A screenshot, which has been circulating on WeChat since Tuesday, alleges that nearly 500 million pieces of personal information about guests of Chinese leading hotel chain operator Huazhu Group Ltd. can be purchased online for eight Bitcoin (about 380,000 yuan or $56,000).The suspected leak involves about 123 million pieces of official website registration information, 130 million pieces of check-in data and 240 pieces of booking information from more than a dozen subsidiaries of Huazhu Group including Hanting, Crystal Orange and Grand Mercure.

In an official notice issued on Tuesday afternoon, Huazhu said that a police investigation is underway and they have requested technical organizations to verify whether the data sold online has been leaked from the group.

Huazhu is reported to rank 9th among the world's largest hotel groups with more than 3,700 properties in over 370 Chinese cities. The multi-brand hotel group was listed on the Nasdaq exchange in March, 2010.