Structural engineers continued surveying the damage and searching yesterday for clues to what caused the glass skylight to collapse a day earlier above the eight-story atrium of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Hunt Valley.
The hotel remains closed and company officials said it was unknown how soon it would reopen.
About 2 p.m. Wednesday, one of two glass roof sections above the hotel's atrium collapsed and fell eight stories, forcing guests to evacuate and a Baltimore County structural engineer to quickly declare the hotel unsafe for occupancy, officials said.
No one was injured during the collapse, county fire officials said.
Dawn Ray, a spokeswoman at the hotel chain's Memphis, Tenn., headquarters, said yesterday that she didn't know how long it would take the company's structural engineers to pinpoint the cause.
"The damage appears to be isolated to the atrium area," Ray said. "We're taking every precaution necessary."
A county engineer and the county's chief building inspector examined the site shortly after Wednesday's collapse but were unable to determine the cause.
Ray said that as soon as the cause is determined, the hotel's staff would be able to begin the cleanup.
"We've never had anything like this happen before," said Ray, who added that the hotel chain was established in 1984.
All of the company's 186 hotels in the United States, Canada and Latin America have skylights towering above wide atriums, she said.
The atrium runs through the center of the hotel, which is in the 200 block of International Circle near Hunt Valley Towne Centre. It features soaring glass ceilings and a landscaped footpath, according to the hotel's Web site. The area also includes benches and tables, where breakfast is served daily.
Shortly after the county temporarily condemned the building Wednesday and ordered a more thorough inspection by structural engineers, guests were allowed to return to retrieve their belongings but were told they couldn't stay at the hotel.
Of the hotel's 223 rooms, 130 were occupied at the time of the roof collapse, according to hotel officials. The hotel's staff was able to get all guests booked at area hotels.
Yesterday, hotel employees and staff from corporate headquarters called people with reservations in the coming days to assist them in finding alternate accommodations, Ray said.
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