The lineup of famous folks from the Detroit area is as impressive and inspirational as the city’s transformative spirit.
Musicians including Smokey Robinson, comics such as Lily Tomlin, directors like Francis Ford Coppola, and authors including Jeffrey Eugenides all hail from Detroit and symbolically suggest the area has a story to tell, a song to sing and a great sense of humor even in the face of setbacks.
Today, Detroit, its suburban areas and nearby Ann Arbor are as poised for meetings as any artist about to take the stage or create their next great work. Planners interested in a sure bet for a successful Midwest meeting should tap into the area’s attractive vibe.
Detroit Area
Detroit is America’s great comeback city, according to Bill Bohde, senior vice president, sales and marketing, at the Detroit Metro CVB. He explains that the city’s downtown convention center is being completely renovated, and the area’s suburban convention center will unveil a new attached hotel later this year.
“Major changes are taking place here and we have a knowledgeable sales staff ready to show meeting planners all the possibilities for their meetings,” he says.
In downtown Detroit, the Cobo Convention Center is undergoing a massive $300 million renovation, scheduled for completion by the end of 2014, and in nearby Novi, the Suburban Collection Showplace will be attached to the 124-room Hyatt Place Detroit/Novi when the hotel opens in October. Additionally, the 200-room Met Troy Hotel plans to finish an expansion and renovation in 2014 that will include a 35,000-square-foot retail center and a 500-seat amphitheater.
Major meetings properties in Detroit proper include Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby and the new Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown Convention Center. Casino properties round out the portfolio and include Greektown Casino Hotel, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino Hotel.
Suburban properties are equally impressive and include the Dearborn-based Adoba Hotel Dearborn/Detroit, The Henry-Autograph Collection, the Dearborn Inn, A Marriott Hotel and Doubletree Hotel Dearborn; the Novi-based Sheraton Detroit Novi and Baronette Renaissance; the Romulus-based Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the Sheraton Detroit Metro Airport;
the Troy-based Somerset Inn and Detroit Marriott Troy; the Rochester-based Royal Park Hotel; and the Southfield-based Westin Southfield Detroit and Executive Meeting Center. PageBreak
Aside from the Cobo Convention Center expansion, major Detroit developments include Opportunity Detroit, a movement transforming downtown Detroit into an urban neighborhood. The plan includes street activation, housing renovations and additions, parking additions and other enhancements and wayfinding opportunities throughout the major downtown districts. Developments are scheduled for completion as early as this summer.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s first Aloft, the Aloft Detroit, is slated to open downtown in July 2014 with 136 guest rooms and banquet and meeting space.
Outside the meeting room, there are plenty of attractions in Detroit that double as off-site gathering spots.
Among the options are the Detroit Institute of Arts, Fox Theatre, Meadow Brook Hall, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum and the Henry Ford, America’s Greatest History Attraction, which comprises the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour.
“At Henry Ford Museum a group can host a dinner or reception right on the museum floor, among the millions of historical artifacts, including the Rosa Parks Bus,” Bohde says, adding that Greenfield Village’s Eagle Tavern, featuring a period menu and costumed staff, is a fun place to have an event. “And the Ford Rouge Factory Tour allows groups to host special events among the legendary vehicles, along with a private tour.”
Among the entertaining attractions in the area that garner high marks from visiting groups are the Motown Museum, where Motown greats such as Smokey Robinson, the Supremes and Stevie Wonder got their start; and the Detroit Tigers’ home, Comerica Park, where attendees will find special features such as a baseball-themed Ferris wheel, a carousel, a Walk of Fame and fireworks after weekend games.
Additionally, Detroit’s newest cultural institution, the Hellenic Museum, opened in April.
Unique artsy outings can be arranged at Glass Academy, a working artist studio that accommodates special events such as glassblowing demonstrations; and Pewabic Pottery, which was founded in 1903 during the Arts & Crafts Movement, and today is nationally recognized for its tile and pottery in unique glazes. Group tours and hands-on workshops are available.
Bohde adds that groups might also enjoy some retail therapy.
“Put on your shopping shoes and head to downtown Birmingham [a Detroit suburb] for a day of shopping at one-of-a-kind stores for apparel, home furnishings, gifts, toys and more,” he says, adding that the Somerset Collection in Troy has upscale shopping, Auburn Hills-based Great Lakes Crossing is the ticket for outlet shopping, Dearborn is the home of Fairlane Town Center, a mall, and greater Novi offers Laurel Park Place.PageBreak
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, according to Dennis Doyle, executive vice president of sales and marketing at the Ann Arbor Area CVB, is a top-tier destination at half the cost.
“Hotel rooms, except for premium dates, are in the $100 to $150 range, not $300 to $400 like most top-tier cities,” he says. “The same goes for meeting facilities and food.”
Main meeting facilities in Ann Arbor include the Holiday Inn Ann Arbor near the University of Michigan, which plans to finish a $5 million renovation this summer and is a Green Lodging Michigan-certified hotel; Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Marriott at Eagle Crest; and Sheraton Ann Arbor Hotel. Meanwhile, the 97-suite Towneplace Suites by Marriott Ann Arbor and the 130-room Hilton Garden Inn Ann Arbor, which has four meeting rooms, both opened in October 2012.
“You have the charm of a college campus but the cutting-edge technology of the most advanced high-tech areas, gorgeous venues and the ability for guests to wander the campus or walk safely in any area of the city,” Doyle says.
Some of the facilities groups can utilize at the University of Michigan include the UofM Museum of Art, a 93,000-square-foot venue located at the heart of campus with a variety of spaces for events.
The Big House, UofM’s football stadium, accommodates events in its Jack Roth Stadium Club, a large suite space, as well as directly on the gridiron, and the Rackham Building features an auditorium and amphitheater as well as plenty of open hall space and conference rooms.
If the group would like to enjoy an outdoor activity, they might hit the links at the University of Michigan Golf Course or kayak or canoe on the Huron River. There are also annual events to attend, such as the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, a boutique music and arts festival that over the course of three weeks offers dozens of performances, activities and exhibits, and the Ann Arbor Art Fair, which for more than 50 years has welcomed artists to display their latest works.
Indoor activities include Zingerman’s hands-on baking and cheese-making classes; shopping outings to Kerrytown Market and Shops, Ann Arbor’s historic market district; and Planet Rock, an indoor rock-climbing facility that caters to large groups.
Freelancer Carolyn Blackburn often gets motivated to clean her house when listening to Motown and other music from Detroit.
