Documents: Trump Hotel lost money, despite lobbyist spending
WASHINGTON >> Despite all the Republican-paid political events and big bar tabs from lobbyists, foreign dignitaries and other supporters of President Donald Trump, the Trump International Hotel in Washington lost an estimated $74 million between 2016 and 2020, according to data released Friday by House investigators.
The tally came from Trump’s own auditors, showing losses that generally increased through his tenure in the White House, even as Trump’s annual financial disclosure reports showed revenues of more than $40 million a year, at least until the pandemic hit.
The new account of revenues and annual losses at the hotel — which is in a federally owned landmark known as the Old Post Office building — was released as House Democrats push the Biden administration to turn over additional documents to determine if Trump broke federal rules by continuing to operate the hotel through his family while he was president.
“The documents provided by GSA raise new and troubling questions about former President Trump’s lease,” a letter sent Friday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee to the General Services Administration said, asking for more information.
The materials released by House investigators estimated that the hotel also generated nearly $3.8 million in revenue from foreign government officials during the first three years Trump was in office, be it hotel stays, meals or other business. The president drew in foreign dignitaries who often liked to be seen at his hotel, at times even meeting with Trump’s aides at the complex.
Millions more were spent by the Republican National Committee and various election campaigns and other political groups backing Republican candidates, or supporting Trump’s reelection efforts, Federal Election Commission reports show. During his presidency, the Trump hotel became a showcase of special-interest lobbying and maneuvering by allies of Trump to draw his attention or support.
Still, the overall message was that the Trump International Hotel, despite all the headlines, is a money-losing operation, said David J. Sangree, an accountant who runs a firm, Hotel & Leisure Advisors, that evaluates hotel industry performance and who looked at the audited reports at the request of The New York Times.
“You would expect a hotel in Washington, D.C., to earn a profit,” he said.