Affectionately known as the "D," Detroit has made a resurgence on the national convention scene in recent years. They have embraced their past adversity and have stood on the platform of "America's great comeback city." A large part of that resurgence strategy was to recruit high profile groups with influential meeting and convention industry decision makers to their city. Detroit strategically worked for a decade to host ASAE during a time of the year when weather was nice and when they could show off their new and improved infrastructure projects.

We have used the strategy of recruiting influential groups of decision makers effectively in Minneapolis as we hosted ASAE in the 1993 to tout the then new 821-room Hilton Minneapolis. We hosted ASAE again in 2004 to show off a recently expanded Minneapolis Convention Center. Minneapolis has also hosted gatherings of customers from such organizations as Meeting Professionals International, Society of Government Meeting Professionals, American Council of Learned Societies and Association of Chief Executives for Sport. We have yielded tangible benefits from hosting these types of industry events, just as many other cities have reported. And no doubt Detroit expects to reap dividends as well.

From a historical perspective, Detroit is where the very first convention and visitors bureau was formed in 1896. Its industrial and transportation prowess of the early 20th century organically led to gatherings of business people in that city and forward thinking leaders formalized the profession we now refer to as destination marketing.

According to my counterpart in Detroit, Larry Alexander, his city has seen more than $11 billion in new development since 2010. This includes a major makeover of that city's convention facility, Cobo Center. The nearly $300 million the city of Detroit spent on Cobo yielded a very functional facility that now has much more of a relationship with the adjacent Detroit Riverwalk. They even arranged water taxis as an alternative to the relatively short walk from Cobo to the main hotel.

Detroit was also able to draw upon their rich musical heritage in terms of the entertainment offerings for social functions, including multi Grammy winner Lionel Richie and other artists that were part of the Motown heritage.

Detroit's resurgence through intentional planning and policies is another real life example of how strong a tool the travel/hospitality industry can be for economic growth.

To be fully transparent, I follow the happenings in Detroit due in large measure to the fact that it's my father's birthplace and I still have relatives there. It's a city that was at the pinnacle as a destination and business center but has been on the decline for some years. But sentimentality aside, it is reasonable to assume that after the admirable showing that Detroit had for ASAE, that we may begin to see them show up more as a competitor. Congratulations to our Detroit colleagues for making the meetings and convention industry feel welcome. But we've got our eye on you, Larry.

Affectionately known as the "D," Detroit has made a resurgence on the national convention scene in recent years. They have embraced their past adversity and have stood on the platform of "America's great comeback city." A large part of that resurgence strategy was to recruit high profile groups with influential meeting and convention industry decision makers to their city. Detroit strategically worked for a decade to host ASAE during a time of the year when weather was nice and when they could show off their new and improved infrastructure projects.

We have used the strategy of recruiting influential groups of decision makers effectively in Minneapolis as we hosted ASAE in the 1993 to tout the then new 821-room Hilton Minneapolis. We hosted ASAE again in 2004 to show off a recently expanded Minneapolis Convention Center. Minneapolis has also hosted gatherings of customers from such organizations as Meeting Professionals International, Society of Government Meeting Professionals, American Council of Learned Societies and Association of Chief Executives for Sport. We have yielded tangible benefits from hosting these types of industry events, just as many other cities have reported. And no doubt Detroit expects to reap dividends as well.

From a historical perspective, Detroit is where the very first convention and visitors bureau was formed in 1896. Its industrial and transportation prowess of the early 20th century organically led to gatherings of business people in that city and forward thinking leaders formalized the profession we now refer to as destination marketing.

According to my counterpart in Detroit, Larry Alexander, his city has seen more than $11 billion in new development since 2010. This includes a major makeover of that city's convention facility, Cobo Center. The nearly $300 million the city of Detroit spent on Cobo yielded a very functional facility that now has much more of a relationship with the adjacent Detroit Riverwalk. They even arranged water taxis as an alternative to the relatively short walk from Cobo to the main hotel.

Detroit was also able to draw upon their rich musical heritage in terms of the entertainment offerings for social functions, including multi Grammy winner Lionel Richie and other artists that were part of the Motown heritage.

Detroit's resurgence through intentional planning and policies is another real life example of how strong a tool the travel/hospitality industry can be for economic growth.

To be fully transparent, I follow the happenings in Detroit due in large measure to the fact that it's my father's birthplace and I still have relatives there. It's a city that was at the pinnacle as a destination and business center but has been on the decline for some years. But sentimentality aside, it is reasonable to assume that after the admirable showing that Detroit had for ASAE, that we may begin to see them show up more as a competitor. Congratulations to our Detroit colleagues for making the meetings and convention industry feel welcome. But we've got our eye on you, Larry.