Trump Hotels Looking to Expand

Trump Hotels Looking to Expand

While President Trump says he's removed himself from his businesses, the people left to run them are capitalizing on his famous name.

Cashing In On The Boss' Famous Name?

President Trump says he’s distancing himself from his businesses so he can focus on being President, but that isn’t stopping the folks he’s tapped to manage his hotels, office buildings, and other properties from trying to cash in on the Trump name.

Bloomberg reports today that Trump Hotels Chief Executive Officer Eric Danziger is eager to expand the chain into 26 major markets across the U.S.. Trump now has hotels in six U.S. markets: New York, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, Honolulu, and Washington.

The Trump organization also is doubling new membership fees – to $200,000 — at its Mar-A-Lago club and resort in south Florida. Trump already is calling Mar-A-Lago “The Winter White House;” he and his family celebrated the New Year at the resort and the President tweeted a photo last week of himself writing his inaugural speech there.

Common Cause and other organizations have urged the President to put the hotels and the rest of his holdings into a blind trust so that there will be no question that his decisions as President are not being influenced by his financial interests. Trump has refused, ignoring a custom followed by many of his predecessors, but insists he will take no role in the management of his businesses during his term of office.

One group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), filed a lawsuit this week accusing Trump of violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bars the President from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments.