop-up, twenty moving images come at the potential customer at once. Seriously, I counted them. Search tabs, page dividers, text, logos, images of the hotel’s amenities all move. Very showy and expensive-looking. Very annoying. Even the links move and seem to emit strange sound when the arrow runs over them. Another pop-up appears and states, ‘download this video.’ Which video? More importantly, why? Discard that. TWO CLICKS.
A banner states that Halloween festivities begin October 2nd. Interestingly, it’s rounding the second week of November. Ignoring that, a customer simply has to wade their way through the moving images and find the ‘hotel’ tab on the left, which probably leads to room reservations. Or, once the eyes become used the video, they will be able to find an online reservations icon in the upper left corner.
THREE CLICKS. But wait. The page needs time to load. About eight extra seconds on high-speed internet. The site is cordial enough to communicate that it’s loading, though. Unfortunately, that is about all an average potential customer is going to want to handle. Forget about that shrimp cocktail. The tourist is going somewhere else, and probably not downtown. FOUR CLICKS and lost forever.
