DETROIT – After a year in which COVID affected the hotel industry, the first signs of life are showing.
Claude Molinari, president of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, said 20 conventions have already been booked for 2022.
“I see the demand for travel really growing over the next few months,” said Molinari.
READ: The Americans set another record in the pandemic for air travel
To drive this forward, the congress and visitor bureau aggressively markets immersive special short trip packages.
“For gourmets, there is an overnight stay where you meet a top chef and learn to prepare special dishes,” said Molinari.
The pit that COVID has brought the industry is deep. According to the Professional Convention Management Association. The United States lost $ 300 billion and $ 1 trillion worldwide.
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Timothy Tharp has owned business in Detroit long enough to remember how parts of downtown looked like a ghost town. He’s also seen the resurgence with new restaurants, hotels, and crowds since the city emerged from bankruptcy.
Then COVID-19 came along and people stopped coming. Tharp estimates that its three restaurants and bars have together lost $ 1 million since March 2020.
But now, as vaccinations rise and government-imposed lockdowns and restrictions are lifted, Tharp believes the coronavirus pandemic could be remembered as just another hurdle Motor City has overcome.
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