Car company gets mileage out of new hotel

By Gary Gosselin
HPR Media Services

The luxury Westin hotel opened in December.

Detroit’s “new” airport is drawing attention in other ways besides its sudden surge in the leading customer satisfaction surveys.

It’s showing potential as a convenient and hospitable special-event venue, thanks largely to the recent opening of the new Westin hotel late last fall.

Toyota North America was one of the first to utilize the Westin’s meeting facilities, using it as the backdrop for a new-vehicle “ride-and-drive,” an event that allows media members to get their first significant look at new products. The location of such events — which in this case showcased the new Sienna Minivan — is considered very carefully both in terms of convenience and amenities.

About 60 people were in town for the Toyota gathering, including journalists and company executives.

And, in the eyes of John McCandless, Toyota’s national manager for Midwest corporate communications, Metro and Westin scored well.

“It was very convenient,” he said. “We had an entrance right from the airport and to the outside, a luxury hotel, and they had just opened the club lounge and we were the first people to use the club level. It was very nice. It worked out great. It was so convenient to everybody.”

Toyota had the ride-and-drive of the vans coordinated just outside the hotel in the morning, then some journalists joined Toyota execs on a flight from Metro to the plant in Indianapolis and back to the hotel and off to their next destinations.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of interest from both local companies and outside Michigan,” said Scott Stinebaugh, director of sales and marketing for the Westin. “The level of inquiries has tripled (in recent weeks). We’ve been booking more and more in the 30-day time frame, but also within the week. Bookings are going very well; people are starting to realize what they have available here now.”

The $85.1 million, 404-room Westin Detroit Metro Airport Hotel is owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Inc. The facility offers 28 meeting rooms, one ballroom, an e-ticket machine, three restaurants, a bar/lounge, a business center and a pool and fitness center.

Rooms include large work desks, high-speed Internet connections, in-room safe, private bar and in-room coffee service, and the highly touted Heavenly Bed system, which includes an all-white bed with pillow-top mattress, high thread-count sheets, down duvet and down pillows.

“We can accommodate groups from five to 500,” Stinebaugh said. “We have nearly 30 meeting rooms, so we can hold many meetings at the same time. So far, we’ve done a lot with the auto industry and a lot with pharmaceutical companies. A lot of people come in for legal business, depositions and there’s a lot of interest in holding sales meetings, like a regional meeting.”

Many of the meetings, he said, are self-contained. People fly in, do their business and maybe stay the night at the hotel, then fly out or perhaps attend other meetings off-site.

“The (Detroit Metro) Convention and Visitors Bureau just held our meeting at the hotel,” said Michelle Fusco, spokeswoman for the DMCVB. “We were so impressed, they delivered just such a good experience. This is a good addition to the Westin-Southfield, the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center and the Hyatt Regency-Dearborn.”

Not only does the Westin add capacity for rooms, Fusco said, but adds to the whole package for the Metro Detroit area, adding a new dimension for meetings and amenities to compliment the other facilities throughout the area.

“They can get pretty much everything they need right here,” Stinebaugh said. “This has been a kind of look-and-see year for the facility, especially with the auto show and a lot of people are and saying this would be perfect, not only for the auto show, but for other events, too,” he added.

“We definitely will use the facility again,” said Toyota’s McCandless.

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