RNC Milwaukee 2024; hotels gear up for visitors
WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. - Milwaukee becomes the center of the political world just 10 weeks from now.
If Dan Dolan sounds like a salesman, it's only because he is. He is the general manager of the Abbey Resort & Avani Spa in Lake Geneva.
"The most beautiful time to be in Wisconsin is the summer," he said. "Even though there's a little bit of travel distance involved, they get to be at a resort in July. It's gonna be fun."
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It’s one of 110 hotels across Wisconsin contracted for the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Abbey Resort & Avani Spa
"We were asked as one of the first secondary locations, 'Can we have all of your rooms?' And we were very excited to participate," Dolan said.
That’s a change from the Democratic National Convention in 2020, when around half the delegates planned to stay in Illinois.
On Lake Geneva, there are no downtown arenas or skyscrapers. It’s just calm. The hotels say that’s exactly what they’re going to offer their guests.
Abbey Resort & Avani Spa
"We're excited that they're gonna have some leisure time here," Dolan said. "They're gonna be able to have an old fashioned with us. They're gonna be able to go out on the lake and see that it's a pristine lake and one of the premier lakes in the Midwest."
All of the Abbey's 340 rooms are booked for delegates.
Dolan said he likely won’t have to add staff, as summer is already peak season.
Abbey Resort & Avani Spa
But that week, their work will be a little different.
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"We change really how we're catering to guests," he said. "Breakfast will be served much later. Dinner will be served late night, those type of things."
The city expects up to 50,000 visitors in Wisconsin for the RNC.
Visitors will stay at hotels as far north as Sheboygan and Kohler, as far west as Madison and as far south as Kenosha.