Trump Organization properties losing $1M a day to pandemic

[David Goldsmith]

WSJ News Exclusive | Coronavirus Costing Trump Properties Over $1 Million Daily in Lost Revenue

The majority of revenues for President Trump’s family business comes from travel and leisure, which have been hit hard by the forced closures and economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

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Coronavirus Costing Trump Properties Over $1 Million Daily in Lost Revenue
Crisis is also complicating Trump Organization’s effort to sell long-term lease on Washington hotel at a record price

The coronavirus outbreak is costing Trump Organization properties more than a million dollars in lost revenue daily and may have hurt the firm’s chances of earning a record price on the sale of its Washington hotel, according to an analysis of industry data and people familiar with the deal talks.

Trump Organization Losing $1M In Revenue Each Day - The Real Deal

President Donald Trump’s company relies heavily on tourism and large events, which have all but ceased during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Trump Organization properties are missing out on more than $1 million in revenue each day as the coronavirus pandemic hammers the hospitality sector, the company’s primary source of income.

Several Trump-owned properties have been forced to close and around 500 employees have been laid off or furloughed, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has shut properties in Las Vegas and Florida, including Mar-a-Lago and the Trump National Doral Miami.

Those that remain open are getting just a fraction of their usual business. One employee told the newspaper that one day last month, the 263-room Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., had just 11 guests.

The outbreak has put on hold negotiations to sell the long-term lease on the hotel, which opened just before Trump won the 2016 presidential election. The company was in talks with two potential buyers to sell the lease for as much as $350 million.
The Doral and Mar-a-Lago closed last week after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered hospitality properties shuttered to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. This week he followed that with a 30-day stay-at-home order.

The Doral gets most of its business from golf tournaments and conventions and subsequent hotel business. It alone could be losing as much as $200,000 per day to the pandemic, according to the Journal.

National golf course trade groups, including some that Trump-owned properties are members of, have lobbied government officials to allow courses to stay open or provide economic relief while they are closed. But Trump properties were barred from receiving direct support from the $2 trillion stimulus package that the president signed last week.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Trump Organization Asks Deutsche Bank for Reprieve

The Trump Organization asked its lender and landlord for a reprieve due to the coronavirus.

therealdeal.com

Trump Org asks lender, landlord for a break
The company is barred from receiving assistance from the $2T stimulus package

The Trump Organization, like many other companies, is hoping its lender will cut it a break.

While it loses a million dollars a day to the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump Organization has been exploring whether it can delay payments on some of its debts, the New York Times reported.

The company reached out to both its largest lender, Deutsche Bank, to see if it could postpone some loan payments. It also inquired with Palm Beach County to see if the county was still expecting monthly payments on the land for a 27-hole golf course it leases from the government.

The Trump Organization is certainly not alone in asking for a reprieve, as the broader hospitality industry reels from the coronavirus. The company closed the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, as well as numerous golf courses in New Jersey and New York as the country practices social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump properties were barred from receiving direct support from the $2 trillion stimulus package that President Donald Trump signed last week. It is not clear if the company was successful in its negotiations with lenders.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Trump’s Bronx Golf Course Lays Off 49 Employees

The Trump Organization’s taxpayer-funded golf course in the Bronx’s Ferry Point Park has laid off 49 employees because of the coronavirus.

therealdeal.com

Trump’s Bronx golf course closes, lays off 49 employees
Move joins long list of Covid-19 related layoffs in New York

The Trump Organization’s taxpayer-funded golf course in the Ferry Point Park section of the Bronx has closed and laid off 49 employees because of the coronavirus.

The layoffs at Trump Golf Links took place on Mar. 21, according to a notice made public Friday by the state Department of Labor. The notice does not specify the total number of employees at the venue, although it was reported in 2017 to have hired about 400 workers. The course’s website said the facility is “temporarily closed.”

Representatives for the golf course did not respond to a request for comment.

The move joins a long list of temporary layoffs due to “Unforeseeable business circumstances prompted by Covid-19” in New York state, as non-essential businesses have been shut down amid the epidemic.

The 18-hole, $236 million golf course opened in 2015. The city had initially set aside $20 million to build the course, but the costs skyrocketed to $100 million by 2010 and the developer dropped out of the project. Trump then swooped in and won the right to operate the course for 20 years.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Trump Organization Lays Off 70 NYC Hotel Workers - The Real Deal

The Trump International Hotel in New York City has laid off 70 workers amid the pandemic

therealdeal.com

Trump International Hotel lays off 70 employees
Job cuts are temporary, according to the president’s company

The Trump Organization’s Trump International Hotel & Tower in Manhattan has laid off 70 employees, a filing made public Monday shows.

The layoffs took effect in late March and were caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor. The notice characterizes the cuts as temporary and does not specify how many total employees work at the 1 Central Park West property.

Representatives for Trump Hotels and the Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.

The property has at least partially shut down amid the pandemic, according to its website. It has temporarily closed its restaurants, gym, pool and spa in accordance with the recent executive order from the state.

However, the hotel itself appears to remain open. Its online reservation platform still allows guests to book rooms as early as this week, and its website says the Trump Attaché service is still “at your service for personal grocery shopping, along with any special requests you may have during your stay.”

 

[David Goldsmith]

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Furloughs Employees During Coronaviru

Trump’s Southern White House furloughed 153 people as hotels across South Florida continue to feel the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

therealdeal.com

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago furloughs 153 employees
Trump National Doral Miami recently furloughed 560 employees

President Trump’s “Southern White House” furloughed 153 people, as hotels and resorts across South Florida continue to feel the effects of the pandemic.
The Trump Organization said it was forced to place non-essential workers at Mar-a-Lago on furlough status due to coronavirus, according to a WARN notice filed with the state. The furloughs for the 126-room hotel and club at 1100 South Ocean Boulevard are expected to be temporary.
Over the past few weeks, hotels in South Florida have been laying off hundreds of employees.
The 100-room Standard Spa, Miami Beach at 40 Island Avenue, laid off 236 people. The waterfront hotel said it did not know whether the layoffs will be temporary or permanent.
This week, Trump National Doral Miami furloughed 560 employees, according to its WARN notice. The Trump Organization said the furloughs at the Doral golf resort are temporary, and involve nonessential personnel.
South Florida’s hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard by coronavirus. The bayfront InterContinental Miami in downtown Miami laid off 377 employees, the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront/Palm Beaches resort in Riviera Beach laid off 88 employees, and the Four Seasons Hotel Miami furloughed 312 people.