Republican National Convention planners on the road to securing 14,000 hotel rooms

The Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is going all in on next summer's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

It has committed 517 hotel rooms to the sprawling effort to house delegates and others who will be flocking to the city and state. And to entertain the conventioneers, it has pushed ahead with the construction of what will be the largest retail sportsbook in the region, complete with a 2,000-square-foot video screen.

"We're ready," said Dominic Ortiz, the hotel and casino's chief executive officer. "And we're excited to deliver."

With key hotels like the Potawatomi already signed up, convention leaders are closing in on securing enough rooms for the event that will be staged July 15-18.

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It's a large effort of organization and negotiation, plotting and planning to come up with the best places to put delegates, politicians, key activists and donors, as well as thousands of media members who will all be arriving for one of the big political shows in the world.

Bolted onto the housing effort is the push to create a transportation system of some 400 buses that will ferry the credentialed visitors to the main convention spots, including Fiserv Forum and the Baird Center. Security is also of paramount importance for the high-profile event.

"Hotel accommodations for convention guests are critically important," said Elise Dickens, the CEO of the Republican National Committee team that is organizing the convention. "Not only to have them (the delegates) for five nights but to provide hospitality and a place to gather before sessions, after sessions, host breakfasts, lunch and dinners. The hotels serve as a headquarters for their respective groups and delegations."

The aim of convention organizers is to book 14,000 hotel rooms for five nights, beginning the Sunday before the convention's opening session. Convention organizers declined to provide rate details.

"We will get there," Dickens said. "We would not have chosen Milwaukee if they didn't have the number of rooms and quality rooms and quality hotels that are required. We're excited about the partnerships that we have. We look forward to supplementing services, (including) pop-up markets with local vendors."

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They've already lined up commitments from around 90 hotels and need to lock down the final two dozen or so in the coming months.

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Convention delegations should learn sometime in the winter or spring where they'll be staying.

The hotels will be clustered in the Milwaukee area, including downtown, by the airport, Wauwatosa and Brookfield, with other facilities in Racine and Kenosha, Lake Geneva, the Sheboygan area and downtown Madison.

In 2020, before the Democratic Convention was turned into a mostly virtual event because of the pandemic, Milwaukee's organizers had planned to put state delegations as far south as Rosemont, Illinois by O'Hare International Airport. In all, 31 delegations were due to stay in Wisconsin and 26 in Illinois. One reason for the reliance on Illinois establishments: Wisconsin didn't have hotels large enough to accommodate huge delegations from the likes of Florida, Texas and California.

Republicans, by comparison, have smaller delegations than Democrats.

"The Republican National Committee is 100% committed to staying in the state of Wisconsin," Dickens said.

And places like the Potawatomi aim to deliver on hospitality.

"We get 17,000 people a day on a good weekend," Ortiz said. "Our team and staff is prepared to have a full house for five days. That’s what we do 24/7, 365. We’re taking it serious. We want to help the city shine."

So do those at other hotels, like The Brewhouse Inn & Suites in the Brewery District overlooking Fiserv Forum.

Tara Wurtz, who directs sales and marketing at the hotel, said convention organizers have been good partners.

"Honest to God, they have the most organized machine over there," she said.

All that planning, she added, should pay off next summer.

"I think everyone will enjoy themselves," Wurtz said. "We've got the midwestern charm and values and we're welcoming people from around the world. We'll let them know our little secret here."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: RNC planners on the road to securing 14,000 hotel rooms