on the 7th floor. The Vista International was the first major hotel to open in Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street since 1836. The building was originally owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which sold it to KUO Hotels of Korea. In 1989, the Port Authority bought it back for $78 million but the operating rights remained in the hands of Hilton International as management agent. On November 9, 1995, it was sold to Host Marriott Corporation for $141.5 million. This was one year after the reopening due to an extensive renovation following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The new company started operations in January 1996. In 2002, Host Marriott Corporation was offered an opportunity to rebuild the hotel in the same location within the World Trade Center site as its lease which was signed until 2094 had not expired. Marriott declined the offer, and in October 2003, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted on an agreement under which the Host Marriott Corporation would "surrender the premises" resulting in termination of the lease and thus giving the land to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. 1993 World Trade Center bombing On February 26, 1993, the hotel was seriously damaged as a result of the World Trade Center bombing. Terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda took a Ryder truck loaded with 1,500 pounds (682 kilograms) of explosives and parked it in the North Tower parking garage below the hotel's ballroom. At 12:18 p.m. (EDT), the explosion destroyed or seriously damaged the lower and sub levels of the World Trade Center complex. After extensive repairs, the hotel reopened on November 1, 1994, and one year later was purchased by Marriott. September 11, 2001 attacks On September 11, 2001, the hotel had 940 registered guests. In addition, the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) was holding its yearly conference at the hotel from September 8 to 11, 2001. When American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower (1 WTC) at 8:46 a.m. EDT, its landing gear fell on the hotel's roof. Firefighters used the lobby as a staging area, and were also in the hotel to evacuate guests that may have still been inside. Firefighters also reported human remains of entire corpses on the roof from people that were forced to jump or accidentally fell from the burning towers. The collapse of the