President Donald Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is working towards opening a second hotel in Washington, D.C. As first reported by The Washington Post, the Trump Organization has shown interest in reopening and converting one of several boutique hotels in the capital into a hotel licensed under the company’s more affordably-priced Scion sub-brand.
Rather than have the Trump Organization own the property, the planned hotel will instead be owned by another developer who will pay the Trump Organization a fee to manage the hotel and a licensing fee for its name.
The Post reports that “the more affordable Scion hotels would be owned by other developers who would pay the Trumps’ company for licensing rights and management”—unlike the Trump International Hotel half a mile from the White House. That Trump family-owned hotel first opened to the public in September 2016. Since then, it has been vandalized and has even lowered its prices. According to Bisnow, the hotel also lost $1.2 million in revenue during the first two months of operation.
Properties that Trump representatives have reportedly considered include Carlyle Hotel in Dupont Circle, Kimpton Glover Park, a new hotel under development in Adams Morgan, and the Beacon Hotel at 1615 Rhode Island Avenue NW.
• President Trump’s company pursues second Washington hotel [The Washington Post]
• A New Trump Brand Not Named for Trump? Yes, Meet Scion [The New York Times]
• Trump’s D.C. hotel lost more than $1M in the first two months [Bisnow]