The Hilton Baltimore, also known as Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor,[1] is a 757–room hotel located on West Pratt Street in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Initially proposed in 2003, actual construction of the city-owned venture took place between 2006 and 2008 as part of the Baltimore Convention Center. A month before the hotel's scheduled opening in August 2008, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said that an 18% increase in room night bookings through 2017, as of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, compared to the previous year's, confirmed the city's decision to move forward with the hotel development project as a means of bolstering Baltimore's convention business.[2] The massive hotel has been criticized for blocking the once-celebrated views of Baltimore's skyline from the Oriole Park at Camden Yards grandstand, however. The hotel has underperformed projections, losing money in its first three years of operation.[3]
On September 2, 2024, The Hilton Baltimore was the site of the first hotel worker strike in 54 years. Members of the Unite Here Local 7 went on a one-day Labor Day strike for better pay and better working conditions.[4] A new four year labor contract calling for significant wage increases and increased funding for the pension and health care plans of Hilton Baltimore employees would later be ratified on October 22, 2024.[5] Collective bargaining for a new contract would then end on October 27, 2024 when Hilton Baltimore employees would again approve the now ratified contract.[1] Despite bearing the Hilton name, the Hilton Baltimore remains owned by the city of Baltimore.[6] It has also been reported that in spite of the October 2024 labor contract, issues plaguing the Hilton Baltimore would remain ongoing.[6]
Development timeline
2003
The Baltimore Sun reported on April 10, 2003, that three proposals were submitted to the Baltimore Development Corporation:
The group also proposed developing the hotel along with a new 19,000-seat arena, offices and the headquarters for Catholic Relief Services, which has asked the city to use the parcel for its new offices.
The proposal would be paid for with tax-exempt bonds that require public ownership of the hotel.
The plan was presented by Atlanta-based Portman Holdings LP, one of the nation's largest developers of convention hotels. The team also includes Treyball Development Inc., a company based in Beverly Hills, Calif., that is owned by the actor Will Smith and his brother, Harry. No brand name was included in the proposal.
The project would be paid for with private financing, tax-increment financing, which dedicates future tax receipts to the development, or through sale of tax-exempt bonds, depending on the city's preference.
The RLJ proposal also included 1,000 parking spaces and 75,000 sq ft (7,000 sq meters) of meeting and ballroom space. A second phase would add 400 hotel rooms and a 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) hotel-office-residential building.
On October 24, 2003, the Baltimore Development Corporation chose the 750-room Hilton Hotel RLJ proposal, announcing that the hotel will have 1,000 underground parking spaces and will have a 20,000 sq ft (2,000 sq meters) grand ballroom and nearly 62,000 sq ft (6,000 sq meters) of meeting space that can be utilized by the Baltimore Convention Center.
External links
References
- Brin Moulton. Hilton Hotel workers in Baltimore's Inner Harbor reach new labor agreement WMAR, October 28, 2024, retrieved November 13, 2024^
- Lorraine Mirabella. Officials Laud High Hotel Bookings The Baltimore Sun, 2008-07-19^
- Daniel J. Sernovitz. Baltimore's Hilton convention headquarters hotel still losing money October 18, 2010, retrieved March 25, 2012