High-Paying Guests Hacked at Mandarin Oriental

Luxury hotel chain Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group says credit card systems at some of its locations in the United States and Europe have been breached.

Financial industry officials said they suspected a compromise, after spotting a pattern of fraudulent charges on customer cards that had all recently been used at Mandarin hotels.

The hotelier said in an emailed statement. “Mandarin Oriental can confirm that the credit card systems in an isolated number of our hotels in the US and Europe have been accessed without authorization and in violation of both civil and criminal law. The Group has identified and removed the malware and is coordinating with credit card agencies, law enforcement authorities and forensic specialists to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to fully protect our guests and our systems across our portfolio.” 

Banking industry officials say the breach almost certainly impacted most if not all Mandarin hotels in the United States, including locations in New York and Washington, D.C.

It is possible the card data was nipped from payment terminals at restaurants and other retail establishments inside of these hotels — and not the hotel front desk systems.