The Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre will remain open under the Hilton brand after the Trinidad and Tobago Government completed an agreement transferring full ownership of the hotel to the State. Through Evolving Technologies and Enterprise Development Company Ltd. (e TecK), the Government acquired all issued and outstanding shares of Hilton International Trinidad Ltd., replacing the previous landlord-tenant arrangement with a State-owned, Hilton-operated model. Hilton will continue managing the hotel under a new management agreement, allowing operations to continue without interruption.

The agreement provides reassurance for more than 300 employees whose jobs had been placed in doubt after Hilton warned that it could stop operating the hotel when its previous arrangement expired Sept. 18. The Communications Workers’ Union has welcomed the assurances given to workers, after previously raising concerns about possible displacement, severance calculations and uncertainty over the future of employees. The union had also sought clarity on the preservation of workers’ accumulated service, benefits and collective bargaining rights during any transition.

Under the new arrangement, workers will remain employed while Hilton continues to manage the property. The initial management agreement is for six months, with the possibility of an extension, giving the State time to address the hotel's longer-term future and outstanding operational and investment issues. The Government has also indicated that significant refurbishment is needed, with only about half of the hotel's room inventory reportedly usable, making investment and modernization key issues for the property's long-term viability.