A Trump Hotel in every major US city?

CEO suggests firm may triple its domestic presence, amid controversy over conflict of interest

Current U.S. Trump Hotels and a map of the United States
Current U.S. Trump Hotels and a map of the United States

Trump Hotels is looking to expand from five to all 26 major metropolitan areas in the U.S., CEO Eric Danziger said Tuesday.

“I don’t see any reason that we couldn’t be in all of them eventually,” Danziger added.

The company, which currently manages eight hotels bearing the president’s name, is also looking to place luxury hotels in Dallas, Seattle, Denver and San Francisco, according to Bloomberg.

In October, the company announced its new line of hotels would be rebranded to Scion, as demand for Trump-named hotels reportedly fell. These hotels, Danziger said Tuesday, would also open in smaller U.S. cities, but only major cities would house luxury hotels with the Trump name.

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The announcement comes as President Donald Trump [TRDataCustom] faces criticism over his influence over the Trump Organization. In a lawsuit filed this week, ethics lawyers argue that the company’s properties, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., violate the United States Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bans federal employees from receiving payments from foreign governments. The Trump family agreed not to pursue new foreign deals while the president is in office, but won’t sell existing foreign assets.

According to Bloomberg, Trump has financial ties to $3.6 billion of assets in about 20 countries and over $600 million of debt.

Trump, who does not plan to divest completely from his holdings, last week handed over control of the Trump Organization to his two eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., and a longtime Trump executive, Allen Weisselberg. [Bloomberg]Ben St. Clair