The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., "dramatically" crushed profit expectations, raking in $1.97 million so far in 2017 while the Trump Organization had anticipated a loss of $2.1 million in the first four months of the year, The Washington Post writes. The numbers represent a 192 percent improvement on what the company had expected to earn.
In part, the Trump Organization had underestimated the amount people were willing to pay to stay in President Trump's hotel, with guests forking over an average of $652.98 a night compared with an average of $495 a night at other luxury hotels in the city, like the Hay-Adams, Four Seasons, and Willard. Additionally, the Trump Hotel's bar and restaurant have become go-to meeting places for big-spending Republicans in the capital; $8.2 million has been spent on food and drinks this year, the Post reports.
President Trump no longer runs the Trump Organization — management is handled by his sons — but he does still retain interest and technically profits off its successes. In light of the Trump International Hotel's success, that is sure to raise some eyebrows: "The basic integrity and credibility of the president of the United States of the federal procurement and contracting regime is at risk," George Washington University law professor Steven L. Schooner told The New York Times in January. "We are about to have a legitimate scandal on our hands."