SOCIAL DISTORTION: Top Social Media Influencers Paid by Vegas to Promote Vegas

Posted on: July 20, 2024, 03:23h. 

Last updated on: July 21, 2024, 10:25h.

On Sept. 14, 2023 Florida couple Sam Patterson and Monica Gartner posted this video to their TikTok account.

In it, Gartner narrates a travelogue of their recent Vegas experiences, reviewing each one. This includes an ATV experience (a “10 out of 10”), the SW Steakhouse at the Wynn (“another 10 out of 10”), and Cirque du Soleil’s “The Beatles LOVE” show at The Mirage (“also 10 out of 10”).

What the video — liked by 36,900 people — didn’t reveal was that all those 10-out-of-10 experiences were provided for free in exchange for all the gushing.

In addition, even though Gartner claimed in the video’s opening that “you know you have the world’s most amazing husband when he literally flies you to Las Vegas for the ultimate date night,” their flight and hotel stay were also comped.

Ad Hock

Headed to a casino resort, restaurant, or show because of a rave video review on social media? You may have been unknowingly “influenced” by a paid advertisement.

That’s because many of the best-known social media influencers are paid by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) to promote the Strip to tourists, without disclosing this fact to their followers.

Between 2022 and 2024, according to figures first obtained and reported by KLAS-TV/Las Vegas, the Strip’s tourism board paid a whopping $2.2 million to over 240 social media influencers. That money came mostly from revenue the LVCVA received from room taxes imposed on hotel rooms.

While the LVCVA still pays the R&R Partners ad agency to create Las Vegas TV and radio commercials (including the “What happens in Vegas…” campaign), these traditional media channels no longer reach as many young people as social media does.

Money Talks

The $2.2 million averages out to just over $9,000 in tax money per influencer. However, the biggest money undoubtedly goes to those with the biggest audiences. (Dollar amounts for each influencer were not disclosed in the figures.)

In addition to Sam and Monica, the 240 influencers on the LVCVA’s payroll include big names such as media personality Heidi D’Amelio and R&B singer Jason Derulo.

Derulo, who has 58 million TikTok and 36 million Instagram followers, was one of six influencers paid to post about Vegas during this year’s Super Bowl.

According to KLAS, his payday included a stay at a King Tower Suite at the Encore from Feb. 9-12, two luxury hospitality seats for the big game, ground transportation to and from the airport and Allegiant Stadium, and an undisclosed talent fee.

The full list of 240, published here, also includes local social influencers such as Jennfer Gay, a former Wynn Resorts employee who now posts fulltime to 1.6 million TikTik followers under the name @vegasstarfish. Gay was paid for a video she posted on June 2022.

While Gay labeled that video as part of a “paid partnership” in its description, most social media influencers, including Sam and Monica, do not disclose sponsor relationships. The LVCVA doesn’t require them to, and neither do any of their social media platforms.

And it gets even worse. In February, Perez Hilton revealed to the City Cast Las Vegas podcast the names of influencers who actually manage the social media accounts of the restaurants they review.