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Trump selling rights to marque Washington DC Hotel for $375 million

Date: November 15, 2021 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
Trump selling rights to marque Washington DC Hotel for $375 million 
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's family hotel organization has reportedly reached an agreement to sell the rights to its glitzy Washington, D.C. hotel’s under a $375 million deal.



CGI Merchant Group, a Miami-based investment company, has agreed to buy the Trump International Hotel lease. The iconic hotel, which is just a short walk from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue would lose its equally-iconic Trump name brand.



According to reports, CGI aims to get rid of the Trump name from the hotel and has secured a deal with Hospitality giant, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. to have the building managed as well as branded by the Waldorf Astoria group of Hilton.



The U.S. federal government supposedly owns the hotel, but the lease runs nearly 100 years due to extensions. The property is housed in the historic Old Post Office and has some of the capital's biggest guest rooms.



The deal, which is anticipated to conclude in the first quarter, comes at a time when Democratic-controlled House members are investigating and holding hearings on possible disputes and conflicts of interest involving the former President.



According to the House committee, the hotel lost well over $70 million between its launch in 2016 and last year, prompting Trumps' firm to infuse at least $24 million in the form of aid. However, those findings have been disputed by the Trumps.



As per Trump's financial disclosures as the president, the hotel generated revenues of nearly $150 million over a period of four years. Trump’s latest disclosure, which supposedly covered all of the 2020 and a couple of week of 2021, showed that the hotel's revenue dropped to $15 million compared to over $40 million in 2019. Although, most hotels in big urban centers did experience similar losses through the pandemic.



The new owners would now like to disconnect the hotel from its controversial and highly politicized past by transforming it to a Waldorf Astoria.



CGI focuses more on socially aware investing, having worked with former baseball player Alex Rodriguez on its hotel projects. The corporation has vowed to donate 1% of all room revenue from its Conscious Certified Hotels collection, including the Gabriel and Celino South Beach in Miami Beach, to local charitable groups.



Source credit: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trumps-selling-prized-washington-hotel-375-million

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.