Trump often says that his “brand” is worth billions, but evidently, that brand is costing owners money because the “Trump International Hotel Waikiki” will no longer be “Trump International.”
The hotel is dumping the brand but keeping the tropical blue water.
Sitting in the perfect place on Hawaii’s famous Waikiki beach, the hotel now says aloha to Hilton Hotels and will be known as a Hilton brand.
Actually, it is really easy to believe that the brand needed to go.
As reported by Microsoft Start:
“The Hawaii hotel isn’t the first to ditch the Trump brand. Properties in New York, Toronto and Panama City have all rebranded in the years since Donald Trump launched his political career.”
It is actually more startling to learn that Trump-branded buildings still existed out there. One might have assumed that his “brand” had already been entirely zeroed out, leaving only his actual wholly owned properties.
Ironically, and so fittingly, it was just this morning that Don Trump Jr. was bragging about the wonderful piece of property on Waikiki beach that carried the Trump brand. From The Messenger’s report:
“AG James’ counsel Colleen Faherty confronted Trump Jr. with a report showing that the Waikiki property that the former president’s son praised hours earlier ditched the Trump brand.”
I guess he spoke too soon.
I have always enjoyed the irony of the fact that Trump’s most valuable asset is the one that doesn’t have his name on it. He owns 30% stake in the 555 California Street tower in San Francisco. It is called the Bank of America Center, not the Trump Tower.
But the fact that Trump’s brand is now costing businesses isn’t anything new. Indeed, there were many reports in 2021 — after January 6th — that reported Trump’s “brand” had dropped in value throughout his presidency. From The Independent in 2021:
“Data from UrbanDigs, analyzed by the real estate website Curb, suggested that even Trump properties that have removed his name from their branding saw their value drop by as much as 17 percent since 2016.”
Again, it is almost astonishing that a hotel in Hawaii — one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on earth — still bore the Trump brand.
They seemed to have moved on nicely. “Aloha” also means good-bye.
Mahalo, Hilton. The beach looks so much better now.
I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on X @JasonMiciak.
Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.
