Hilton Worldwide is looking to sell all or part of the historic Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. In a phone interview with Bloomberg Businessweek on Thursday, Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said, “We may look to reposition the hotel,” but the company has not yet decided how or with who. Nassetta said the repositioning “would require capital, so we would look at the option of selling all or a stake in the hotel.” There are a lot of details still unresolved since Nassetta also said that he would prefer selling Hilton’s real estate in a portfolio transaction rather than single-property deals. So there’s no timeline in place for the repositioning of the property. Part of the 1,232-room hotel could even be converted to residential or retail use. When the Waldorf Astoria opened in 1931, it was the largest hotel in the world. Hilton Worldwide has owned the property since 1972. “There will always be the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, but it may include other uses,” said Nessetta.
