Updated:
Park Hotels & Resorts
Thomas Baltimore Jr. leads Park Hotels & Resorts, the lodging REIT spun out of Hilton in 2017 with a portfolio of 43 premium-branded properties.
Park Hotels & Resorts
Park Hotels & Resorts originated as Hilton Worldwide's real estate spin-off in January 2017, when Thomas Baltimore Jr. led the separation into an independent, publicly traded lodging REIT. The portfolio at inception comprised 67 hotels, predominantly premium-branded assets flagged under Hilton, with a strategy set from day one to reduce concentration risk by diversifying operators and brands well beyond its former parent. The firm's core deployment concentrates on upper-upscale and luxury rooms in major urban centers and resort destinations, covering assets flagged by Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Its geographic footprint is concentrated in coastal markets, Hawaii, and key Sunbelt cities. Positions include the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, the New York Hilton Midtown before its 2021 disposition, and the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Park is a direct owner, not a manager; brands run the operations while Park controls the real estate and capital allocation decisions. Led by a seasoned management team under Baltimore, the firm has publicly used its balance sheet primarily for capital recycling rather than portfolio-level expansion. In December 2021, Park sold the New York Hilton Midtown to a strategic buyer, using proceeds to reduce leverage and fund a $250 million share repurchase program. The firm's operational posture is defined by active asset management: it has shed over a dozen non-core properties while investing in group-oriented resorts that historically outperform during the leisure and business-conference recovery cycle. Park operates as a pure-play REIT rather than a manager-backed fund structure, which distinguishes it from private-equity lodging vehicles. Shareholders own the real estate directly, and the firm's external governance comes from a public board rather than a GP/LP structure. This means deployment decisions must meet quarterly earnings scrutiny, forcing faster capital recycling than would be required in a closed-end fund.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2017
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Tysons
Corporate office
Tysons, VA, United States
Principals
Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How did Park Hotels & Resorts originate?
The firm was spun out of Hilton Worldwide in January 2017 as an independent lodging REIT. Thomas Baltimore Jr., who had previously led RLJ Lodging Trust, was named CEO at the separation. The spin-off was structured so that Hilton shareholders received Park shares pro-rata, creating a tax-efficient separation of Hilton's real estate from its management and franchise business.
Who runs investment decisions at Park Hotels & Resorts?
Thomas Baltimore Jr. serves as Chairman, President, and CEO, with final authority over portfolio strategy and acquisition decisions. The firm operates through an internalized management structure rather than an external advisor, so all real estate investment decisions are made by dedicated in-house teams organized by asset, capital markets, and corporate finance functions.
Is Park Hotels & Resorts an owner-operator or a third-party asset manager?
Park is a real estate owner, not a hotel manager. It owns the underlying property and contracts with operators — primarily Hilton and Marriott — to run the hotels under their brand standards. This makes it a pure-play lodging REIT whose cash flows derive from asset-level real estate returns rather than management contracts.
What investment stages or property types does Park Hotels & Resorts target?
The firm targets stabilized, institutional-quality, upper-upscale and luxury hotel real estate in major US urban centers, coastal gateways, Hawaii, and destination resorts. Park does not provide seed equity, development financing, or construction-stage capital. Its mandate is to acquire and reposition existing assets in markets with high barriers to new supply.
How is Park Hotels & Resorts governed, given its origins within Hilton?
Despite Hilton being the brand on many of its early properties, Park is fully independent with its own board of directors, credit rating, and balance sheet. Hilton holds no board seats and has no preferential rights over asset sales. The firm's independence was a structural requirement of the 2017 spin-off, designed to let it diversify its brand partners.
Does Park Hotels & Resorts invest alongside external limited partners or private funds?
Park does not operate co-mingled funds or discretionary investment pools for external investors. As a publicly traded REIT, its capital comes from equity issuance, retained earnings, asset sales, and corporate debt. The firm does not co-invest alongside private equity funds or provide LP capital to third-party hotel operators.
What is the firm's portfolio exposure to business-convention hotels versus leisure resorts?
Since 2018, Park has deliberately rotated capital toward group-oriented and resort properties while reducing exposure to urban business-transient hotels. The sale of the New York Hilton Midtown in 2021 accelerated this shift, and its current portfolio is weighted toward hotels that derive significant revenue from conventions, group bookings, and leisure travel — particularly in Hawaii, Florida, and coastal California.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on asset managers?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: