The Trump name is a mixed bag for the Trump Organization's expanding hotel business, overseen by the president's eldest two sons and Eric Danziger, a seasoned hotel veteran who heads up the Trump hotels division. The once-bustling five-star Trump SoHo in lower Manhattan is laying off people and cutting services due to slumping room bookings and corporate events, WNYC reports. The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the other hand, has become a destination for Trump fans and foreign governments — Saudi Arabia spent $270,000 at the D.C. hotel through its lobbying firm, Qorvis MSLGroup, between October and April, The Daily Caller reported Sunday, citing disclosure filings.
The newest Trump hotel brand, announced Monday, won't carry the Trump name, but it appears aimed at Trump Country. Following in the footprints of the Trump four-star boutique Scion brand, aimed at millennials, Trump's new American Idea brand will target the midscale three-star market. The idea for the Americana-themed hotels, Danziger said, came from Trump's children, who were unimpressed with the midscale hotel options they saw campaigning for their father across the country. The Trump Organization filed for a trademark for the name American Idea in April 2016.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump still has a stake in his family business. "There's always room for new brands," Jan A. deRoos, a professor of hotel finance and real estate at Cornell University, tells The New York Times. Jumping into the three-star market "completely opens up the world to them. The brand evolution is great. But as a president, he needs to separate himself from this."
-
What’s the best way to use your year-end bonus?the explainer Pay down debt, add it to an emergency fund or put it toward retirement
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
What are portable mortgages and how do they work?the explainer Homeowners can transfer their old rates to a new property in the UK and Canada. The Trump administration is considering making it possible in the US.
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
