Here’s how we got this story, looking inside two hotels run by the famously private Trump Org….washingtonpost.com/politics/at-tr… 1/
2/Trump Org. is a private company, which doesn't have to release details about its businesses. But a decision @realdonaldtrump made yrs ago – to sell off his hotel rooms to hundreds of small-time partners – gave us a way to see inside 2 of his biggest hotels.
3/First, we scraped public databases to get lists of ppl who had bought hotel-condo units in @realdonaldtrump’s bldgs. (thank you to @jackgillum for that)
4/Then, ace intern @morgan_krakow compiled contact info for the owners. We emailing or called 230-plus of them. A couple of dozen responded (better response rate than I expected). Many felt they'd been left holding the bag when @realdonaldtrump got into politics.
5/They provided details on their own hotel rooms’ occupancy and revenue, as well as hotel-wide details that Trump Org. had shared with its investors.
6/The result: we got a detailed picture inside two parts of the Trump empire we didn't know much about before.
Both are struggling to sell the old Trump brand – meant to be an icon of glamorous urban luxury – in a country polarized by the new Trump. washingtonpost.com/politics/at-tr…
Both are struggling to sell the old Trump brand – meant to be an icon of glamorous urban luxury – in a country polarized by the new Trump. washingtonpost.com/politics/at-tr…
7/What I'd like to know now: revenues/profits at @RealDonaldtrump's DC hotel, which has advantages the NYC/Chicago ones do not, like proximity to the White House & Congress, visits from the first family, and GOP fundraisers.
