MILWAUKEE — The first Republican presidential debate at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum on Wednesday is expected to fill area hotels and increase daily room rates, our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal report.
Wednesday's debate is expected to attract 4,000 to 7,000 guests. The general manager for the Aloft Milwaukee Downtown, Mat Meadows, told BizJournal that demand has increased.
"We have a mix of travelers this week, our normal corporate guests, but definitely people coming in for the debate, a nice little pop especially rate-wise for this week in general," he shared.
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Visit Milwaukee's president and CEO Peggy Williams-Smith told the BizJournal that all of the city's major hotels are nearly booked. The Trade Hotel in Milwaukee's Deer District is seeing the impact despite only being open for 90 days.
"Summers in Milwaukee tend to be really busy, so any time there is an event in Fiserv (Forum), it changes a bit how we staff the hotel," The Trade's general manager Rich Lundt shared.
The debate, hosted at Fiserv Forum at 111 Vel Phillips Ave., is set to be about two hours long, beginning at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET). Fiserv Forum is also the location of the Republican National Convention scheduled for July 15-18, 2024.
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