9-30-2021
Trump's DC hotel is noticeably empty as family struggles to unload the property.
In the midst of reports that say Trump International Hotel could be sold to the highest bidder soon, the Washingtonian's Jane Recker wanted to see what things are like at the hotel these days.
What she found wasn't the "bustling schmooze spot for the red-cap set, with bands of tourists stopping
in to snap pics" spectacle that it used to be.
"It was 5 pm on the Tuesday after Labor Day, and roughly a dozen customers were in evidence—
a tiny number for such a cavernous space.
We camped out at the bar with a martini and a plate of fries, taking in the (lack of) scene. At one point,
a maskless man approached us and asked, 'Are you part of the Trump book club?' We were not. He wandered away, soon joining a small group across the room," Recker writes.
"A woman came to the bar and got a glass of Grenache. 'I usually order the Trump wine," she said, "but . . . .' She gazed around.
'This is really a change from what it used to be.
It used to be packed all the time.' She gulped her wine and left."
As Recker points out, the Trump Organization has been trying to sell the hotel since 2019, and she says that the lack of foot traffic in the building is likely one of the reasons Trump's company wants to get rid of it.