Trump on the Future of Luxury Hotels
You may be used to Donald Trump getting his digs on his TV show The Apprentice. But the chairman and president of The Trump Organization was just in Washington, D.C. starting to dig in on his latest real-estate venture. His firm is converting the iconic Old Post Office Pavilion in downtown Washington into a luxury hotel.
In addition to talking about his new hotel in the nation’s capital, Trump talked with FOX Business about other real-estate ventures he’s pursuing around the world and his outlook for the commercial real-estate market.
On the future of a luxury hotel …
Trump says the future of a luxury hotel centers on top-notch service, the right location and the right building.
On the state of the hotel business now …
Depending on location, Trump says the hotel business is doing well, driven largely by the weak U.S. dollar and an influx of foreign visitors. The real-estate mogul points specifically to areas like Washington, D.C. and Miami as particularly strong. He says his recently-refurbished hotel, Trump National Doral Miami, which sits on 800 acres in the center of Miami, is benefiting from visitors from South America, particularly from Brazil and Venezuela.
On other real estate projects …
When it comes to new hotel projects, Trump is following growth overseas to build new hotels in India and China. The hotels in Asia come after recently completed-hotels in Vancouver, Toronto and Panama, which Trump says is booming because of the namesake canal.
On commercial real estate …
Trump says commercial real estate is doing fine because it’s being artificially propped up by near-zero interest rates. “When the rates go up, I’ll give you a different answer,” says Trump. “But right now, it’s doing fine because you’re borrowing money at (an interest rate of) 3%.”
On the U.S. economy …
Trump says we have a very “level economy” right now. “It’s not going up; it’s not going much down,” he says. Trump’s comments coincide with what looks like will be a flat first half of the year for the economy.
“Something has to happen because we’re losing too many jobs to foreign countries, including Mexico and China,” says Trump. “We have to bring manufacturing back to this country.”