Trademark Filing Shows Ford Still Wants Hotel At Michigan Central

Ford Motor Company has filed to trademark “Michigan Central” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Ford Authority has learned.

Filed on May 27^th, 2025 under serial number 99203220, this application contains the goods and services description of “Hotel services; restaurant, catering, bar and cocktail lounge services; resort lodging services; providing general purpose facilities for meetings, conferences and exhibitions; providing banquet and social function facilities for special occasions; and reservation service for hotel accommodations for others.”

The Ford Authority Take

As Ford Authority first reported back in January 2024, Ford has long been eyeing the possibility of adding a hotel to its renovated Michigan Central Station site, which is largely being used as a mobility hub housing a variety of companies and entities – including some from within The Blue Oval itself. FoMoCo chairman Bill Ford revealed the automaker’s intentions to add a hotel to Michigan Central a year prior, but such a move would require a zoning change that would allow the company to use part of the site for that purpose, which isn’t currently possible as it’s zoned for heavy industrial use only, and doesn’t permit such structures.

If this change is approved, the automaker plans to utilize the top two or three floors of the building to house a hotel, and it seems as if that decision is imminent. In fact, as Ford Authority reported this past January, Bill Ford revealed that “we are very close to announcing a hotel for the Station, which will be in the top few floors. And that’ll be great, because that’ll also bring a lot of food and beverage to the entire Station. That’s kind of what’s missing right now, is the food and beverage piece. Once we get the hotel nailed down, that piece will get nailed down, and then it will really be a fun place to be.”

Now, this new trademark filing for Michigan Central adds more fuel to that proverbial fire – not because of the specific wording that Ford is seeking to protect here, but rather, the fact that it specifically names “hotel services” and related items in the goods and services description. That way, there will only be one Michigan Central hotel, at least, and we certainly expect to hear some sort of official announcement once the company clears the last of its legal hurdles.