From Bankruptcy to Boomtown: Why Detroit Is a Must-Visit for Business and Innovation

Twelve years after it became the largest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy, Detroit is booming. But don’t call it a comeback—the city is forging a new path forward.

Last year, the Ford Motor Company reopened the historic and long-abandoned Michigan Central Station as a tech hub that’s already home to more than 130 start-ups focused on the future of mobility. This fall the Gordie Howe International Bridge will debut as the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America, connecting the U.S. to Windsor, Ontario.

Photo: Detroit’s skyline. Courtesy of William Duggan / Unsplash

In 2023 Detroit’s population increased for the first time since 1957, and 2024 marked the second consecutive year of growth. Visitors are pouring in, too, eager to soak up Motor City’s creative spirit at places such as the new cultural corridor Little Village, which features galleries, makerspaces and performance venues. No matter what brings you here, you’ll leave inspired.

Airport

Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) has more than 800 flights per day, serving over 125 nonstop destinations on three continents. Michigan’s largest airport, DTW welcomed more than 33 million passengers in 2024.

Photo: Detroit Airport. Courtesy

It’s a major hub for Delta, which supplies 74 percent of the airport’s movements (including an average of 61 daily flights to/from New York).

Delta launched a four-time-weekly service to Dublin in May and also increased service to international cities such as Munich and Tulum, Mexico, this year. Spirit Airlines is DTW’s second-largest operator, now offering 40 nonstop routes.

Photo: Detroit Airport. Courtesy

This year it introduced a handful of new flights, including to Salt Lake City and Louisville, Kentucky.

Business Hotels

Located in the heart of downtown, the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center is connected to the Huntington Place Convention Center via the Detroit People Mover, an automated elevated train. The 73-story hotel has 1,328 rooms and suites, as well as 38 meeting rooms and a ballroom with space for 1,800 banquet guests.

Photo: Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center

For a more unique stay downtown, there’s the 129-room Shinola Hotel, which the luxury lifestyle brand opened in 2019. Housed in two restored historic buildings, the impeccably designed property features mid-century modern furniture and an extensive collection of local art. Want to up your wrist game for your big meeting?

Last fall the hotel launched a lending program for guests to borrow a Shinola timepiece throughout their stay.

Power Meals

The London Chop House has been a favorite of Detroit bigwigs since it opened in 1938, and it still serves stellar crab cakes and filet mignon to the suit-and-tie crowd. This year the owners opened Ostrea around the corner, where caviar and blinis are a must.

For authentic Mexican cuisine, head to Vecino in Midtown, which snagged a James Beard semifinalist nod for Best New Restaurant this year thanks to its handmade tortillas, Oaxacan mole, and duck enchiladas.

Photo: Kafta. Courtesy of Laila

If your colleagues don’t mind sharing, snag a reservation at Lebanese spot Leila, where you can dig into plates of muhammara, eggplant fattah and shish kafta alongside fun cocktails such as the Lebanita, made with tequila, spiced pear, almond, honey and lemon juice.

Conference Centers and Venues

The Huntington Place convention center is conveniently located downtown, on the Detroit River. The largest LEED building in Michigan, it has five exhibit halls, 100 meeting rooms and eight banquet rooms spread across 2.4 million square feet (plus 45,000 square feet of outdoor riverfront space).

Photo: Courtesy of Huntington Place Convention Center

American history buffs will love hosting events at The Henry Ford, a museum complex in nearby Dearborn. The museum itself can accommodate up to 5,000 guests who can mingle among the actual bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, a 1928 Ford Tri-Motor airplane, and a 1909 Model T.

The site’s 80-acre Greenfield Village, an open-air museum that houses nearly 100 historic buildings—including the Wright brothers’ bicycle shop and Noah Webster’s Connecticut home—is also available for events and full buyouts.