The Central Hotel & Conference Center

What The Central Hotel & Conference Center does

The Central Hotel & Conference Center is a privately held, single-asset hotel and conference venue operating under the Best Western Premier flag at 800 East Park Drive, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The property comprises 174 guest rooms and suites configured across multiple categories (Deluxe King, Deluxe Double Queen, Poolside, Balcony, ADA, and Two Bedroom Suites), 19,000 square feet of meeting and event space split across 12 function rooms including the Central Ballroom (905-seat theater capacity), Heritage Ballroom, and Grand Atrium, and an on-site Irish-themed restaurant, O'Reilly's Taproom & Kitchen, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 24 rotating draft beers. The asset serves four primary customer segments: business and government travelers visiting Harrisburg, leisure and family travelers using the property as a base for Hersheypark and Central Pennsylvania tourism, corporate and association event planners organizing meetings of 10-500+ attendees, and wedding parties seeking full-service venue and accommodation packages.

The business operates on a multi-stream revenue model combining nightly room rentals (transactional pricing by room type), one-time event space licensing (quoted via a formal RFP process with packages that include tables, chairs, linen, AV, Wi-Fi, and a dedicated coordinator), and food and beverage revenue from the on-site restaurant and event catering. Distribution is anchored by the Best Western global reservation system, the hotel's direct website (thecentralhotelharrisburg.com), and phone reservations, with a dedicated B2B sales motion handling corporate RFPs, wedding bookings, and sports/accommodation group blocks. The property employs 51-100 staff and is privately held with no public equity, debt issuance, or institutional ownership disclosed; the owner/franchisee structure is anchored by the Best Western International franchise agreement.

The underlying technology stack is described as a standard hotel property management system with in-room digital guest experience technology; no proprietary platform, AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or integrations are documented. The company's competitive positioning rests on its conference-center scale within the Harrisburg/Hershey micro-market, its Best Western Premier brand affiliation (driving reservation and loyalty distribution), and its location near I-83 exit 48 providing access to Harrisburg, Hershey, Lancaster, and Gettysburg. The asset was originally established in 1990 as a Holiday Inn and re-flagged to Best Western Premier in 2012.

Name

The Central Hotel & Conference Center

Legal name

The Central Hotel & Conference Center

Website

https://thecentralhotelharrisburg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Central Hotel & Conference Center is a 174-room Best Western Premier hotel and conference venue in Harrisburg, PA serving business travelers, leisure tourists to Hersheypark and Central Pennsylvania, corporate event planners, and wedding parties with on-site dining, 19,000 sq ft of event space, and full-service hospitality.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hotel & Conference Center Services

NAICS

Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (721110), Accommodation (721)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Hotels & Motels (7011)

akta.pro primary industry

City/Urban Convention Hotels (THAGALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Government & Civic Conference Hotels (THAGALAK), Large-Scale Headquarters Convention Hotels (THAGALAH), Hotel & Resort Convention Venues (Convention Hotels) (THAHAAAC)

Keywords

• Hotel accommodations
• Conference center services
• Wedding venue hosting
• Corporate meeting spaces
• On-site restaurant dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Guest Room Bookings: Primary revenue from hotel room rentals across 174 well-appointed guest rooms and suites including Deluxe King, Deluxe Double Queen, Poolside rooms, and Two Bedroom Suites. Revenue is generated through nightly rates with check-in authorization including room rate plus incidental deposit.
2. Meeting & Event Space Rental: Revenue from hosting corporate meetings, conferences, weddings, and banquets in 19,000 square feet of flexible event space across 12 unique function rooms including the Central Ballroom, Heritage Ballroom, and Grand Atrium.
3. Food & Beverage - O'Reilly's Taproom & Kitchen: On-site restaurant and bar generating revenue from breakfast, lunch, and dinner service plus craft cocktails and happy hour. Features Irish-themed menu, 24 rotating beers on tap, and outdoor patio seating. Hours: Breakfast 6:30AM-11AM, Lunch 11AM-4PM, Dinner Sun-Thu 4PM-10PM, Fri-Sat 4PM-11PM.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Central Hotel & Conference Center operates a Best Western Premier hotel in Harrisburg, PA offering 174 guest rooms and suites, 19,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space across 12 function rooms (including the Central Ballroom, Heritage Ballroom, and Grand Atrium), and on-site dining through O'Reilly's Taproom & Kitchen. The property serves business travelers, leisure visitors, corporate event organizers, and wedding parties in the Central Pennsylvania region.

