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- A Titanic-themed hotel is being planned for Columbus by Unsinkable Hotels, marking the brand’s first-ever project.
- The hotel aims to immerse guests in a 1912 experience with period-specific designs and amenities.
- The estimated $30 million project is slated to open in early 2028 in one of the city’s qualified Opportunity Zones.
Call Ohio’s capital an iceberg, because the Titanic could be headed straight for Columbus. In hotel form, that is.
Unsinkable Hotels, a brand of start-up hospitality company Historical Hospitality Group, Inc. (HHG), is making plans for its first-ever property to be located in Columbus — and it’s not your average inn. The development would be entirely Titanic-themed, from a squash court modeled after the one featured on the real ship to live musicians to designated staff members dressed in early 1900s garb immersing guests in the history.
“I envision people walk up the gangway, and then step inside and be back in 1912,” said HHG President Andrew Messing, who prefers to call the hotel’s guests “passengers.” “I very much envision the hotel to be kind of a living, breathing replica of a turn-of-the-century ocean liner.”
The Michigan-based hospitality group was founded in 2023 as a brand ownership company for various projects that Messing and his team wanted to pursue. Unsinkable Hotels, which works with boutique hotels, is the first project for that company, and Columbus is to be home to its first-ever property.
Messing, also founder and CEO of the Unsinkable brand, said depending on this location’s success, additional ocean liner-themed hotels in different cities could be in the company’s future.
The inspiration for the concept is manifold, Messing said. On a personal level, Messing has been a self-proclaimed “Titanic enthusiast” since he was a child, even spending time analyzing ship blueprints and reading statistics about the passengers. On a global level, the story of the Titanic, which crashed and sank in 1912, remains fascinating to people a century after its demise, with many drawn to the ship’s architecture and design.
The city of Columbus even has its own ties to the Titanic, Messing said. Roughly 55 of the over 2,200 people aboard the ship were on their way to Ohio, and one — a Columbus native — even met her future husband on a lifeboat.
Messing estimates the project will cost around $30 million, host 50-55 hotel rooms and occupy around 50,000-60,000 square feet. The target opening date is early 2028, with construction expected to take around 18 months. The company has put together preliminary concept ideas, but does not yet have official plans or a site.
With hopes to secure a specific location by early 2026, Messing said the project will be situated in one of the city’s qualified Opportunity Zones, or economically distressed areas that incentivize new investments with potential tax benefits because of the jobs they create. The project is currently seeking investors, and those interested can access more information through Unsinkable’s investor portal.
“We’re very passionate about redevelopment and helping grow the area, so it fits pretty well with our project goals too, and our company in general,” Messing said.
Among the hotel’s list of planned amenities are a dining saloon and cafe, a rooftop venue, two lounges, a swimming pool, a gymnasium and a Turkish bath spa like the Titanic’s own.
“We’re really trying to offer a unique experience for people, really offering that high level of upscale hospitality that people associate with the era, and that high level of design and grandeur,” Messing said. “Bringing that history back to life in a way.”
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
