Yahoo Finance Trump's New Hotel Brand Won't Use His Name
Trump has never been shy about putting his name on his ventures, from Trump Steaks, to Trump Wine, and Trump Water. In fact, licensing of the Trump name has been a significant part of his business. As Forbes reported, of the 17 real-estate properties in New York City that bear his name, only five are owned outright by Trump. But the Republican nominee's latest venture, a new line of luxury hotels targeting millennials, will instead be called "Scion"-meaning, "descendant of a notable family"-marking what appears to be the first time one of Trump's businesses did not bear his name.
"We wanted a name that would be a nod to the Trump family and to the tremendous success it has had with its businesses, including Trump Hotels, while allowing for a clear distinction between our luxury and lifestyle brands," said Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger in a statement.
Many have speculated that the rebrand stems from a decline in bookings due to Trump's controversial presidential campaign, though it should be noted that Trump is hardly the first travel company to launch a line of hotels targeting younger travelers with a new name. See: Marriott's Moxy, Hilton's Canopy, etc. (It's also not the first brand to use the Scion name to attract younger customers: Toyota established Scion as a separate brand in 2003 specifically to attract younger buyers, eventually selling more than a million cars.) Finally, it should be noted that Trump-branded Hotels are not going away.
But perhaps the truth in business motive lies in the numbers. New York Magazine noted several instances of heavily discounted deluxe suites in Trump's new D.C. property going for below rack rates during a busy weekend.
And Travel + Leisure found that data from Hipmunk-a digital travel planning tool-showed that "bookings at Trump Hotels plummeted 59 percent during the first half of 2016." The publication also cited Foursquare data illustrating a decline on foot traffic at Trump properties over the course of Trump's campaign.
In response to these metrics, a Trump Hotels spokesperson told Travel + Leisure, "The data reported by both Hipmunk and Foursquare is manipulated to appear meaningful, when, in reality, the information is inconsequential and does not provide an accurate representation of our performance."
Ivanka Trump, who serves as executive vice president of development and acquisitions of the Trump Organization, maintains that the brand is doing well. "Our business at Trump Hotels is stronger than ever and we are incredibly excited about the future of Scion, the newest brand in our hotel portfolio," she said in a statement.
According to Bloomberg, the first Scion property is slated to open in 2017.
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