DETROIT (Michigan News Source) — Visit Detroit took its tourism pitch to Paris last month, while some small lodging operators question whether the marketing they help fund brings paying customers through their doors.
Visit Detroit partnered with the Sept. 19 Techno Parade in Paris and sponsored a float. According to Legal Newsline, the cost of participating could range from $150,000 to $300,000.
Small hotels pay, but who benefits?
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As Michigan News Source previously reported, the Private Property Rights Institute (PPRI) estimates that small lodging businesses contribute roughly $10 million annually in mandatory tourism assessments to the five Michigan tourism bureaus examined in its report.
PPRI, a nonprofit organization that advocates for private property rights, argues that large hotel chains receive the greatest benefits and wield disproportionate influence over how the money is spent. Small operators, the organization says, receive little in return and have limited input.
Visit Detroit, formally known as the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, is an independent nonprofit that promotes Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties as destinations for tourism, conventions and business meetings.
Its website lists a 3% assessment on hotels and motels with 35 or more transient rooms as one of its funding sources, along with membership dues.
A Paris float, but bookings back home?
The Paris event highlighted Detroit’s techno music heritage. For small lodging operators, however, the question is whether that international exposure translates into overnight guests.
“What connections have we had with France?” one Wayne County hotelier, who spoke anonymously, told Legal Newsline. “They’re not coming here.”
The hotelier also questioned the return on mandatory payments that help support the bureau.
“We have to front the bill,” the hotelier told Legal Newsline. “We pay all of these taxes. Act like a franchiser, but you aren’t bringing in any direct bookings.”
The criticism echoes PPRI’s broader argument: Small lodging businesses help finance tourism campaigns without receiving the same benefits as larger convention hotels.
Whitmer’s overseas travel also draws scrutiny
International promotion has also drawn scrutiny at the state level.
The Center Square reported that Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s six-day trip to Europe in June cost approximately $180,000, including expenses for her delegation and advance personnel. The outlet obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
Whitmer’s office described the visits to France, Belgium and Luxembourg as an investment mission aimed at strengthening business relationships and attracting jobs. The delegation attended a defense and security conference in Paris.
The spending raises a similar question: What measurable return do Michigan businesses receive from overseas promotion?
