The iconic Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan has been sold by Hilton to a Chinese insurance company for $1.95 billion. That is a huge price, but the new owner, Anbang Insurance Group, is not done spending. They are planning a renovation of the hotel as well.
The classic Waldorf Astoria in New York
The good part about the sale, for those interested in staying on miles and points, is that Hilton will continue to manage it. As of right now, there has not been any announcement of a termination of Hilton HHonors participation, so it will continue to be available for award bookings. It is not a cheap booking, however. It will require 70,000 or 80,000 points a night.
For day to day operation, no one should really notice anything different. The management of Hilton, on a contract that is to last 100 years, will keep it running and the new owners will do the renovation work. The interesting part is the amount of money paid. That makes for one expensive hotel! It works out to be a cost of $1.3 million per key. If that is too expensive and you have always wanted to own a hotel, there is this one at a much more manageable price of $15,000 per key. 🙂 Anyways, I hope Hilton buys some nice new properties with all of this money.
HT: NY Times
