​Lansing, MI - The Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance, a collaborative of statewide and select regional organizations representing hospitality and tourism-related industries, today announced its unanimous opposition to a new package of short-term rental bills (House Bills 5138-5140), citing the legislation's failure to address critical funding needs for Michigan's tourism promotion efforts and create equitable contribution requirements for short-term rental properties.

The 13-member MHTA Board of Directors released the following statement:
“The Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance stands in unanimous opposition to House Bills 5138-5140 as introduced. These bills represent a missed opportunity to address the Pure Michigan funding crisis facing Michigan's tourism industry.
 
Short-term rentals have directly benefited from tourism marketing efforts without paying equitable taxes or assessments to support them, and while reaping the rewards of increased visitation and demand. As the Pure Michigan campaign faces ongoing budget challenges, comprehensive short-term rental regulation should require all lodging properties to contribute to the tourism promotion that generates demand for their businesses. Instead, these bills propose a new general government tax that does nothing to strengthen Michigan’s local businesses or address tax parity.
 
The Alliance urges state leaders to reject these bills and pursue legislation that creates equitable funding for Pure Michigan and truly maximizes the potential of Michigan's visitor economy.”

Lansing, MI – The Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance, a collaborative of statewide and select regional organizations representing hospitality and tourism-related industries, responded to the underwhelming Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget which passed out of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity last week.

For Fiscal Year 2025-2026 the Alliance unified around an appropriation of $40 million dedicated specifically to market tourism via the Pure Michigan campaign.

The 13-member Alliance Board of Directors released the following statement:
“We are disappointed and dismayed by the budget that passed out of a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on May 1 for the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. If Michigan ultimately chooses to cut its commitment to the Pure Michigan campaign by two-thirds as the Senate recently proposed, it will have significant negative ramifications to our entire state’s economy, with job loss and significant foregone tax revenue from out-of-state tourists.

The Pure Michigan campaign, beyond just being a source of unity and pride, provides a substantial return on investment to all Michigan taxpayers, be they Republicans or Democrats, from northern Michigan or the heart of Detroit. In fact, in 2024 the Pure Michigan campaign generated over $12 in state tax revenue for every $1 invested in paid media. 
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We urge appropriations leaders of both parties to prioritize the Pure Michigan campaign in the budget, funding the campaign at $40 million in the coming year.”

“The Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance is encouraged and appreciative that the legislature listened to the concerns of the hospitality and tourism industry and saw fit to double funding for the Pure Michigan campaign to $30 million in the coming year,” said Justin Winslow, president of the nascent Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance and President & CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association. “We especially want to thank the Michigan Hospitality & Tourism caucus – Senators John Damoose and Kevin Hertel and Representatives Will Snyder and Nancy DeBoer – for their leadership and steadfast support of our critical industry. With funding now secured for the year ahead, our focus inevitably turns to securing a more stable, long-term funding source for the Pure Michigan campaign that can avoid the uncertainty of the appropriations process.”


“Pure Michigan is one of the few investments that has a direct positive impact on large and small cities alike,” said Trevor Tkach, Vice President of the Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance and President & CEO of Traverse City Tourism. “It helps local businesses thrive and keeps Michiganders fully employed.”
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 “We are ecstatic that the Michigan Legislature has taken the lead to move funding for the highly successful Pure Michigan campaign back toward the level fitting of the travel and tourism industry’s impact on this great state,” said John Lindley, Treasurer of the Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance and President & CEO of the Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds.  “The Pure Michigan campaign has shown unquestionable ROI time after time and restoring funding nearer to appropriate levels is overdue. 

Hospitality and tourism bureaus representing beers, boats, beaches and more have all come together to advocate for Michigan’s travel industry.

The Michigan Hospitality & Tourism Alliance is comprised of 11 groups from across the state, including Mackinac Island.
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The collaborative advocacy group came together after the travel industry became siloed as sectors fought to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Justin Winslow, president & CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday proposed to include a total of $35 million for Pure Michigan and related marketing initiatives, falling short of a $50 million ask from the state’s hospitality and tourism leaders.

If approved by legislators, the state’s 2024-25 budget would include a $15 million general fund allocation for Pure Michigan’s tourism promotion efforts. It also includes $20 million for unspecified “Michigan marketing initiatives” that would “build off” Pure Michigan and focus on “talent attraction, labor retention and relocating to Michigan, as well as broader population growth goals,” according to a statement Wednesday from the State Budget Office.

The budget falls short of the $50 million hospitality and tourism officials pushed for this week ahead of the governor’s presentation.
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The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, with an assist from the Michigan Travel Commission, on Tuesday launched the Michigan Hospitality and Tourism Alliance, a collaboration with 10 other statewide and regional organizations representing hospitality and tourism-related industries.