Kimpton Hotels, an upscale boutique hotel brand that includes 62 properties across the United States, said today it is investigating reports of a credit card breach at a number of their locations.
Today, Kimpton issued and posting the following statement:
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants takes the protection of payment card data very seriously. Kimpton was recently made aware of a report of unauthorized charges occurring on cards that were previously used legitimately at Kimpton properties. As soon as we learned of this, we immediately launched an investigation and engaged a leading security firm to provide us with support.
We are committed to swiftly resolving this matter. In the meantime, and in line with best practice, we recommend that individuals closely monitor their payment card account statements. If there are unauthorized charges, individuals should immediately notify their bank. Payment card network rules generally state that cardholders are not responsible for such charges.
If the breach is found to be real hotel breach, Kimpton joins a fairly long list of hotel brands that have acknowledged credit card breaches over the last year, including Trump Hotels (at least twice), Hilton, Mandarin Oriental, and White Lodging (twice). Breaches also have hit hospitality chains Hyatt and Starwood Hotels.
In many of these incidents, thieves had installed malicious software on the point-of-sale devices at restaurants and bars inside of the hotel chains. However, the source and extent of the apparent breach at Kimpton properties is as yet, still unknown.
You should remember that you are not liable for fraudulent charges on your credit or debit cards. There is still a responsibility to report any unauthorized transactions. Please remember that there is no substitute for keeping a close eye on credit card statements. Also, remember that using credit cards instead of debit cards saves your account from being emptied; dealing with your checking account being emptied of cash while your bank sorts out the situation can be a hassle and lead to secondary problems such as bounced checks, for instance.