The following article by Steve Eder and Ben Protess was posted on the New York Times website June 5, 2017:
On the campaign trail, President Trump’s children rolled through dozens of small towns across the country, reveling in the adoration of the crowds. But they were less enamored of the budget-friendly hotels along the way, an assortment of run-of-the-mill offerings that were barely distinguishable from one another.
That led to a business idea.
On Monday, the Trump Organization announced plans for a new three-star hotel chain with a patriotic flair, echoing President Trump’s campaign slogan about putting America first and reflecting the organization’s promise to enter into new deals only in the United States. The intention is to differentiate the chain, called American Idea, by featuring artifacts of American culture in the hotels, such as an old Coca-Cola machine in the lobby or American-made sundries in the rooms.
And while the Trump Organization and its business partner say the down-market move is not about politics, the president’s business is inherently viewed through that lens: The chain will make its debut in little-known towns in Mississippi, a state in the heart of Trump country that favored him over Hillary Clinton by a margin of 18 percentage points. The organization’s business partner in Mississippi is a family-owned hotel company whose co-owner met Mr. Trump at a campaign event last summer and donated to his campaign.
This new chain is an unlikely venture for a company commonly associated with luxury accommodations in upscale locations, and it indicates that the Trumps see dollar signs in the vast support the campaign received from conservative areas well beyond major cities. The first hotels are expected to come online quickly because they will involve rebranding existing properties like Holiday Inns and Comfort Inns.
Eric Danziger, the chief executive of the Trump Organization’s hotels division, said in an interview that the company had planned a hotel expansion for nearly two years, apart from the Trump campaign. During the campaign, the Trump children would report back about the thousands of supporters attending rallies and what they saw as a chance to build a line of hotels standing out from the cookie-cutter options in midsize and small cities.
“I said, ‘That’s brilliant,’” Mr. Danziger recalled. “The reality is we should have something in those kinds of locations.”
Mr. Danziger, a longtime hotel executive who previously led Wyndham Hotels, said the first American Idea hotels would open in the Mississippi Delta, but he rejected the idea that the electoral map of 2016 would become a blueprint for picking future locations. Mr. Trump sometimes hands out a version of the map to White House visitors, showing blue dots in and around major cities (indicating support for Mrs. Clinton) and wide stretches of red (signaling votes for Mr. Trump) nearly everywhere else.
“There is no political thought to it,” Mr. Danziger said regarding the new chain, and he added that there could be “many hundreds” of American Idea hotels in both red and blue counties and states. The counties in Mississippi that will get the first hotels tilted toward Mrs. Clinton, for instance.
Even before Mr. Trump took office in January, ethics experts and political opponents criticized his refusal to divest from the far-flung business. Mr. Trump handed over control of the Trump Organization to his eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., and other executives, and he agreed to forgo new deals abroad and donate profits from foreign governments to the Treasury. But Mr. Trump remains financially invested in the family business.
All of the Trump hotel properties are facing heightened scrutiny for their actions, particularly with foreign governments. The Daily Caller, citing disclosures filed with the Justice Department, reported on Sunday that the Saudi Arabian government, through a lobbying firm, had paid $270,000 to the Trump hotel in Washington.
The firm, Qorvis MSLGroup, had been working on behalf of the Saudis to push back on legislation that exposes countries to lawsuits stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The payments — recorded from Oct. 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017 — were for lodging, catering and parking, the forms showed.
The new hotels will have no overt connection to Mr. Trump — his name will not appear anywhere, Mr. Danziger said.
The American Idea chain is the latest expansion of the Trump hotel empire, coming just months after Mr. Danziger unveiled plans for a four-star brand known as Scion. The Trumps will not own the new hotels under either brand but instead license them to business partners (who must pay royalties and other fees). The Trumps plan to manage the day-to-day operations of the Scion hotels but leave that task to their partners at the American Idea properties.