Baltimore taxpayers remain responsible for a huge hotel debt after the city-owned Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor posted its worst financial performance on record, even as room rates reached an all-time high.
The 757-room property, the largest hotel in the region, was only 52.3 percent occupied in 2025. On a typical night, that meant almost half of its rooms sat vacant.
The disappointing results come nearly 20 years after Baltimore issued about $300 million in bonds to finance the hotel. When the Hilton opened in 2008, city officials expected it to produce revenue for Baltimore.
Much of that borrowing is still outstanding. Meanwhile, the city has spent and refunded $143.7 million to support the underperforming hotel, The Baltimore Banner reported.
The Hilton’s newest financial report underscores the scale of the challenge facing an investment that has consistently fallen short of its original projections.
Visitors paid an average of $203.90 per night in 2025, the highest rate the hotel has ever recorded. Even so, the increase was not enough to make up for the weak demand.
Revenue per available room, a standard gauge of hotel performance, dropped to $106.60. That was the lowest figure since 2009 and, after adjusting for inflation, made 2025 the property’s weakest year since it opened.
The hotel has never met the occupancy or revenue levels anticipated in its original financial plans.
The Hilton’s latest financial disclosure highlights the burden of a costly investment that has failed to meet expectations
Baltimore taxpayers remain tied to a massive hotel debt after the city-owned Hilton recorded its worst financial year, despite charging record-high room rates
The 757-room Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor — the region’s largest hotel — was just 52.3% occupied in 2025
Occupancy reached a high of 71.7 percent in 2013 before steadily weakening. Aside from the pandemic-affected years from 2020 through 2023, last year’s rate was the hotel’s lowest on record.
Baltimore’s hospitality problems are not confined to the Hilton.
Hotels in the city’s central business district averaged 55.7 percent occupancy in 2025, according to CoStar, a real estate analytics company.
Downtown’s hotel market has contracted as well. The number of available rooms fell by nearly 6 percent between January 2025 and the latest count, dropping from 8,367 to 7,874.
The Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel was among the properties affected, closing suddenly earlier this year.
Kevin Seawright, executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer at the Baltimore Development Corp., which oversees the Hilton, called 2025 a particularly challenging year for the city’s hotel industry.
Seawright told The Banner that hotel cancellations throughout Baltimore reached their highest point since the pandemic.
Still, he said the Hilton’s outlook is improving. Revenue has risen sharply in 2026 and is nearing pre-pandemic levels, according to Seawright.
He pointed to several major events as drivers of the recovery, including concerts by Morgan Wallen and BTS, an All Blacks rugby event and a Jack and Jill gathering. More group reservations arranged through Visit Baltimore, the city’s tourism organization, have also helped boost business.
The hotel, which is operated by Hilton Hotels & Resorts, sits beside the Baltimore Convention Center and was intended to attract visitors and convention business while generating income for the city.
Despite its financial struggles, developers are betting that Baltimore can support even more hotel rooms.
MCB Real Estate is planning a 212-room luxury hotel as part of its Harborplace redevelopment, just blocks from the Hilton.
The proposed property would charge an average of $550 per night, more than double the Hilton’s average rate in 2025.