Trump's presidency is tanking his brand — and his hotel prices

Trump has refused to divest from his businesses, and has been disregarding ethics while using the presidency to promote his properties. At first glance, that would seem to be a winning strategy, but his behavior appears to be undercutting the effort.

FairFX, a currency provider, analyzed the room rates at multiple Trump properties and found that at all but 1 of Trump’s 13 hotels, the cost of a night’s stay is down sharply since he took over the presidency.

The biggest hotel to suffer was Trump Las Vegas. Before Trump’s inauguration, a two-night stay cost $843, but rooms are now available for January 2018 for only $313 — a collapse of 62.8 percent.

Other Trump properties declined as well, including Trump Doral in Miami, Trump New York, and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. The survey found that only the Trump Doonbeg hotel in Ireland is charging more than it did a year ago, with a rate increase of 6.8 percent.

“It seems likely that many potential guests have been put off by the association with the controversial policies, tweets and opinions of the current US president,” noted Nick Trend, consumer editor for Telegraph Travel.

This plight at Trump hotels is echoed at his Mar-a-Lago property, where numerous charities have stopped hosting events. Instead, Trump’s friends and allies have been scheduling events there to fill the empty space and to make Trump feel better.

Trump’s ongoing financial entanglements with his old businesses are an ethical mess. Lawsuits currently pending accuse Trump of illegally taking in foreign funds while holding the presidency, using his hotels.

But the new report indicates that even when setting himself up to profit, Trump is getting in his own way. Repeating the pattern of mismanagement that led him to multiple bankruptcies, Trump’s mouth is turning off potential customers.

He has rapidly become one of the least popular presidents ever, and never had the support of a majority or plurality of voters. So much of what he touches continues to go to ruin.

Even as the global economy continues to improve thanks to the policies of President Barack Obama, Trump is managing to fumble his own financial outlook with his increasingly toxic brand.