Business press reports that hotel occupancy is up because of the Amphitheater, which means more money for the Grand Action 2.0 founders and projects

On Friday, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business posted an article with the headline – Amphitheater, convention business push Kent County hotel occupancy to rare high.

The Carin’s article stated that on May 30th, “when the county’s approximately 11,000 hotel rooms reached 91% occupancy, two weeks after the venue’s (Amphitheater) opening.”

Former Grand Rapids Mayor and Convention Arena Authority board member Rosalynn Bliss was also quoted in the article, stating:

“It’s really critical that we have hotel taxes. Logistically, I think it’s really important that we keep our eye on the ball. But also, we should appreciate the impact that the work we’re doing is having on other retailers downtown.”

Besides being the former Mayor of Grand Rapids, Bliss also sits on the board of the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and she was part of the Destination Kent Committee, which pushed the August 2024 ballot initiative to increase the hotel tax and generate more funds for Grand Action 2.0 projects. Bliss and members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure made up the Destination Kent Committee, along with the fact that this small group contributed nearly half a million dollars to the campaign, which barely won.

In 2024, when the hotel tax was on the ballot initiative I wanted to find out when the hotel tax policy had been created, who proposed it and why it was limited to funding entertainment venues. The most recent iteration of the state policy was signed into law by Gov. Whitmer in April of 2024, known as Public Act 35 of 2024. State Rep. John Fitzgerald was the sponsor of the bill, which also was passed in the Michigan Senate.

The language of Public Act 35 clearly states that hotel tax money collected by a county or other municipal body must be used for entertainment venue projects, which includes sports venues. However, this is by design, meaning that the legislation piece could have been written in such a way that hotel taxes could be used to build affordable housing, environmental justice projects or any number of ways of generating funds to support the most vulnerable communities in Kent County.

Who really benefits from the high occupancy rate of the hotels in downtown Grand Rapids?

The argument that those in power like to use is that Grand Action 2.0 projects like the Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium will be good for the economy. Others will say that people who work in downtown venues, restaurants, etc. are the real winners of places like the Acrisure Amphitheater, but rarely do they provide hard evidence of how it will benefit service industry workers. Most service industry workers are paid hourly, so no matter how busy they are they will get paid the same amount. If you are relying on tips then you might be able to make more money with increased customers, but it also means they are working their butts off.

The real economic winners of venues like the amphitheater, the arena, the soon to be soccer stadium and potentially an aquarium, are the owners of restaurants, bars, retail shops, privately owned parking ramps & lots, and hotel owners. In other words the ownership class, not the working class.

Lets take the hotel industry in downtown Grand Rapids, which was the subject of the Crain’s article to begin with. Guess how many hotels are owned in downtown Grand Rapids by the DeVos family, which owns AHC Hospitality? Here is a list of the hotels owned by the DeVos family in downtown Grand Rapids:

• AC Hotel by Marriott
• Amway Grand Plaza
• Courtyard by Marriott Grand Rapids
• Hyatt Place Grand Rapids
• JW Marriot Grand Rapids

Add to this dynamic that the DeVos family also has representatives on the DDA, the Convention Arena Authority, co-founded Grand Action 2.0 and was a major contributor to the Destination Kent Committee ballot initiative in 2024, you can see how their enthusiastic support for the Grand Action 2.0 projects helps to expand their wealth.