Last week, The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority approved a headquarters hotel development agreement and ground-lease agreement with Omni Hotels & Resorts to develop a 1,000-room, $575 million headquarters hotel. Omni will move forward with development as owner and operator of a headquarters hotel across the street from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
“Today marks a significant milestone for New Orleans and Louisiana. Omni’s investment demonstrates the confidence national businesses have in New Orleans and our state and reinforces that we are open and ready for new opportunities,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said in a statement. “This hotel will draw new meetings, conventions and business travelers to the region, benefiting hospitality-related businesses and creating more jobs for residents. It’s a gamechanger for the tourism industry that powers New Orleans, and I look forward to seeing Omni New Orleans become a landmark for hospitality and a symbol of growth in Louisiana.”
Omni has been in discussions with the Authority since 2018, when a development consortium including Omni was selected to develop a headquarters hotel to anchor the $557 million convention center renovation and upgrade. As the discussions evolved, Omni offered to guaranty all of the private capital needed to complete the project.
The hotel will be Omni’s second hotel in New Orleans. Omni has operated the Omni Royal Orleans for decades, but just recently acquired the building in 2021. The company plans to "invest significantly" in repositioning its older property.
First Look
Omni presented renderings of the new hotel and revealed the logo and name as the 1,000-room Omni New Orleans. The property will have 100,000 square feet of meeting space, several restaurants and bars, a rooftop pool deck, a destination spa, a parking garage and an upgrade to the adjacent Mississippi River Heritage Park.
Omni New Orleans will be located across Convention Center Boulevard at the site currently known as the Sugar Mill event venue. Once constructed, the hotel expects to help attract events that have previously passed on New Orleans.
With the ground lease and development agreements approved, Omni will follow the process of acquiring the necessary permits required by the City of New Orleans. Hotel design will continue throughout 2025, and construction is expected to start in 2026. The hotel is anticipated to open in 2029. Once complete, the hotel will support approximately 1,400 permanent jobs across all sectors, generate roughly $213.6 million in annual impact on the local economy and add a combined $15.2 million in annual tax revenue for the city and the state.