Headquarters Hotel to bring 700 rooms to the reimagined Convention District

CINCINNATI, OH (June 25, 2026) - Visit Cincy is marking a major milestone in Cincinnati’s continued growth as a meetings and conventions destination following the announcement that national developer Portman and its public-sector partners have closed $540 million in financing for the new Cincinnati Downtown Marriott.

The 700-room headquarters hotel will anchor Cincinnati’s reimagined Convention District and represents the next significant step in the city’s long-term strategy to attract larger national conventions, trade shows, and citywide meetings. The official groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for July 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. ET, with the hotel currently slated to open in 2028.

The announcement follows the reopening of the transformed First Financial Center, creating a more complete and competitive convention package for meeting planners considering Cincinnati for future events.

For Visit Cincy, the headquarters hotel has long been one of the most important components of the city’s Convention District vision. Once complete, the property will provide the room inventory, connectivity, and attendee experience necessary to compete for larger meetings and conventions while enhancing Cincinnati’s ability to host citywide events.

“Partnership is the winning formula that makes Cincy succeed,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, Interim President & CEO of Visit Cincy and President & CEO of MeetNKY. “The new headquarters hotel is more than a final piece for Cincinnati’s marquee convention package. It is proof of what happens when public, private, and civic partners stay at the table, believe in the future of a region, and do the hard work together. And when meeting planners choose Cincinnati for their next convention, they are making a bet on a winning team ready to deliver a standout convention experience from start to finish.”

The Cincinnati Downtown Marriott is a cornerstone of the city’s $828 million Convention District Revitalization Plan, one of the most ambitious destination development efforts in the Midwest. Located adjacent to the First Financial Center, the hotel will help create a seamless experience for convention attendees while strengthening the city’s ability to pursue events of greater scale and economic impact.

When complete, the hotel will feature:

  • 700 guest rooms
  • 60,000 square feet of meeting space
  • A 17,000-square-foot outdoor events terrace
  • Multiple ballrooms and breakout spaces
  • Ground-floor retail
  • Direct skybridge connection to the Cincinnati Convention Center

Together, the transformed First Financial Center, Elm Street Plaza and future Cincinnati Downtown Marriott will create a fully connected, walkable Convention District designed to meet the evolving needs of meeting planners and attendees.

For the meetings industry, this milestone signals a new era for Cincinnati’s convention offering, pairing a modernized convention center with a connected headquarters hotel and an energized downtown district built to support memorable events and strong attendee experiences.

About Visit Cincy

Visit Cincy connects the Cincinnati region's people and experiences with visitors and meeting attendees from around the world through sales, marketing, communications, and community-building strategies. The destination marketing organization is supported by nearly 500 businesses that join together in making Cincinnati, Hamilton County, and the Cincy region a world-class destination by offering their services, attractions, and facilities to visitors, meeting planners, and convention attendees. For more information, go to VisitCincy.com.

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