In news that certainly shouldn’t hurt Atlanta’s unemployment rate, one of the tallest hotels ever built in the city is launching a massive hiring campaign in hopes of bringing on hundreds of qualified people in coming months.

Signia by Hilton Atlanta, a 976-room lodge owned by Georgia World Congress Center Authority, has announced a goal of hiring more than 700 new employees ahead of the project’s planned opening in January.

Towering over Mercedes-Benz Stadium on part of the Georgia Dome’s old site, the 40-story Signia is considered downtown’s largest ground-up hotel development in four decades.

Beginning Monday, Oct. 9, Signia leadership will host a series of five career fairs at GWCC’s Building C (Suites 201 to 205) in hopes of becoming “a major employer for the local Westside community,” according to the hiring announcement.

The final career fair is planned Nov. 10.

Available full and part-time jobs will cover a spectrum of hotel functions. Signia departments that need staffing include security, spa and wellness, front-of-house, housekeeping, food-and-beverage, and banquets, among others.  

Fun fact: The hotel became taller than Mercedes-Benz Stadium next door once it surpassed level 32; all eight levels above that look down on the stadium.Courtesy of Signia by Hilton Atlanta

Signia leaders say they’ve tapped into the local Atlanta talent pool and will continue to hire applicants from nearby universities and colleges, spanning from Atlanta Technical College and Georgia State University to Kennesaw State, Morris Brown College, and Georgia Tech.

Other partnerships between the hotel and local nonprofits—Atlanta Urban League, City of Refuge, Restoration Atlanta, Stride Dekalb, and Westside Works, among others—are meant to increase career opportunities in the hospitality industry, per Signia officials. 

The Signia career fairs are scheduled at GWCC (285 Andrew Young International Boulevard) during the following dates and times.

  • Oct. 9 (12 – 7 p.m.)
  • Oct. 10 (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
  • Oct. 11 (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
  • Nov. 9 (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.) 
  • Nov. 10 (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.)

Back in March, the Signia hotel project topped out at 40 stories and 453 feet tall, marking the tallest building on the city’s Westside. Guest bookings begin in mid-March next year, with nightly rates beginning at $300 for a double-queen room with city views. On-site parking is another $50 per day.

As for interiors, the hotel’s proximity to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena will be reflected in a sports-bar concept with stadium views called The Nest on Four. Six total food and beverage concepts are planned across the property, including signature restaurant Capolinea and daytime eatery Homespun.

An elevated pool area will also face The Benz, replete with a large bar called Highball.

Daytime view of the planned pool bar, Highball. Signia by Hilton Atlanta

The Signia building's Benz-facing facade and a sample interior design at the beauty bar. Courtesy of Signia by Hilton Atlanta

Elsewhere will be more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor events lawn, three boardrooms, and what Hilton officials are calling Georgia’s largest hotel ballroom, dubbed Triumph. Also in the mix are a spa, beauty bar, and fitness center with yoga stations and Peloton bikes.

The Signia’s 975-room count ranks it between the fifth largest hotel in Atlanta (Omni Atlanta Hotel: 1,038 rooms) and the current sixth (Sheraton Atlanta Hotel: 749 rooms). It will be Atlanta’s fifth tallest all-hotel tower; that category is still led by the 73-story Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, a John Portman-designed building completed in 1976 that stands as Atlanta’s fifth-tallest building overall today.

The Gensler-designed hotel project is the most visible part of the convention center’s 2020 Vision master plan, a sweeping campus redo

Head up to the gallery for a quick reminder of what the Signia tower’s expected to offer come early next year—and how it fits into Atlanta's skyline today. 

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