Ivanka Trump has been reminded more than once that her family brand is becoming increasingly toxic, but now it looks like the general public’s desire to distance itself from the Trump name is now extending from clothes, steaks, and phony universities to formerly prestigious hotels. According to Slate, the Trump SoHo hotel in New York City has been doing awful business since Trump won the election, with a noticeable decline in corporate events and guests. A one-night stay used to cost around $700, but now it’s dipping to “nearly half that” since so few people are booking rooms. Also, the restaurant in the hotel’s lobby—a place called Koi—has been closed due to a “decline in business.”
Slate quotes a GrubStreet piece in which a former Koi employee specifically pins the blame on Trump, with him saying that former regulars at the restaurant specifically declared that they would stop coming if Trump actually won the election. Now that he has, Slate says the spot where the restaurant used to be is “locked and empty.” The hotel itself is also noticing a significant decline in business, so much so that 12 of its 80 room attendants are going to lose their jobs.
Meanwhile, Trump’s new hotel in Washington D.C. is doing well, and his Mar-A-Lago resort jacked up its membership fees. It’s almost like Trump is casually promoting his own businesses through his “work” as the president, but surely something like that wouldn’t be allowed, right?