When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced in late May that she’d increase capacity for conference centers in June, Matthew Bryant’s phone lit up.
“Within a six hour period we had 125 people book rooms for their conventions. It was just like flipping a switch,” says Bryant, who is the General Manager at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
It’s quite the departure from last year, when Bryant says they lost 70% of their conference business. Now, the resort has had to turn away event planners because they overbooked with vacationers this summer.
Across the northwest lower region, conference and event tourism is looking strong this summer.
Some state pandemic restrictions were lifted this week, though indoor event spaces still are subject to 50% capacity limits.
Bryant says that works for the resort.
“If you look at 50 percent of our largest ballroom, that's still 500 people,” he says. “We can pretty much do every group that we’ve booked for the summer months.”
He says many of their events will be hosted outside within their 900-acre property.
Conference leaders say they have faith in safety measures and there’s increased interest in meeting people in-person.
