With the $250 million renovation of its signature golf resort in Doral nearly complete, Trump Hotel Collection is looking to expand its portfolio in the coming months.
Trump Hotel Collection CEO Eric Danziger and interview host Scott Berman, PriceWaterhouseCooper hospitality and leisure analyst
“I am a growth-oriented person,” company CEO Eric Danziger told guests attending the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association annual meeting on Thursday. “I believe we will add dozens of Trump hotels.”
Asia is a market Trump will target, he said, as well as the United States.
Danziger, who addressed the 250-plus attendees inside one of the newly renovated meeting rooms at the Trump National Doral Miami, said the luxury hotel company founded by the billionaire real estate mogul and presidential candidate can successfully compete with five-star brands like the Four Seasons, Shangri-La and Ritz-Carlton, to name a few.
“I believe every five-star hotel is a competitor,” Danziger said. “The Trump brand is known for developing high quality, high luxury properties. The idea here is to show that Trump can also manage high luxury resorts.”
A career hospitality industry executive, Danziger previously led Hampshire Hotels Management Co. as president and CEO before moving over to Trump Hotel Collection in August. He oversees 14 hotels, including the 800-acre Doral resort, the Trump International Hotel & Tower New York and Trump Soho.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to close my career arc as the CEO of one of the greatest luxury brands in the world,” Danziger said. “When the Trump family decided to bring in an outside CEO, that shows their commitment to the future of this organization.”
Trump Hotel Collection Vice President and the Doral resort’s managing director David Feder, who introduced Danziger, said the property has come a long way since Trump began renovations last year. “Back then we only had two villas open, no restaurants, the pool was closed and [we] had only one golf course,” Feder said. “Now we have 643 guest rooms, five restaurants, a beautiful new pool, a new spa and nine golf courses.”
Following Danziger’s presentation, GMBHA President Wendy Kallergis told The Real Deal that Miami-Dade County will continue to see sustained growth in the hospitality sector with at least 7,500 rooms being added in the next five years. “This year we had 15.1 million overnight visitors,” she said, “up from 14.2 million the previous year.”