Trump’s Luxury Hotel In New York, Once Hot, Now Is Not

Discount property. (Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi)

First went the professional athletes. Then went the sushi restaurant. Now employees and a fixture of a five-star hotel—turndown service—are the latest to go from a five-star Trump hotel in lower Manhattan.

The 391-room Trump SoHo in lower Manhattan is laying off staff amid a slump in business and asking for less than $400 a night from previous rates of around $700, according to WNYC.

The five-star property, which gets high marks from many guests, is taking its downmarket turn just four months after Donald Trump, whose company runs the hotel, took the US presidency.

Trump opposers such as basketball star LeBron James and even entire NBA teams have refused to stay at Trump-branded properties. WNYC reported a downturn in corporate event bookings at the hotel, which had booked events for companies like Amazon and GE. Celebrities and regular diners have stayed far enough away from hotel sushi restaurant Koi that the eatery last month announced it would close. A server told Grub Street that “the Kardashians stopped coming.”

A hotel spokeswoman told Quartz that “as is common in the hotel industry, and in any business, we continually assess our offerings and services.”

It isn’t entirely clear what is the source of the hotel’s woes. Trump’s new hotel in Washington, just steps from the White House, is humming despite protests about potential conflicts of interest.

But others in Trump’s hometown have shown an aversion to his name. Residents of the Trump Place complex on Manhattan’s West Side petitioned for the president’s name to be removed from the buildings’ façades. And, of course, Trump lost all but Staten Island to Hillary Clinton in voting during the presidential campaign.

A slide in the SoHo hotel’s popularity defies lodging trends in New York City. The number of hotels in the city by the end of 2016 was 631, up nearly 30% from 2011, the year after the Trump SoHo opened, according to data from hotel-analysis firm STR. Occupancy is also up, to 86% last year from 82% in 2011, even as the popularity of home-and-room-sharing platform Airbnb has surged.

Things could get worse for Trump SoHo. In the wake of Trump’s ban on travelers from several majority-Muslim countries, New York’s tourist agency forecast the city’s first decline in foreign visitors since the 2008 financial crisis.

WRITTEN BY Leslie Josephs

Culinary Union Launches National Boycott Of Trump Businesses #BoycottTrump #NeverTrump

LAS VEGAS, Vegas – A #BoycottTrump campaign urging customers to not eat, sleep, or play at many Trump hotels and golf courses comes in the wake of federal officials' denying Trump Hotel Las Vegas' objections to a December 2015 union election, during which the majority of workers at the hotel voted to join the Culinary Union, the largest affiliate of UNITE HERE.

Citing federal law allowing boycotts for the purpose of forcing an employer to honor their duty to bargain, UNITE HERE, the parent union of the Culinary Union which is certified as the bargaining representative of workers at Trump Hotel Las Vegas, has called for a national boycott of businesses Donald J. Trump owns, has invested in, or has partnered with until the Trump Hotel Las Vegas honors its legal duty to bargain with the union.

Union members recently picketed at Trump National Golf Course Los Angeles, announcing the boycott from inside the clubhouse restaurant, and union locals have planned further boycott events for September 29 in Waikiki and San Francisco, and October 1 and 18 in Chicago. More actions are expected to follow in Virginia, New York and Florida.

"Enough is enough," said UNITE HERE President D. Taylor. "While Donald Trump waged an indefensible anti-worker and anti-immigrant presidential campaign, the workers at his Las Vegas hotel fought for dignity and respect in their workplace. They voted to unionize, they won, and now the law says Trump must negotiate."

Prior to the boycott call, thousands of union members and supporters have demonstrated outside Trump Hotel Las Vegas. "Donald Trump's a disrespectful hypocrite, and we stand in solidarity with the workers at Trump Hotel Las Vegas," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "His unwillingness to bargain with the hard-working people who make his hotel successful is shameful. It tells you all you need to know about his feelings toward all working people."

"At the hotel in the morning we chant 'No Contract, No Peace! No Contract, No Peace!" said Eleuteria Blanco, a guestroom attendant at the Trump Hotel Las Vegas. Over 57,000 union workers in Las Vegas have fair wages, job security, and good health benefits—in stark contrast to workers at Trump Hotel Las Vegas who pay up to $260 per month for their health insurance, and are paid approximately $3.00 less per hour in comparison to union workers on the Strip. "We're not second class workers," Blanco added.

Trump Hotel Las Vegas management waged a hostile anti-union campaign. Hotel management hired anti-union labor consultants, paying them more than half a million dollars. Alleged offenses against management include suspensions of employees for union activities, as well as threats and interrogations against union supporters.

