Crowne Plaza, Which Hosted Daddyland, Files for Bankruptcy

The owner of the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Dallas — which made headlines last summer for evicting dozens of people in town for a gay circuit party — has filed for bankruptcy.

California-based TOG Hotel Properties, owned by Terry Tognazzini, filed for bankruptcy in the Northern District of Texas on Feb. 20, according to court records. The company has less than 50 creditors and its debts are estimated to be between $10 million and $50 million, the filing said.

The 291-key hotel was the host of the annual Daddyland festival in July 2024, when Tognazzini abruptly canceled the event and kicked out attendees, claiming they violated the hotel’s dress code. The owner said he received complaints from members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, a historically Black sorority that also hosted a convention at the hotel that weekend.

It’s unclear whether the Daddyland booking or the cancellation of the event on the hotel’s premises were significant factors in the bankruptcy filing.

Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown, at 1015 Elm Street, was built in 1969 and received a $10 million makeover in 2020, the Dallas Morning News reported.

After purchasing the property in 2007, Tognazzini converted an attached theater into a nightclub called Thrive and the Ten15Elm restaurant. He also added more than 20,000 square feet of event space.

The property was valued at $20 million in 2024, according to appraisal district records.

The Crowne Plaza’ bankruptcy is a dark spot in an otherwise stable hospitality market.

Dallas saw a 3.4 percent increase in its average daily rate over 2024, a recent report from Matthews said. There are nearly 5,000 hotel rooms in the city’s development pipeline, with nearly half of the rooms in the pipeline are expected to be delivered before the end of 2025.

In addition, hotel sales are expected to rise this year, the report said.