NEWS

Last updated: 2026.03.25

Thank you for your continued patronage of Hotel GrandBach Kyoto Select.

We have received inquiries that some guests who made reservations at “Hotel GrandBach Kyoto Select” (the “Hotel”) via Expedia.com and its group sites (“Expedia.com”) received phishing messages from an external third party via the messaging app WhatsApp.

We sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience and concern this has caused.

We hereby report the results of our subsequent investigation as follows.

■ Investigation results

Our investigation confirmed that, originating from a phishing email received by one of our employees, a third party unlawfully obtained the Hotel’s credentials for the reservation management screen provided by Expedia.com and accessed that management screen.
In addition, we have received a report that a guest who stayed at the Hotel and received a phishing message via WhatsApp entered card information, resulting in unauthorized payment damage (one case as of the date of this notice).

■ Scope of personal information accessed without authorization

After confirming with Expedia, the information accessed without authorization includes the names, phone numbers, stay dates, and similar details of some guests who made reservations via Expedia for stays between February 21, 2026 and January 31, 2027 (no access to credit card information has been confirmed).

■ Measures to prevent further damage

Following the discovery of this incident, Expedia promptly implemented measures such as blocking access. In addition, Expedia has sent WhatsApp messages advising caution to guests who may have had their personal information accessed without authorization.

■ Preventive measures

We take this matter very seriously and will proceed with the following measures to prevent recurrence.

• Review of security measures for integrations with external reservation systems
• Strengthening of account management controls
• Ongoing security training for employees
• Strengthening operations, including multi-factor authentication

We sincerely apologize to our guests and all related parties for the concern this incident has caused.
We will continue to work with external system providers to maintain a secure operational framework.

When contacting guests regarding reservations, we will not contact you via social media or WhatsApp.
If you receive a suspicious message, please take great care not to access any URL links contained in the message.
If you receive a message such as the above regarding reservations at the Hotel, please contact the following desk.

[Reservation Inquiries Contact Desk]
Hotel GrandBach Kyoto Select
Phone: 075-221-2211
Email: info-kyoto@grandbach.co.jp

Customer Inquiry Contact for Personal Information Handling
Green Hospitality Management Co., Ltd. (GB Division)
Email: hotel@greenhouse.co.jp