Michigan’s regional diversity knows no bounds, from bustling big cities to northern resort areas to the remote Upper Peninsula. According to Kim Corcoran, general manager of Meetings Michigan, a growing number of planners are tapping into the state’s variety and wealth of venue options.
“Michigan has seen an increase in all types of meetings across the board, from corporate events to national and state associations and SMERF groups,” Corcoran says. “There has been an influx to both cities and resorts. They both offer unique off-sites venues and dining locations.”
Corporate and resurgent automotive groups come to Detroit and run corporate social responsibility projects, while the northern resort areas are popular with state and national associations.
“The four-seasons aspect of Michigan is a big selling point,” Corcoran says, explaining how spring, summer, fall and winter each offer entirely unique experiences for groups.
Since you’re never more than six miles from a body of water in Michigan, lake activities are a huge draw in the summer, from sailing on tall ships to canoe-based team-building programs. In winter, upstate ski resorts are a hit. Crystal Mountain can accommodate groups of up to 350 in its IACC-certified conference space, while Treetops Resort & Spa offers a 10,000-square-foot conference center plus lodge meeting rooms, and Shanty Creek offers 36,000 square feet of redesigned function space. Meanwhile, Michigan is famous for its colorful fall foliage, while spring brings new outdoor options.
Meetings Focus checked in with four meeting planners to get their take on recent events they have held in locales throughout the state and what makes Michigan a unique meetings destination. PageBreak
Michigan Society of Radiologic Technologists: Saginaw Lakes
Tim Wescott, manager, invasive imaging and cardiovascular services services at MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland, has been planning annual meetings for the Michigan Society of Radiologic Technologists for 15 years.
The society’s events are primarily educational, though Westcott says they occasionally include a few social functions.
The three-day event is held each year around the second week in September, beginning on Wednesday. Programming concludes on Friday evening, so attendees’ weekends are preserved.
There is also an optional golf benefit event the day before the conference officially begins.
“We look for high quality courses where they can get good deals,” Wescott says.
Attendance ranges from 350 to a high of around 600, comprising radiologic technologists and students from across Michigan. Speakers occasionally fly in from out of state, but it’s primarily a drive-to meeting and some nearby attendees even drive home each night.
For 13 years, the event was held at the Valley Plaza Resort in Midland. Two years ago Wescott moved the group to the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Bay City–Riverfront. Located on the banks of the Saginaw River, the property is “nestled right in the city” Wescott says. It is within walking distance of the Delta College Planetarium and various restaurants.
The building that houses the nearby Bay City Antiques Center opened in 1873 as a hardware store serving the local lumber and ship-building industrie. It now features more than 100 dealers of antiques and collectibles.
“The move [to the Doubletree] has turned out to be hugely appealing to attendees,” Wescott says. “After 5 o’clock, the folks are out walking around, strolling along the riverwalk or getting something to eat.”
The group has enjoyed getting to know the Great Lakes Bay area.
“We get them out of the building with a scavenger hunt that we started doing the first few years the meeting was in Bay City. It got people acquainted with the area,” Westcott says.PageBreak
Michigan Wetlands Association: Traverse City
In 2011, Traverse City hosted the Michigan Wetlands Association, a newly formed group under the National Wetlands Association. The city also hosted the organization’s national conference in 2004.
The destination was pre-selected by the national organization, because of the valuable opportunity it creates to blend the natural surroundings with the meeting’s content.
“Part of the appeal is the ability to incorporate wetland tours into the schedule,” says Mary Goodhall, the event planner with Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality.
Located in a deep inlet of Lake Michigan, the region is unique because of its numerous streams, forests, lakes and beaches.
“Northern Michigan and the Great Lakes region is a draw,” Goodhall says. “It’s especially appealing to people coming in from other states if they choose to extend their stay after the meeting.”
Her group ventures into the Pyatt Lake Nature Area and surrounding coastal wetlands, touring the biologically diverse ecosystem and going on outdoor excursions.
“People like the area a lot, and winery tours are always popular,” she says.
There is also a large farm-to-table culinary scene.
Goodhall organized a combination kayak and brewery trip with Boardman Paddle & Pedal, sampling Michigan microbrews along the way.
The Wetlands group stays at the Grand Traverse Resort in late August or early September, when the weather is still warm and beautiful. The property offers 85,000 square feet of function space and 600 guest rooms.
“This is a group of naturalist-type scientists,” Goodhall says.
Another major benefit of working with the Grand Traverse is their ability to accommodate a variety of price points, she adds.
“This is a government group, so it’s not a big-budget event,” Goodhall says. “The resort really worked with us to keep it affordable and stay within our parameters.”
Other popular meetings properties include the 140-room Park Place Hotel, the Great Wolf Lodge, the waterfront Hagerty Center and the combination bed-and-breakfast/winery Chateau Chantal for executive retreats and board meetings. PageBreak
Michigan Credit Union League: Lansing, Detroit, Traverse City
As the event manager for the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL) for more than 17 years, Janet Ormsby has planned events all over Michigan.
“Including webinars and hybrid programs, our department probably puts on more than 100 events a year, 20 or so of which are in-person meetings,” she says.
The events range in size from 20 to 1,500 people, from strictly educational one-day affairs for credit union representatives to multiday weekend conferences with a variety of attendee and family activities.
MCUL rotates their annual conference between three locations: the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City and the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids.
“It’s a wide variety of properties,” Ormsby says. “Each venue creates a unique experience.”
Detroit provides an urban, downtown experience, families love Traverse City, and the stately Amway Grand Plaza recently updated the 1,000-person Ambassador Ballroom.
Ormsby often works with the city’s respective CVBs.
“They’re great resources for planners,” she says.
Off-site options that her groups have enjoyed in the past include Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle in Detroit, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the Dennos Museum in Traverse City, luxury Ovation cruises on the Detroit River and Nauti-Cat catamaran rides on Traverse Bay.
“A few years ago, we went to a Detroit Tigers game that was a huge hit,” she says. “The event sold out, and more than 300 people attended.”
MCUL’s government affairs conference for upper level managers is held in Lansing every spring at the the Radisson Hotel and the Andserson House Office Building, which is available to private groups when sponsored by a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. PageBreak
Communication Workers of America: Detroit
Jerry Schaeff organizes a no-frills meeting during the last week in October each year for the Communication Workers of America (CWA) labor union.
Schaeff works as assistant to the vice president of CWA’s fourth district, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. The district meeting rotates cities every year, and Detroit was the host in 2012.
It is a simple affair, with around 250 and no off-site events.
“Our attendees like to have everything in one place,” Schaeff says, pointing out that booking a union hotel is the group’s most important criteria during site selection.
They utilized the Motor City Hotel Casino, where all the rooms, function space, restaurants and casino are under one roof. The property features 67,000 square feet of meeting and conference facilities.
“We’ve also had a hospitality room on the 16th floor that was really neat,” Schaeff says.
The district meeting draws approximately 250 people from the surrounding states.
