NEW YORK CITY—When a hotelier has the US State Department and the White House as its customers, there's probably a good chance of scrutiny coming your way when the ownership changes hands.
That appears to be happening in the case of the Waldorf-Astoria New York sale, which went into contract last week, with a Chinese insurance company being the buyer. The two US government entities are concerned about potential security risks, according to the Wall Street Journal.
US officials are reviewing the Oct. 6 purchase of the Waldorf by the Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group, which bought the hotel from Hilton Worldwide for $1.95 billion. Anbang reportedly is linked to the Chinese communist party, notes the New York Daily News.
Terms of the sale allow Hilton to run the hotel for the next 100 years and call for "a major renovation" that has raised concerns in Washington, where fears of Chinese eavesdropping and cyber espionage run high.
Officals also note that the sale could impact the government's longstanding relationship with the hotel, which serves as home to the American ambassador to the United Nations and hosts the president and hundreds of US diplomats during the annual U.N. General Assembly. US Presidents historically have stayed at the hotel during NYC visits as it features a series of underground tunnels that could facilitate shelter or a quick getaway in the case of terrorism or some other catastrophic event.
A spokesman for the US Mission to the United Nations, tells the Journal that decisions about the future of the U.S. relationship with the Waldorf would be made based on cost, Anbang's long-term plans for the hotel, and the government's needs and security concerns.
For more than 50 years, the State Department has leased a residence for the US ambassador to the U.N. on the 42nd floor of the hotel's Waldorf Towers. And, every September, the department takes over two floors of the Waldorf to serve as headquarters for the horde of U.S. diplomats that decamp from Washington for the U.N. General Assembly. During the session, the president spends several nights at the Waldorf. US law allows the state department to rent the ambassador's residence for a term of 10 years or less. The current lease expires next year with an option to renew it for one or two years.
But ending the government's relationship with the Waldorf could be problematic and costly, officials note to the Journal. The U.N. ambassador's residence must meet many requirements, the spokesman adds, including appropriate housing, reception space, security, proximity to the US Mission to the United Nations and the U.N. headquarters.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
