I used ChatGPT to plan a last-minute journey to Las Vegas

I usually love planning my journey all the way down to the little particulars. It is thrilling to determine upfront the place to eat and the right way to get there, and ensure I do not miss out on any must-see sights and sights.

Nonetheless, I not too long ago booked a last-minute journey to Las Vegas with a TPG colleague and located myself overwhelmed by the choices. Having by no means visited Sin Metropolis earlier than, I struggled to get my head across the sheer variety of eating, lodging, transport and leisure choices.

With little time to place collectively my weekend plans and with out feeling the identical enthusiasm or motivation I had for planning extra bucket-list holidays, I made a decision to roll the cube and put my religion in ChatGPT. With a number of prompts like dates, pursuits, finances and prebooked tickets, I let this more and more common private assistant do the analysis for me.

So how did it go?

Some gambles paid off handsomely, whereas others had been spectacular failures.

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What labored: Straightforward to learn, nice concepts on paper

ChatGPT requested a handful of smart clarification questions as I fed it some primary details about my weekend in Vegas and my private preferences, resembling the kind of meals I favored consuming and the way a lot I wished to spend on meals.

Inside seconds, it was in a position to lay out a neat, digestible and seemingly logical itinerary for my three-night journey. It additionally supplied to supply a map displaying the placement of all the pieces it had recommended, so I might see the place I might be going every day, which was a useful characteristic and one thing I hadn’t thought-about when planning my journey.

I confirmed my “AI-tinerary” to TPG’s managing editor of newsletters, Becky Blaine, who’s a Las Vegas skilled, upfront of my journey.

She referred to as the itinerary “stellar” for a first-time customer, so I believed I used to be off to a great begin.

What labored: Improbable resort comparisons

I wished to redeem Hilton Honors factors for my keep in Las Vegas, and there have been loads of choices obtainable. Primarily based primarily on pricing and places, I narrowed them all the way down to the Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World and the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas and requested ChatGPT to clarify the variations and which might be extra appropriate for my journey, as they price related quantities of Hilton Honors factors every night time.

ChatGPT did a incredible job of summarizing this rapidly, effortlessly and logically for me, with the principle variations being that the Waldorf Astoria doesn’t have a on line casino, has a quieter vibe and is a bit more upmarket than the Conrad.

As a first-time customer to Vegas, I sought the occurring, flashy on line casino expertise, so I opted for the Conrad, which proved to be an awesome selection. I particularly liked the huge array of meals and beverage choices obtainable contained in the Resorts World advanced, and the pool space was fantastically designed and actually stress-free within the Nevada sunshine.

I saved numerous time by combing via evaluations of each properties utilizing synthetic intelligence, and I’ll undoubtedly be utilizing this once more to match lodging choices sooner or later.

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What labored: Eating choices with appropriate options and costs

I had heard horror tales about how this once-affordable vacation spot had grow to be considerably costlier, and I used to be eager to not waste some huge cash on meals and drinks.

I used to be impressed with how ChatGPT was in a position to take my easy need and discover appropriate eating choices, additionally offering particulars resembling delicacies, estimated costs and places inside main lodges.

It additionally recognized a number of comfortable hour choices that I might discover if I wished to economize on drinks, together with Electra Cocktail Membership and Brera Osteria, each at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

We ended up going off-script at a few bars that weren’t on the itinerary, just because they “seemed enjoyable” as we walked previous. After I realized they served $15 beers and $30 cocktails (earlier than tax and tip), I knew I ought to have paid nearer consideration to my fastidiously crafted itinerary.

As my resort reserving included a Hilton Honors Diamond each day food-and-beverage credit score, I included this within the ChatGPT prompts, figuring I might avoid wasting cash every day.

My ChatGPT itinerary added a smart suggestion that I might seize a snack or welcome drink at Resorts World proper after checking in and use this credit score, as I used to be prone to be hungry after the lengthy flight from London.

This was a good way to avoid wasting money earlier than the weekend actually kicked off.

What did not work: No consideration of main occasions

I included a immediate that I had booked a rental automobile for the day to drive out to Valley of Hearth State Park for climbing. Distances, even between lodges, might be huge in Las Vegas, so I discovered a automobile to gather at Circus Circus Lodge & On line casino, which was proper subsequent door to Resorts World.

ChatGPT helpfully recommended it was a simple, brief stroll from the Conrad throughout the highway to Circus Circus. Though I had supplied the placement and date and time of amassing the automobile, ChatGPT’s analysis didn’t account for a 60,000-person music competition that was opening its gates on the similar time on the Las Vegas Pageant Grounds, which could be very near Circus Circus and the place many festivalgoers had opted to remain.

Consequently, I encountered absolute chaos, with 1000’s of music followers streaming via the resort, the resort automobile park (the place the automobile was) and close by roads. It additionally took considerably longer to drive out of and again into Vegas as there have been a number of highway closures, diversions and really heavy site visitors, which threw our schedule off at each the beginning and finish of the journey.

I want ChatGPT had been savvy sufficient to comprehend that this main occasion, which coincided with my particular location at the moment, would have an effect on our itinerary.

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What did not work: Suggesting the very best methodology of transport

From what little I knew, Las Vegas usually catches first-time guests off guard by making them assume they’ll simply stroll the size of the Strip, underestimating its precise distance.

