Thomas J. Baltimore Jr.

As one of the industry’s largest hotel-focused real estate investment trusts, Park Hotels & Resorts is always looking for the best hotel properties across the country.

Park, a real estate investment trust with approximately $9 billion in assets, has a portfolio comprising 39 premium-branded hotels and resorts with a total of around 25,000 rooms across “top resort destinations” in the U.S., according to the company.

Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. has steered the REIT in investing more than $300 million in hospitality projects in the past few years, across markets including Florida’s Key West and Bonnet Creek areas and California’s Santa Barbara market.

Some of the REIT’s recent moves include the $80 million sale of its 316-room Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, and the nearly $75 million renovation of its two Hawaii flagship properties — the Rainbow Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort and the Palace Tower at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

Park’s Waldorf Astoria Orlando was also recently ranked the fourth-best resort in Florida by Travel + Leisure in its 2025 World’s Best Awards.

“We remain laser-focused on our strategic objective of reshaping the portfolio through non-core asset dispositions … and with several other non-core assets in various stages of the marketing process, while reallocating and investing this capital in our iconic portfolio,” Baltimore said in a statement in July. Over the next few years, Park is looking to invest in nearly $1 billion worth of portfolio value in “high-growth” markets that include Hawaii, Miami, Key West and Santa Barbara, the firm said.

Before leading Park, Baltimore served in various roles at RLJ Lodging Trust, including president, CEO and trustee, and co-founded RLJ Development, serving as its president following its merger with two private equity funds. He also held executive positions at Hilton Hotels and Marriott.