Hyatt Hotels has told its customers their payment system was breached by a cyber attack.
The chain announced on Thursday that they had discovered unauthorized access to payment card information at certain Hyatt-managed locations between March 18, 2017 and July 2, 2017.
They said the incident meant personal information such as names, card numbers, expiration dates and internal verification codes with cards that were either manually entered or swiped at the front desk were at risk.
A total of 41 properties were affected in 13 countries, with China accounting for 18 properties, three in Hawaii were affected, as well as three in Puerto Rico and also one in Guam.
Pictured here is The Grand Hyatt hotel in the district of Wanchai in Hong Kong, which is one of the places affected by the card data breach
Hyatt properties in India, Japan and Saudi Arabia were also impacted.
Its cyber security team discovered signs of the unauthorized access in July and launched an internal investigation, which was completed Thursday.
Chuck Floyd, global president of operations for Hyatt Hotels Corporation said on the official Hyatt page the incident only impacted ‘a small percentage of payment cards used by guests who visited the group of affected Hyatt hotels during the time period.’
However, he wanted to assure guests that Hyatt implemented measures and did everything in their power to prevent this from happening again.
Pictured here is a Hyatt property in Hawaii, which is another country affected by the 2017 credit card scam
He concluded: ‘This incident is something we take seriously, and we are sorry for the inconvenience and concern this may cause our guests.’
‘Upon discovery, we launched a comprehensive investigation to understand what happened and how this occurred, which included engaging leading third-party experts, payment card networks and authorities,’ the firm said on its FAQ page.
‘While this incident affects a small percentage of guests, it’s important to Hyatt that we notify guests and provide helpful information about steps they can take.’
‘We have directly contacted all guests for whom we have appropriate and reliable contact information that used payment cards at affected hotels during the at-risk dates.’
This is a sunset view from a Hyatt Shanghai hotel, which is the highest building in the city
‘We do not have appropriate contact information for all guests, so we have also posted this notice with a list of affected hotels and respective at-risk dates,’ they concluded.
This isn’t the first scandal the hotel juggernaut has been associated with.
In late 2015 Hyatt said its payment processing system was infected with credit-card-stealing malware, that had affected 250 hotels in about 50 countries.
The company is encouraging its customers to scan through their transaction history to make sure there is nothing dodgy going on.
The Grand Hyatt hotel (pictured) is in the district of Wanchai in Hong Kong, China
They said at the time they: ‘discovered malicious software designed to steal credit card data on computers that operate the payment processing systems for Hyatt-managed locations.’
Hyatt claimed they had ‘taken steps to strengthen the security of its systems, and customers can feel confident using payment cards at Hyatt hotels worldwide,’ according to Threat Post.
The giant hotel chain has more than 600 properties in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Hyatt isn’t the only hotel chain being affected as InterContinental Hotels Group, Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos franchise, and the Travel services company Sabre Corp. all reported breaches of their systems.
Another place affected was a property in Guam, pictured here is the Hyatt Regency Guam