Mandarin Oriental will be losing their second property in the Americas this year as the Mandarin Oriental Atlanta, located in the Buckhead suburb will join Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand. This comes after the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas recently transitioned to the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas earlier this summer.

Per Fox 5 Atlanta,

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has received notice of termination of its management agreement for Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta and will cease managing the hotel from 7 December 2018. The termination is consequent to the sale of the hotel by iStar Financial Inc. Mandarin Oriental has successfully positioned this award-winning hotel as a market leader in the city and is proud of the value the brand has added to the asset since 2012.

“Mandarin Oriental currently has 19 hotel projects under development and remains committed to growing its portfolio globally,” noted James Riley, Group Chief Executive. The Group regularly reviews opportunities for development in important destinations, including those located in the US.”

This is a welcome addition to Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand, as their loyalty program is far superior to Mandarin Oriental’s, so from a guest perspective, I view this change as a win.

This isn’t the first time the Mandarin Oriental Atlanta has switched management companies, as it previously was part of Rosewood Hotels before transitioning over to Mandarin Oriental.

At the end of the day it’s about the bottom line and I suspect that Mandarin’s management fees are higher than Hilton’s and they weren’t delivering the financial results that ownership wanted, which is why they’re being kicked out.

As for Mandarin Oriental, they are down to only four properties in the United States including the Mandarin Oriental, New York, Mandarin Oriental, Boston, Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C. and the Mandarin Oriental, Miami.

Hat Tip: One Mile at a Time