This article has been corrected. The original version said Mennonite Church USA would have owed $46,000 to Kansas City, Mo., hotels for rooms not reserved for July 7, based on information provided to Anabaptist World from MC USA staff at the convention.
After the nondelegate portion of Mennonite Church USA’s July 3-8 convention in Kansas City, Mo., concluded, the denomination fell short of its July 7 hotel room commitment by 295 unused rooms.
At $156 per room, the unused block of rooms had a value of about $46,000 after MC USA originally reserved 668 downtown hotel rooms. But then Taylor Swift announced performances July 7 and 8 at Arrowhead Stadium.
The sold-out shows put high demand on hotels across the city, and hotels offered the unused rooms at higher prices to concertgoers.
VisitKC, the city’s tourism and convention arm, estimated Swift fans spent $46 million in the area over the concert weekend.
MC USA staff said Aug. 15 that despite the one-night shortfall, the denomination met the weeklong minimum requirements of its hotel contracts and did not need to pay for unused rooms. The denomination does not share details of contracts.
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