Trump Hotels Contractor Hacked; Guests' Information Exposed

Trump Hotels is scrambling to contain the fallout after guests' information at more than a dozen different hotels were exposed due to a hack of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, the provider of the system the hotel group uses for reservations.

Trump Hotels, which is owned by President Donald Trump, issued a statement on its website saying that the hack "did not affect Trump Hotels' systems," but because it takes guest information "very seriously" it is recommending guests take action to protect themselves. A total of 14 hotels worldwide were affected, including Trump's new hotel in D.C.

Trump Hotels says that Sabre, maker of the SynXis Central Reservations system, notified it June 5 that "an unauthorized party gained access to account credentials that permitted access to payment card data and certain reservation information for some of our hotel reservations processed through Sabre's CRS."

The hacker had access to information from guests at Trump Hotels between Aug. 10, 2016 and March 9, 2017, a staggering seven months, according to the statement

"The unauthorized party was able to access payment card information for some hotel reservations at certain properties listed here, including cardholder name, payment card number, card expiration date, and potentially card security code," the statement reads. "In some cases, the unauthorized party also was able to access guest name, email, phone number, address, and other information. Information such as Social Security, passport, and driver’s license number was not accessed."

Trump Hotels says it is working with Sabre to address the issue, and law enforcement is involved. It is advising guests to "remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft."

Trump has removed himself from daily operation of his hotel empire, passing those duties onto his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, but he remains the owner despite calls for him to divest from his business.

Trump's defiance of calls to divest have prompted lawsuits claiming that he is violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits U.S. officials from receiving payments from foreign governments.

Ever since Trump's ascendancy to the presidency, the Trump International Hotel in D.C. in particular has been a focal point of concern about conflicts of interest. In February, Saudi Arabia reportedly paid for a room at the Trump International Hotel after Inauguration Day. The firm that booked the hotel, Qorvis MSLGroup, has been trying to get Congress to repeal a law allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi.

Image via Trump International Hotel