As Columbia Sussex’s Hilton Anchorage Debt Nears Maturity UNITE HERE Releases its Report “Behind the Wallpaper” Documenting Recent Developments around Mold and Water Intrusion at the Hilton Anchorage

NEW YORK--()--UNITE HERE released a report today for prospective lenders who might consider refinancing the debt of the Columbia Sussex Corporation (CSC)-owned Hilton Anchorage Hotel, which matures in March 2017. The report provides lenders with information on recent developments on mold and water intrusion at the Anchorage property. It details that:

  The Hilton Anchorage has been combatting persistent mold and conditions conducive to mold growth since at least 2014. The report documents a leak in the hotel lobby most recently in August 2016, as well as a recurrent leak in late March – early April l, 2016.
 

On March 31, 2016 a leak sprung from around a light fixture in the hotel’s lobby causing water to spill down onto the lobby floor on three separate occasions until April 2.
 

The hotel reported repairing water damage in some rooms as a result of a January 2016 earthquake that struck the Anchorage area.
 

There was a leak at the hotel emanating from a room in the Anchorage Tower on December 8, 2015, which resulted in the hotel having to turn off its heat in the entire Anchorage tower during the evening. The average temperature in Anchorage on December 8, 2015 was 16o F according to data from the National Weather Service.
 

Pictures taken of three separate rooms under repair in July 2016 reveal the apparent effects of mold.
 

In December 2014, the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health agency (AKOSH) issued citations against the hotel alleging a failure to comply with Alaska OSHA rules governing hazard assessment and protective equipment. AKOSH itself reported finding “the presence of mold to various levels of count” during three sampling protocols it conducted “at various times throughout the hotel.” The hotel settled the AKOSH citations in January 2015, paying a fine.

Potential lenders will find the report useful in assessing whether to refinance the Hilton Anchorage’s debt, particularly in light of what may become a challenging financial environment for the hotel industry.

Read the report: http://unitehere.org/wp-content/uploads/LenderReport3.pdf

UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents 270,000 working people across Canada and the United States. UNITE HERE Local 878 represents workers at the Hilton Anchorage where there is currently an active labor dispute.

Contacts

UNITE HERE
Levi Pine, 312-296-7649
lpine@unitehere.org

Contacts

UNITE HERE
Levi Pine, 312-296-7649
lpine@unitehere.org