Council Approves Omni Hotel Tax Agreement

New Orleans City Council backs a payment in lieu of taxes deal for the $625 million Omni headquarters hotel at the Morial Convention Center.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Hotels

Wide view of a modern glass-and-steel convention-style building beside a levee plaza with low historic rooftops and a river bend under hazy daylight. — The New Orleans City Council approved a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement on November 5 for a $625 million Omni headquarters hotel at the Morial Convention Center. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The New Orleans City Council approved a payment in lieu of taxes agreement for a $625 million Omni headquarters hotel on November 5, 2026. Council Vice President Matthew Willard sponsored the resolution authorizing the arrangement.

Why it matters

The hotel is planned to add more than 1,000 guest rooms and about 100,000 square feet of meeting space in New Orleans, and the agreement sets payments to the Orleans Parish School Board and other local taxing authorities. The project is projected to generate roughly $8 million in new annual local tax revenue.

The hotel will include more than 1,000 guest rooms and roughly 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Projections call for 2,500 construction jobs and 1,400 permanent positions, though the source does not give a completion date.

The players

New Orleans City Council

The elected legislative body of New Orleans, which holds authority over tax agreements and development incentives within the city.

Matthew Willard

Council Vice President of New Orleans who sponsored the resolution authorizing the payment in lieu of taxes agreement.

Omni Hotels & Resorts

A major North American hotel management company that is developing the proposed headquarters hotel in New Orleans.

The details

The council authorized the payment in lieu of taxes agreement through a resolution, with payments calculated under an established formula directed to the Orleans Parish School Board and other taxing authorities. The agreement also includes baseline employment requirements for the project.

November 5, 2026: Council approved the PILOT resolution for the Omni hotel.

Market Landscape

Convention-center hotel projects in New Orleans typically depend on public incentives to attract large hotel operators. This agreement follows that pattern by pairing a major hotel brand with a tax arrangement tied to the Morial Convention Center.

Travelers planning visits to New Orleans may see additional lodging capacity once the hotel opens, with more than 1,000 rooms and substantial meeting space. The timing of the opening is not stated in the source, so booking plans should not rely on it yet.

The takeaway

Public incentive agreements like this one shape where large hotels get built and how cities share in the tax revenue they generate. Readers tracking New Orleans lodging should watch for construction and opening announcements.