Trump announces global expansion of hotel brand

Real Estate Weekly,  Oct 17, 2007  by Maggie Hawryluk

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Most may not consider jumping on mattresses work, but for Ivanka and Eric Trump, this was one of the innumerable tasks and tests they had to endure while choosing the best of the best for the recently announced Trump Hotel Collection.

"There is a great attention to detail," Ivanka said at press conference last week at the Trump International Hotel & Tower New York called to announced the launch of the family dynasty's newest luxury venture. "We were involved at every level."

The Trump clan--Donald, Ivanka and Donald Jr. (Eric was away on business in Mexico)--unveiled their plans for the new global luxury hotel brand that will expand Trump International Hotel & Tower New York to locations in Chicago, set to open in December, Las Vegas in early 2008, and several others in Dubai, Scotland and Panama City.

"The Trump Hotel Collection is something we've been thinking about for a long time," said Donald Snr. "It seemed like a natural extension of the brand."

"We have the greatest brand in real estate," added Donald Jr., who will be heading operations. "We have the ability to work outside of New York."

The diverse portfolio of properties will include hotel condominiums and hotels with condo residences; the organization is involved in discussions to also develop a pure hotel.

All of the upcoming properties are being built ground up, according to Jim Petrus, chief operating officer of Trump International Hotels Management, LLC, who will co-manage the venture with Donald Jnr. They will be designed on a market-to-market basis to match the local landscape.

"The nice thing about our properties is that they're not cookie-cutter," Petrus added.

Each hotel in the collection will also include unique dining and spa services. Additionally, the hotels will feature Trump Attache, a service that creates a dossier on each guest that tracks his or her preferences.

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The main focus of the hotels is high quality services that will anticipate guests' needs.

"The market niche is the top 3% of the traveling public," Petrus said, adding that the target audience's average household income is "north of $400,000."

COPYRIGHT 2007 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning