Here's a
more informative article, IMO.
"Hotel values have plunged, too, meaning the Westin’s lenders could face steep losses. The hotel at 601 N. Milwaukee Ave.
was appraised at $110 million in May 2007 but just $51.2 million in March, according to a loan report by Bloomberg L.P."
"It’s a familiar story for a growing number of local hotels that loaded up on debt during the boom. New York-based research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc. estimates that
$1.4 billion of Chicago hotels are in financial distress, up from $680 million a year ago."
I don't think that this is big news for this forum, though. We have plenty of other examples where hotels have financial distress and continue to operate without much impact to the customers.