Due to this, I requested ChatGPT to counsel the very best methods of getting round. It rapidly recommended utilizing a ride-hailing service each time I wanted to maneuver wherever, which did not appear to be essentially the most cost-effective method to spend the weekend. After I queried this and requested about strolling distances versus driving, among the choices had been a 15-minute stroll versus a 7-minute drive, and it appeared unusual that anybody would suggest ordering a automobile when factoring within the wait instances and the truth that with these big resort casinos, the designated ride-hailing service location was nowhere close to the foyer, nor my room.

For instance, after checking in at Conrad Las Vegas, I needed to get to Treasure Island Lodge & On line casino, the place I had tickets to a Cirque du Soleil present at 6:30 p.m. Friday. I am glad I ignored the preliminary ChatGPT recommendation to take an Uber or Lyft as a result of:

• It was a simple, flat 25-minute stroll (I might see Treasure Island from my room on the Conrad).
• The timing was throughout sundown in October, when the climate was good and the “golden hour” lighting spectacular, for my first-ever foray onto the well-known Las Vegas Strip.
• It was in the course of the night site visitors rush hour, when it would take a while for a automobile to reach on the resort, I might want to permit further time for site visitors (or threat lacking the beginning of the present), and the price of the journey throughout this peak time might be greater than regular.

As a substitute, I took a magical sundown stroll alongside the Strip, which was nice to stretch my legs after the lengthy flight.

Associated: Affable service, glamorous widespread areas and mediocre rooms: My weekend on the Las Vegas Hilton at Resorts World

What did not work: En route was not en route

The largest ChatGPT fail of my Las Vegas weekend was throughout our drive to Valley of Hearth. Whereas the state park itself is spectacular, extremely beneficial and effectively definitely worth the hour or so drive from town, I had requested ChatGPT to suggest someplace to cease on the best way again to town to seize some lunch after our hike.

Including prompts that I would love a themed diner expertise, it rapidly recommended Cablp, owned by well-known magician Criss Angel. This appeared like a good suggestion, however it wasn’t till we put the diner’s title into Google Maps after our hike that we realized it was most undoubtedly not “en path to town” as my ChatGPT itinerary had promised, however slightly a 20-minute drive in the wrong way.

We weren’t concerned with including 40 minutes of driving to get a burger, so we needed to discover another choice on the final minute that was truly en route again to town.

I am mystified as to why ChatGPT would think about a 20-minute drive past the vacation spot to be “en route.”

What did not work: Vegas is not the very best vacation spot for a structured itinerary

Finally, my greatest lesson from utilizing ChatGPT for an extended weekend was that Sin Metropolis wasn’t the correct vacation spot for a structured, hour-by-hour itinerary. Whereas ChatGPT supplied detailed directions, it proved too inflexible for a metropolis the place we threw warning to the wind.

After a number of free-pour-strength cocktails and a few wins on the roulette desk, we quickly forgot the itinerary in favor of merely seeing the place the night would take us.

Moreover, since I used to be touring with somebody who had briefly reviewed the itinerary however not contributed considerably to it, it did not make sense to continuously test ChatGPT for directions and power my colleague to observe the itinerary precisely; slightly, I might merely ask them what they most well-liked.

I count on that utilizing ChatGPT to create a journey itinerary would work higher for solo vacationers, who need not test in with what others need to do, in addition to for locations the place sticking to strict schedules is extra acceptable, resembling Tokyo or maybe Germany.

What did ChatGPT study from this expertise?

I loaded these ideas into ChatGPT and requested the platform to offer some commentary on my scorecard of what labored and what did not.

Here is what it needed to say:

• Thanks for the considerate debrief. The plan was scaffolding, not a script. We iterated round your constraints so the framework might flex whilst you improvised.
• Concerning transportation, the preliminary itinerary recommended utilizing a ride-hailing service. After you requested, it transformed rides beneath 20 minutes to strolling and pinned routes on a map, so you could possibly select stay as a substitute of defaulting to vehicles.
• On the Circus Circus pickup: actual‑time occasion detection (e.g., the music competition) wasn’t enabled until we had been requested to browse native calendars; truthful critique — I ought to proactively flag main‑occasion zones round pickup factors.
• On “en route” to Valley of Hearth: you requested a themed diner; selections are sparse on that hall. CABLP match the transient however was a detour; the map uncovered that. I ought to have labeled it clearly as elective with the gap famous.

Backside line

Positive, I in all probability might have squeezed a bit extra in and saved a number of extra {dollars} by following my ChatGPT Las Vegas itinerary to the letter, however I ticked off the principle gadgets and had an absolute blast for my first go to to Sin Metropolis.

I am eager to return, maybe subsequent yr, however I might additionally wish to discover extra of the outdated facet of Vegas subsequent time. Whereas it was decadent staying at Conrad and attending reveals on the glittering Bellagio Resort & On line casino and eating on the Venetian, I used to be charmed by the kitsch character of the likes of Circus Circus and Excalibur Lodge & On line casino, to not point out they might be considerably cheaper than the place I stayed.

The buzzing Fremont Road Expertise was very well finished, and bouncing across the Golden Nugget Lodge & On line casino and making a number of wagers Saturday night time was terrific enjoyable, even when my reminiscences are slightly hazy after the solar went down.

I might undoubtedly flip to ChatGPT for some help in placing collectively the journey subsequent time, however I would not be in search of hour-by-hour directions.

My greatest recommendation for Las Vegas is to roll the cube and float, and hopefully you may come up trumps.