Trump Hotel Chief, Hired With Big Ambitions, Leaves a Shrinking Brand
Eric Danziger was the only outsider to lead the Trump hotel group. His departure, for family reasons, comes as the Trumps pursue a future beyond hotels.
Donald J. Trump’s top hotel executive is leaving the company as its five-star signature hotel brand has taken a back seat to other moneymaking ventures by the former president.
The executive, Eric Danziger, cited family reasons for his departure. He joined Trump Hotels in 2015 with plans to expand the business, but instead oversaw the shrinking of a significant portion of the hotel portfolio as Mr. Trump’s polarizing politics tarnished the brand, legal and ethical scrutiny scared away potential partners, and the pandemic sent the hospitality industry into a tailspin.
Since 2017, the Trump name has come off hotels in New York, Toronto, Panama, Vancouver and, soon, Washington, as once-lucrative deals were canceled or sold. Trump hotels, for decades a defining feature of the former president’s global real estate business, have dwindled to seven properties. Any immediate hope of rebuilding the hotel brand after Mr. Trump left office was likely