Donald Trump Campaign Sparks Calls To Remove His Branding From Hotels And Trump Towers
The Donald Trump campaign is, without a doubt, a controversial one. The Republican presidential nominee’s statements have earned him flak from a lot of sources, even from members of his own party. But new reports suggest that Trump’s penchant for controversy is having a negative impact on his real estate business and its branding, starting with his Trump Towers in Canada.
According to the BBC, Trump’s Canadian real estate projects are in trouble, with developers trying to disassociate themselves from his name. In Vancouver, developer Brent Toderian has been lobbying to have the owners of a 63-story luxury hotel and condominium tower distance themselves from the Trump name and branding, despite the fact that the building is licensed to use it. The Holborn Group, a privately-owned real estate firm, owns this Trump Tower and had tied up with the real estate magnate back in 2013.
“We’ve taken a building that is the second-tallest in the skyline, carefully planned at least in part by one of our most revered Canadian architects — a very elegant piece of architecture for our skyline — and retroactively duct-taped Trump’s name to it,” said Toderian in an interview with BBC.
News crews gather outside #trumptowers #nyc for women protesting against @realDonaldTrump comments on women @irishtv pic.twitter.com/twLKhLJBPP
— Rebekah O'Neill (@RebekahO_Neill) October 17, 2016
Toderian’s opposition of the Donald Trump campaign has been raging on since December 2015, when he and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson had first lobbied to have the Holborn Group disassociate itself with Trump. Robertson had also written a letter to Holborn, citing Trump’s reputation for offensive and racially insensitive comments as a reason to remove his name from the building.
“Donald Trump’s hateful positions and commentary remind us all of much darker times in our world’s past — and it is incumbent upon all of us to forcefully challenge hatred in all of the ways that it confronts us.”
Over in Toronto, project developer Talon is also trying to distance itself from Donald Trump and his campaign, the BBC added. Amid an unsuccessful attempt to sell the 65-story Trump Tower hotel and condominium in the city, Talon chairman Alex Shnaider has reportedly made serious attempts to remove the Republican nominee’s branding, though those efforts seem to have “stalled” in more recent times.
Talon did not respond to requests for comment beyond saying that the Toronto building’s owners and Trump are not involved in any lawsuit at the moment, while Vancouver developer Holborn likewise hasn’t made any comment on the Trump issue except for a prepared statement in December. At that time, Holborn CEO Joo Kim Tiah said that the company does not involve itself in U.S. politics, and will make no further statements on Donald Trump, his campaign, or any other local or foreign political issues.
Meanwhile, a report from Bloomberg suggests that Trump is trying to work around the controversy generated by his campaign and public comments, and possibly exercising some damage control through the marketing and positioning of his newly-launched hotel business. Last month, Trump unveiled a new hotel line called Scion, and the most interesting thing about it is that it does not include his name in the branding while focusing mainly on younger clients.
“We want to acknowledge (Scion’s) association with Trump in a genuine way, while allowing the new lifestyle brand to stand on its own,” said Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger in an email to Bloomberg.
Though it seems apparent that Trump Organization officials are trying to position Scion as a standalone brand, Bloomberg stated that there has been “scattered evidence” that the Donald Trump campaign has driven potential customers away from the Republican candidate’s main hotel business. The report cited statistics such as a 29 percent drop in Trump hotel bookings over the past six months, according to data from luxury travel firm Ovation Vacations.
[Featured Image by Secondarywaltz | Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and Resized | CC BY-SA 3.0]