Product overview

The Central Hotel & Conference Center is a Best Western Premier hotel offering a comprehensive hospitality portfolio centered on guest accommodations and event services. The property features 174 well-appointed guest rooms and suites, the on-site O'Reilly's Taproom & Kitchen restaurant, and 19,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space across 12 function rooms including ballrooms and the Grand Atrium. The core offering combines lodging, dining, meetings, and wedding services into an integrated conference center experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• O'Reilly's Taproom & Kitchen: On-site Irish-themed restaurant and bar featuring comfort food, Irish specialties, craft cocktails, and rotating draught beer. Located within The Central Hotel & Conference Center in Harrisburg, PA.

Products and services

• Guest Rooms & Suites 174 well-appointed guest rooms and suites including Deluxe King, Deluxe King ADA, Deluxe King Balcony, Deluxe Double Queen, Deluxe Double Queen ADA, Deluxe Poolside Double Queen, Two Bedroom Suite, and Two Bedroom Suite ADA. Each room features premium bedding and modern amenities and is targeted at business and leisure travelers visiting the Harrisburg/Hershey area.
• O'Reilly's Taproom & Kitchen On-site Irish-themed restaurant and bar offering breakfast (6:30AM-11AM), lunch (11AM-4PM), and dinner (Sun-Thu 4PM-10PM, Fri-Sat 4PM-11PM). Features craft cocktails, 24 rotating beers on tap, locally-sourced comfort foods, and outdoor patio seating; serves hotel guests and walk-in diners.
• Wedding & Reception Venue Full-service wedding venue featuring the Grand Atrium and elegant ballrooms, supported by a professional hospitality team for event coordination, catering, and guest room blocks. Serves couples planning ceremonies, receptions, rehearsal dinners, and anniversary celebrations in the Harrisburg area.
• Group Accommodations Specialized group booking services for wedding blocks, sports teams, corporate events, and family gatherings, offering flexible booking options and group rates for multi-room reservations.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Best Western InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Central Hotel operates as a Best Western Premier branded property. This franchise affiliation provides access to Best Western's global reservation system, loyalty program (Best Western Rewards), brand marketing, and distribution network. All guest reservation data is shared with Best Western International per their privacy policy. The hotel appears as bestwestern.com booking listing.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Hotel Hershey: Iconic historic Hershey resort with extensive meeting, wedding, and leisure amenities. Represents the upper bound of competition for premium group, leisure, and wedding bookings in Central PA.
• Best Western Premier properties (network): The broader Best Western Premier portfolio sets brand standards, franchise economics, and ADR benchmarks that directly govern the Central Hotel's distribution and pricing power.

Emerging players

• DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading: Full-service Hilton property in the broader Central PA region with comparable meeting and event capabilities, capturing regional group demand that might otherwise be directed to the Harrisburg/Hershey market.

Regional players

• Holiday Inn Harrisburg (Hershey Area) I-81: IHG full-service hotel in the Harrisburg market offering meeting rooms and on-site dining. Comparable profile to the Central Hotel's prior Holiday Inn heritage and current mid-upscale positioning.
• Hampton Inn Harrisburg-East: Limited-service Hilton-brand property in the Harrisburg-East submarket near the Central Hotel. It competes for budget-conscious business and leisure travelers but lacks the meeting/event space depth.
• Wyndham Harrisburg Hershey: Wyndham-brand full-service property serving the Harrisburg/Hershey corridor with similar group and transient business mix, offering another benchmark for mid-tier conference hotel economics.

Direct peers

• Hilton Harrisburg: Full-service Hilton located in downtown Harrisburg with comparable meeting space and group-event capabilities. It is the most direct competitor for corporate, government, and association bookings in the Harrisburg market.
• Crowne Plaza Harrisburg-Hershey: IHG full-service property in the Harrisburg/Hershey corridor offering comparable rooms, event space, and brand-distribution scale; competes for the same corporate and leisure travelers.
• Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel: Upscale Marriott-brand property near Harrisburg with significant meeting and event space serving similar corporate, wedding, and leisure segments traveling to Hershey and Harrisburg.
• Hershey Lodge: Large convention-oriented resort adjacent to Hersheypark with extensive meeting space. It competes directly for group and leisure demand driven by Hershey-area tourism and corporate events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BWPtheCentralHotel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Central Hotel & Conference Center