The birds are starting to sing in Mackinaw City.
The Crown Choice Inn & Suites, Mackinaw City (File photo)
Not songbirds, but the former employees exposing what they describe as shady business practices by a single entity, a family concern that controls virtually all the hotels in that tip-of-the-Mitten community, as well as many of its restaurants.
The Detroit News took a dive into the murky waters of Up North tourism.
Michigan residents who've never stayed in Mackinaw City may have gotten their first glimpse of how the Lieghio family does business in the spring of last year, when a confrontation between a guest and an exceptionally rude front-desk clerk at the Crown Choice Inn & Suites went viral on social media. The guest had complained about a broken toilet in her room; the clerk responded by insulting her, then booting to the curb the guest, her friend and their five children -- at 2:30 a.m.
Then, a week ago, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced it was investigating bait-and-switch complaints at the same hotel, after an investigator booked a room at one hotel and was moved to another without notice and refused a refund, confirming the experience of customers who complained to the AG about the city's lodging.
The hotel owners were apparently able to get away with the practice because the Lieghio family and their investors own all the hotels in Mackinaw City.
Joe Lieghio, who controls the company, referred The News to a law firm in Traverse City (whose members didn't return calls), but Candice Williams found former employees who explained the practice:
Johnny Carpentier of Kalamazoo said he worked in various roles for several years and that he was told to cancel reservations made at a lower rate and rent the rooms out again at a higher rate as vacancies in Mackinaw City filled up.
During slower times, Lieghio kept only the Hamilton Inn open but took reservations for his other properties, Carpentier said: “Basically, in the winter, he shuts all the hotels down and leaves Hamilton open.
Carpentier said he was instructed to tell customers that there was a power outage, flooding or renovation underway at the originally booked hotel.
If customers complained, Carpientier could direct them to email the Mackinaw City Chamber of Tourism at mackinawchamber.com. The registered agent of that entity is also Joe Lieghio, according to the letter from the attorney general's office.
(Really, at some level, you can almost appreciate the totality of the Lieghio footprint in Mackinaw City. The horror-movie script writes itself.)
If there's one party that's pleased about all this, it's the Chamber of Commerce in St. Ignace, on the northern side of the Mackinac Bridge. The chamber's director told The News that business practices on the south side have "absolutely" been good for St. Ignace hoteliers.
