Detroit, MI

Key Highlights

Hotels 260
Total Sleeping Rooms 39,128
Committable Meeting Rooms* 76
Largest Exhibit Space 2,400,000 Sq. Ft.
Largest Ballroom 27,200 Sq. Ft.
Average Hotel Room Rate USD $91
Average Daily Meal Cost USD $56
Average Weekly Car Rental USD $337
*Maximum for a single hotel

Detroit, MI Meeting Planning Overview

Welcome to the Detroit Meeting and Event Planning Guide, written with meetings planners in mind. With over 30,000 hotel rooms and one of the largest meeting centers in the Midwest, Detroit is a notable location for any meeting or event. The COBO Center, Detroit's premier convention location, offers 2.4 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space, stunning views of the riverfront and a convenient location near the majority of Detroit's most visited attractions. Also nearby are over 30,000 hotel rooms at luxurious properties such as the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, the 2nd tallest hotel in North America with 72 floors and 1,246 guest rooms.

Detroit offers the advantage of affordability, especially when compared to cities of similar size. Numerous incentive programs are available that reduce the costs associated with conducting out-of-town business. Northwest Airlines offers discounted airfare for travelers to Detroit conferences and conventions. The COBO Center also offers discounts for select dates throughout the year.

From old to modern, cultural to recreational, Detroit event venues are numerous and varied. The elegant Fox Theatre, the 2nd largest theater in the nation, seats 4,800 people, while the 115-year-old, Romanesque-style Whitney Mansion enchants 10 to 400 guests for receptions or dinners in its historic rooms. Belle Isle Park, the largest island park in the United States, is an unexpected spot of green among the skyscrapers and highways of the city, with numerous event facilities such as the Detroit Yacht Club and Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. Guests can also enjoy the view of the entire city by water on the Detroit Princess, an authentic, five-deck riverboat that cruises the Detroit River. Plus, with options to dine or shop in Windsor, Ontario, situated right across the river, Detroit makes for an unexpected international destination.

Major hotel venues in Detroit include luxury casino properties, such as MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel and Greektown Casino; as well as upscale properties like the Hotel and Westin Cadillac and Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

Though industry has shaped much of what the city is today, Detroit certainly knows how to play just as hard as it works. Enjoy gaming at the area’s casino properties; browse among 100 galleries at the Detroit Institute of Art, which houses Vincent van Gogh's Self Portrait, the first Van Gogh painting on public display in the United States. Cheer on the NBA's Detroit Pistons, MLB's Tigers, NFL's Lions or NHL's Red Wings, as all four teams play for Detroit, one of only 13 cities in the nation to be home to professional teams representing four sports. A Tigers or Lions game can be enjoyed from the comfort of each team's new stadium, the 41,000-seat Comerica Park and 78,000-seat Ford Field. As a Midwest oasis to business travelers and pleasure seekers alike, Detroit's picturesque waterfront skyline houses a vibrant and diverse mix of attractions sure to entice any visitor.

Detroit, MI Area Destinations

Troy, MI Troy, MI

About Detroit, MI / Additional Info

Located in the southeast region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Detroit holds the title of the only major city in the contiguous United States found north of the Canadian border. Sitting along the Detroit River, this 143-square-mile city is visited by 15.9 million people each year.

Founded in 1701 as a military settlement for the French, Detroit flourished in the 19th century as its waterfront location made it a hub for shipbuilding and manufacturing. At the turn of the 20th century, Henry Ford helped further escalate the city's growth by forever transforming it into the epicenter of the American automobile industry. Ford's legacy pervades today, giving Detroit its nickname as Motor City and attractions such as the Henry Ford Museum and the Automotive Hall of Fame.

The explosion of the automobile industry also brought a wealth of jobs, leading to a population boom of more than 600 percent in the first half of the 20th century. Today nearly one million people reside in the city's borders, and more than four million live within the greater Detroit metropolitan area. Among U.S. cities where African Americans are in the majority, Detroit is considered an important center for black culture and heritage, Detroit serves as home to the Second Baptist Church of Detroit, the oldest African American church in the Midwest, and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, the largest museum of its kind in the world. Detroit is also the birthplace of Motown music, as Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in the city in 1959, the studio of which is now preserved in the Motown Historical Museum.

 
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