More clues in Marriott’s data breach: Reuters is reporting that hackers behind Marriott’s data breach left clues suggesting they were working for a Chinese government intelligence operation. According to sources, private investigators have found evidence that the hackers used tools attributable to Chinese hackers, but that other parties had access to the same tools. As well, investigators suspect multiple hacks to Starwood’s system, which Marriott acquired in the merger of the companies, since 2014. A Chinese government spokesman declined to comment but said the country strongly opposes any form of hacking.
Saudis rented Trump rooms: The Washington Post is reporting that in the months after Donald Trump’s election in 2016 as U.S. president, lobbyists representing the Saudi Arabian government reserved blocks of rooms at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel, ultimately paying US$270,000 for a total of 500 nights’ stay. It was part of an effort to get U.S. veterans, who stayed in the rooms, to lobby against a proposed law allowing 9/11 families to sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to the Post, those veterans weren’t aware of the source of the money.
Read more in the Washington Post (subscription)
San Francisco Marriott settles strike: More than 2,000 Marriott hotel workers in San Francisco voted to approve a new contract, ending a two-month strike. The city’s Marriotts were the longest holdouts in the multiple-city strike.
Read more in the San Luis Obispo Tribune
Study in Chicago: New York-based developer Hospitality 3 is putting the third Study Hotel in Chicago, at the University of Chicago. Opening is expected in 2021. The Study at University of Chicago will have 167 rooms, restaurant, conference space and a winter garden.
Chatham acquires in Dallas: Hotel REIT Chatham Lodging Trust acquired the recently opened 167-room Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Dallas, Texas, for US$49 million, or approximately $293,000 per room. The 12-story hotel, which opened in September, will be managed by Island Hospitality Management.
New president at CSM: Minneapolis, Minnesota-based CSM Corporation named Mark Prince president of its lodging and residential properties division, overseeing more than 6,600 hotel rooms and 2,500 residential units under CSM management. Previously, Prince was divisional vice president of operations and COO of Holiday Retirement, an independent senior living provider; he also held positions at Pluris Management Group and White Lodging Services.
Park Inn in Philippines: Radisson Hotel Group’s Park Inn by Radisson signed a new hotel in Bacolod, the Philippines. The 153-room hotel, scheduled to open in 3Q 2020, is being developed by SM Hotels and Conventions Corp., an affiliate of SM Prime Holdings Inc.
JV buys Orlando dual resort: A joint venture of funds managed by Hawaii’s Trinity Real Estate Investments and Elliott Management Corporation acquired the Grande Lakes Orlando Resort, a 409-acre complex with a 582-room Ritz-Carlton, a 998-room JW Marriott and an 18-hole golf course. The price was US$900 million, and the seller was Blackstone, which had acquired the property as part of a portfolio in 2015.
Read more at Institutional Real Estate