Inside the JW Marriott Detroit Water Square: A luxury hotel looking to attract major events

The Motor City is experiencing a surge in hotel development, highlighted by the construction of the new JW Marriott Detroit Water Square and a critical need for more rooms near major convention centers in Metro Detroit. Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit, said the region has over 46,000 hotel rooms in southeast Michigan, so the overall supply is not lacking. However, he emphasized a critical shortage of rooms directly adjacent to the downtown Detroit and Novi convention centers. “In those two particular areas, we are woefully inadequate to support major venues that could support major events,” Molinari said. “We can’t get the biggest events we could because we don’t have the hotel rooms to support.”