"After a disgraceful anti-union campaign against their own workers, the hotel still refuses to negotiate with their employees," said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. "We call on allies and workers to stand in solidarity in a national boycott until Donald Trump, the 'Great Negotiator,' comes to the table."

In Canada, workers at the Trump International Hotel Toronto ratified their first contract seven months after voting to join UNITE HERE.

Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 57,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.

The Culinary Union is Nevada's largest immigrant organization with over 57,000 members – a diverse membership that is approximately 55% women and 56% Latino. Members -who work as guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers- come from 167 countries and speak over 40 different languages. The Culinary Union has been fighting for fair wages, job security, and good health benefits for working men and women in Nevada for over 80 years.

The Culinary Union is encouraging Nevada locals, political candidates, and tourists to avoid staying at/or patronizing hotels under an active labor dispute such as Station Casinos, Palms Casino Resort, and the Trump Hotel Las Vegas.

Hotel Workers To Trump: Want To Make America Great Again? Start At Your Own Hotel #NeverTrump #TheRealDonaldTrump

LAS VEGAS, NV - "Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again,'" said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. "Mr. Trump should start right here in Las Vegas with workers at his hotel. Many of them are immigrants who work hard to provide for their families. They deserve equal treatment and should be respected for their contributions to this great city."

On Friday, August 21, 2015 at 5 p.m., employees from Trump International Hotel Las Vegas will march from Las Vegas Boulevard to their hotel to demand equality. They will be joined by clergy leaders, community organizations, elected officials, and union workers throughout the city. Over 500 Trump Las Vegas employees are seeking to unionize so that they can have the American Dream and have a better life for themselves and their families.

"I came from Mexico many years ago and became an American citizen to have a better opportunity for me and my family," said Maria Jaramillo, a housekeeper at the Trump Las Vegas. "This country is a nation of immigrants, and we all work hard and deserve to be treated fairly."

"I was born in America, and, with my union job, I have the opportunity to provide for my family. That's why I support Trump workers who want to unionize," said Pamela Parre, a banquet server at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, an MGM Resorts International property in Las Vegas. "Mr. Trump can make America better by treating his employees with dignity and respect, and make their jobs great jobs just like mine."

In June 2014, five Trump Las Vegas employees were unfairly suspended for exercising their legal right to wear a union button and organize their coworkers. After the Culinary Union filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the Trump Las Vegas, these workers were returned to work with back pay.

In June 2015, the Culinary Union filed additional charges with the NLRB asserting that the Trump Las Vegas violated the federally protected rights of workers to participate in union activities. Some of the new charges include incidents of alleged physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats by management.

The Culinary Union is the largest labor union as well as the largest immigrant organization in Nevada, representing hospitality workers who come from 167 countries and speak over 40 languages. The Culinary Union and the national organization UNITE HERE have long campaigned for immigration reform and the rights of immigrant workers, including the Immigrant Workers' Freedom Ride in 2003, and continues the fight to achieve comprehensive, worker-centered immigration reform.

Live The Good Life At These Hotels Owned By Celebrities

It’s not your imagination that Hollywood celebrities are closing the gap between on screen and on everything. Slowly but surely, they are taking over the world from brand endorsements to politics – ahem, Obama did you really need to go on ‘Between two Ferns’, and TIME did you really need to put Bey on the cover of your 100 most influential people edition?

Contributed by Daisy Melwani

So it should come as no surprise then to learn that several famous actors, musicians, and athletes also own their own hotels.

Some of these celebrities own hotels in the cities they live in, while others own resorts all over the world. A few famous folks actually own luxury hotels and spas on their own private islands.

Who is the most famous person who owns a hotel? That’s a pretty subjective question but for this post, Donald Trump tops our list. “The Apprentice” mastermind owns hotels in cities all over the world including Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, Toronto, and Panama. Million Dollar Baby actor Clint Eastwood owns the scenic Mission Ranch Hotel in Carmel, California. Taxi Driver actor Robert De Niro owns the Greenwich Hotel in New York City. Actor Robert Redford owns the Sundance Resort in Utah near where he annually holds the Sundance Film Festival.

Only the most elite celebrities own hotels on their own private islands. Entrepreneur Richard Branson owns a hotel on his private island, Necker Island. The Wolf of Wall Street actor Leonardo DiCaprio is developing an eco-friendly hotel with Four Seasons which will be located on DiCaprio’s private island Blackadore Caye.