Court says no more Paris Hilton
Hotels giant loses control of its only hotel inside Paris after five-star fight with property owner
WORLD hotels giant Hilton has lost control of its only site in the centre of Paris, the four-star Hilton Arc de Triomphe, after a court battle with the owners.
Property owner Société Immobilière et Hôtelière du Parc Monceau had complained that Hilton had "changed commercial strategy, leading to serious breaches of its obligations". A court agreed that this was enough to strip Hilton of its rights to manage the hotel, which it had controlled since 2004.
That means there will be no more Paris Hilton as the giant, which runs nearly 3,800 hotels worldwide, has been given three months to strip all Hilton branding from the 500-bed hotel in Rue de Courcelles in the VIII arrondissement.
Sited just "few minutes from the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Élysées and the boutiques of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré", it was Hilton's only hotel within the Paris "walls" and the company has announced that it is to appeal against the tribunal ruling.
SIHPM and its owner Albert Cohen said that Hilton's marketing strategy had failed to exploit the Hilton Arc de Triomphe correctly - and that it should have been a five-star hotel. SIHPM is also claiming €60million in damages.
