MYRTLE BEACH, SC – If you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Little River or Surfside Beach last fall – or if a friend or family member did – there’s a chance credit card data was stolen, according to Holiday Inn’s parent company, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG).

The company announced last Friday that more than 1,174 franchise hotels of various brands in the United States had data breaches. IHG has in its stable Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, and other hotel brands. Malware was downloaded onto front desk computers, and when a clerk swiped a card to charge it, the number and information was funneled through hackers.

Credit card networks told some of the hotels that were hit about patterns of unauthorized charges after the hotels charged cards legitimately, IHG said in a statement.

In South Carolina, 19 Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites locations were affected. Three of the hotel chains were hit in the Charleston area and two in Horry County.

IHG has set up a drop-down menu-based system where you must select individual states and cities to see if your hotel was affected.

The company has apologized for the breach, and is advising customers to watch their bills and credit reports.