Richard Yurcak noticed “something big” was happening in Detroit last year. As chief business development officer for Ann Arbor-based destination management company (DMC) Premium Event Services, he realized that requests for proposals for 2026 Detroit events were looking different—and there were a lot more than usual.
“They’re thoughtful, scoped-out opportunities from clients who are serious about bringing business to our city,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post last August. “But more than that, I’m seeing a shift in who I’m competing with. It’s no longer just other DMCs in Detroit. It’s Chicago. It’s Boston. It’s New York.” Michigan Meetings + Events rang him up to find out more.
M+E: What prompted your post?
RY: We’re just seeing a lot of interesting new companies coming to Detroit that we never had the pleasure of even bidding on before or working with. It’s very exciting.
M+E: What’s your takeaway from that?
RY: We’re seeing a big pivot in Detroit’s presence. Detroit is being compared to other destinations that have traditionally been thought of as Tier 1 cities. Now, it’s kind of like, “Chicago, New York, move on over. Detroit’s coming now.”
M+E: What’s behind it, do you think?
RY: People want to see what we have to offer. There has been so much talk about, “We’re coming back, we’re coming back.” Now it’s like, “We’re finally here—come and check us out.” I think we always want to say we discovered something before somebody else. I think there’s this desire that maybe if there’s some lingering background noise about Detroit and how it’s going to become the hot spot, “I want to check it out before somebody else does.” Also, I think Visit Detroit—the convention and visitors bureau—has poured a lot of their own investment to bring more tourism to the city.
