Strengthening social connections, building relationships and providing time for senior management to show their appreciation to top customers are some of the reasons Linda Bahr, CMP, CMM, plans an annual Michigan trade show—which was held in Ann Arbor in 2024.

"This three-day event for approximately 200 premier customers is comprised of a trade show during the day with lunch and presentation by senior management," says Bahr, owner of Raising the Bahr Events LLC and VP of leadership development for the MPI Michigan Chapter. "The evenings provide an opportunity to create unique experiences that include fun, networking, food and beverage and entertainment."

The first evening of the Ann Arbor trade show kicked off with a particularly memorable gathering: a welcome party at the iconic Michigan Stadium—home of the University of Michigan Wolverines football team.

"‘Homecoming’ was the theme, and we asked attendees to wear their favorite team apparel," Bahr says. "Along with a variety of activities inside the Jack Roth event space, we arranged for the guests to visit the locker room, walk (or run) the tunnel and make their way onto the field. ‘The Big House’ provided a night that our attendees truly enjoyed."

Measuring the success of the event, according to Bahr, comes down to attendee feedback, engagement levels, providing seamless transportation, vendor performance and cost management. And, in the case of Ann Arbor, one obviously successful element was having an accessible destination, since attendees traveled from across the U.S.

"Ann Arbor is easily accessible, close to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which made it easy for a number of our attendees flying in from other cities," she says, noting that the city’s unique venues (including three utilized for her event) and accommodations also stood out.

"We needed a large exhibit space along with a substantial amount of hotel rooms and we were able to meet both those needs with the property that was selected," Bahr says. "Destination Ann Arbor was very helpful in the entire planning process. Based on the specs that were provided, they quickly responded with some great options, scheduled site visits and answered questions promptly during the planning process. It was great to work with them."

SMALL TOWN, BIG OPPORTUNITIES

Al Snow, TMP, CTA (MPI Michigan Chapter), director of sales and service for Destination Ann Arbor, says part of the area’s strength as an event destination is due to a wealth of intellectual capital bolstered by the University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine, Eastern Michigan University and high-tech industries.

"The ability of meetings and events to tap into that intellectual capital and world-renowned leaders in research and industry innovators for speakers and conference content makes our destination stand out," he says.

Ann Arbor also benefits from being a safe and walkable college town with arts, culture and culinary offerings that rival much bigger metropolitan areas, Snow says.

"We are very lucky to experience culinary offerings that include authentic international cuisine from Korea, Ethiopia, Peru, Germany, South America, Asia and Europe, including two James Beard Award semi-finalists," he says. "From an arts and culture standpoint, we have museums such as the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History, Matthai Botanical Gardens, as well as live performances from the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony and nationally recognized jazz performers play at the Blue Llama Jazz Club. To experience all this in a city of less than 150,000 residents is very special."

There’s also more on the horizon for meeting planners in Ann Arbor. The 4-star, 188-room Vanguard Hotel Ann Arbor—an Autograph Collection Hotel—will open in downtown Ann Arbor in May/June with more than 12,000 square feet of meeting space, and an AC hotel will debut downtown later this year.

"Something else we are very proud of is that Destination Ann Arbor has recently been certified as a ‘Verified Accessible Destination’ by Wheel the World—the first destination certified by Wheel the World in Michigan," Snow says. "This designation is just one example of our destination’s commitment to inclusion and accessibility."