Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center is a large resort hotel and meetings venue at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland. It stands on the Potomac River south of Washington, D.C., across the river from Alexandria, Virginia, and forms part of the National Harbor mixed-use development. The property combines hotel accommodation, convention facilities, restaurants, leisure amenities, and event programming in a single destination-oriented complex. The project was initially planned under the name Gaylord Potomac Resort & Convention Center, but its name was changed during the planning process. The completed property opened on April 1, 2008, as National Harbor was being developed with offices, residences, retail, entertainment, and hospitality facilities. Its development cost was reported as $870 million in contemporary reference material, while more than 1.3 million room nights had been booked before the formal opening. The property was developed within the Gaylord Hotels portfolio and is owned through Ryman Hospitality Properties; Marriott International operates the hotel. The resort contains approximately 2,000 guest rooms and suites, roughly 537,430 square feet of meeting and convention space, 95 event rooms, seven restaurants, and a 20,000-square-foot spa. A defining architectural feature is its 19-story glass atrium, which provides expansive interior views toward the Potomac River and functions as a major visual and social space within the resort. The combination of a large room inventory and extensive event capacity enables the property to accommodate national associations, corporate meetings, political gatherings, cultural conventions, trade events, competitions, and entertainment festivals. Gaylord National is positioned primarily as a meetings-focused destination resort rather than as a conventional urban business hotel. Its value proposition rests on the ability to host large events while providing lodging, food and beverage, recreation, and meeting services on one campus. Its location gives event organizers access to the Washington metropolitan area while offering a purpose-built waterfront setting outside the central-city hotel market. The resort is among the largest non-gaming hotel and convention centers on the East Coast of the United States. The venue has hosted a wide range of recurring and one-time events. These have included the Republican National Committee's 2011 winter meeting, Katsucon, MAGFest, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Technology Student Association national conferences, Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings, the Conservative Political Action Conference, the Restaurant Facility Management Association conference, and the National Grade Chess Championships. Such bookings illustrate the property's broad event mix, spanning political organizations, youth and educational groups, professional associations, fan communities, sports-industry executives, and competitive events. Operations involve a substantial workforce, reported at approximately 2,000 employees in reference material. Some departments are represented by trade unions, with Unite Here Local 25 identified as the largest union presence. The property remains an active Gaylord-branded resort and convention center, with Marriott responsible for hotel operations and Ryman Hospitality Properties retaining ownership through its Gaylord Hotels business.

Gaylord National was conceived as the principal hotel and convention anchor of National Harbor, a large mixed-use development on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. The project was originally referred to as the Gaylord Potomac Resort & Convention Center, but the name was changed before completion. The new name connected the property to the Gaylord Hotels portfolio while emphasizing its national-scale convention role. Construction formed part of the broader development of National Harbor, which was planned to combine hospitality, offices, residences, retail, and entertainment. The resort opened on April 1, 2008. It was developed at a reported cost of $870 million and entered the market with substantial advance demand: reference material records more than 1.3 million room nights booked before its formal opening. At launch, it was designed to compete for major association, corporate, political, and trade events that require both extensive meeting capacity and a large supply of rooms. The completed resort brought together approximately 2,000 guest rooms, 95 event rooms, about 537,430 square feet of meeting space, seven restaurants, and a 20,000-square-foot spa. Its 19-story glass atrium became a signature architectural feature, creating a prominent interior gathering area with views toward the Potomac River. The scale of the complex made it one of the largest non-gaming hotel and convention centers on the East Coast. Ownership and operations have been associated with different companies. The property is owned through Gaylord Hotels, which is a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties. Marriott International operates the hotel. This structure places Gaylord National within a specialized convention-resort portfolio while using Marriott's hotel-management platform for day-to-day operations. After opening, the property developed a broad event calendar. It hosted the Republican National Committee's 2011 winter meeting, including the party chairmanship election, and became a recurring venue for Katsucon, an anime-focused convention. Since 2012 it has also hosted MAGFest, which centers on video games, video-game music, and gaming culture. The Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the resort from 2011 through 2025, establishing a long-running relationship with a nationally recognized educational competition. The resort's convention business has also included Technology Student Association national conferences in 2014, 2019, and 2026, as well as Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings in 2016. More recent bookings have included the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference, the 2024 Restaurant Facility Management Association annual conference, and the National Grade Chess Championships in December 2024. These events demonstrate the venue's ability to serve political organizations, professional associations, youth and educational groups, entertainment communities, and sports-related business gatherings. The property employs approximately 2,000 people according to reference material. Several departments are represented by trade unions, with Unite Here Local 25 identified as the largest union involved. Its continuing identity is that of a full-service, meetings-led destination resort: the hotel supplies accommodation and leisure amenities, while the convention center provides the scale and flexibility required for large national events. Its waterfront location near Washington, D.C., remains central to its appeal.

• 2024

  Major 2024 event bookings

  [1]Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The resort hosted CPAC, the Restaurant Facility Management Association annual conference, and the National Grade Chess Championships during 2024.

• 2016

  Major League Baseball Winter Meetings

  [1]Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The property hosted Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings.

• 2012

  MAGFest begins at the property

  [1]Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Gaylord National became a host venue for the annual MAGFest gaming and video-game-music festival.

• 2011

  Republican National Committee winter meeting

  [1]Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The resort hosted the Republican National Committee winter meeting and its chairmanship election.

• 2008

  Formal opening

  [1]Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center opened on April 1, 2008, as part of the National Harbor mixed-use development.

A destination meetings resort combining large-scale convention infrastructure, full-service lodging, dining, leisure amenities, and waterfront architecture for national conferences, corporate events, associations, festivals, and major gatherings.

• Hotel accommodation · 2008

  Guest rooms and suites

  The resort provides approximately 2,000 guest rooms and suites, supporting large conventions and multi-day events without requiring attendees to travel between separate lodging properties.

• Meetings and events · 2008

  Convention and meeting facilities

  The property offers approximately 537,430 square feet of meeting space distributed across 95 event rooms. The facilities are designed for national conferences, exhibitions, corporate meetings, political gatherings, competitions, and festivals.

• Food and beverage · 2008

  Restaurants and food-and-beverage venues

  Seven restaurants and related food-and-beverage operations serve overnight guests, convention attendees, and event participants within the resort complex.

• Wellness · 2008

  Relâche Spa

  The resort includes a 20,000-square-foot spa that complements its destination-resort positioning and provides wellness services for leisure guests and meeting attendees.

• 2008

  Rename the planned resort before openingStrategy

  Background

  The project was initially planned under the name Gaylord Potomac Resort & Convention Center during the development of National Harbor.

  Action taken

  The name was changed during the planning stage to Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, aligning the property with the Gaylord Hotels identity and its intended national convention role.

  Aftermath

  The renamed resort opened on April 1, 2008, as the principal large-scale hotel and convention property in National Harbor.

  Source

1. 1Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centeren.wikipedia.org