NEW YORK—Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd., owner of the Waldorf Astoria New York, is planning to close the hotel for about three years while up to three-quarters of the property’s guestrooms—1,000 of its 1,413 rooms—will be converted into condos, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The move would shut down the hotel in the spring and the overhaul could phase out hundreds of hospitality jobs—a severance agreement of approximately $100 million was reached for the staff being affected, according to WSJ. Upon completion of the renovation, the hotel is expected to offer between 300 to 500 luxury guestrooms.
In 2014, the Chinese insurer acquired the Waldorf Astoria New York for close to $2 million and, earlier this year, the company as part of a consortium backed out of an offer of approximately $14 billion to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
The Waldorf Astoria brand is slated to debut luxury residences in Beverly Hills, CA in 2017.