Four Seasons Seoul benefits from hosting AlphaGo – Lee games

“Google is also one of our key clients but I could not but support Lee Se-dol as a human being," said Four Seasons Hotel Seoul’s general manager Lubosh Barta (46, photo), who watched the AlphaGo - Lee matches closer than anyone over the past week. The historic Go matches were hosted by Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in central Seoul. The hotel, newly opened October last year, has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the event as the eyes of the whole world were fixed there throughout the whole week.

Mr. Barta said in an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo on Tuesday, "All the cab drivers have now come to know the location of our hotel, known as the ‘Lee Se-dol Hotel’ among them,” adding that he was “proud that not only the hotel but Seoul city has become more familiar to world’s travelers.”

The games were held under high security. The manager said that Google made a reservation three months in advance under a third party name, and notified it was scheduled for the "human versus AI" Go games just one month before the date. Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin’s visit on Saturday was also under the veil until a couple of days in advance. “I heard that Google chose Four Seasons Seoul because of our central location and high-tech facilities,” said Mr. Barta when asked about how the spot was selected.

He continued to explain that when he met with Lee and the Google team prior to the event, Lee was especially satisfied about the comfortable room conditions as he was staying with family, while the Google team paid much attention about the IT facilities. The hotel had even prepared back-up plans in case of a possible shut-down during the matches.

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