The Trump Hotel Vancouver has just closed permanently, meaning that there are no longer any Trump properties in Canada.
In this post:
Trump Hotel Vancouver becomes insolvent
The Vancouver Sun is reporting that the Trump Hotel Vancouver is ceasing operations permanently. The pandemic is given as the reason for the hotel shutting down, though presumably there’s a bit more to it.
The 147-room Trump Hotel Vancouver was opened in February 2017 and is owned by TA Global Berhad, a Malaysian property company. As is the case with many things bearing the Trump name, this was simply a licensing deal with Trump, and the Trump family didn’t have a major stake in the hotel.
TA Global Berhad has two Canadian subsidiaries that leased and ran the Trump Hotel Vancouver, and they’re insolvent due to the pandemic. One of the company’s bankruptcy filings shows assets of $1.104 million and debts of $4.795 million.
Unfortunately the Trump Hotel Vancouver closing means hundreds of people are left without work, which is awful.
Trump Hotel Vancouver
Controversy surrounding the name
Unsurprisingly, the Trump licensing deal may not have been the best business decision, in retrospect. Lindsay Meredith, a Simon Fraser University marketing professor emeritus, said that the owners of the hotel probably “wish to hell” they hadn’t licensed rights to the Trump name:
“They’re probably looking at it as a convenient way to dump a deal they made. The Trump brand historically looked to be relatively stable, but it’s become ever-mercurial and a bloody lightning rod.”
I imagine the hotel won’t just sit empty forever, so it’ll be interesting to see if this is purchased and emerges as another brand. Could we see a Park Hyatt or St. Regis Vancouver, maybe?
Trump Hotel Vancouver
This isn’t the first Canadian property to lose Trump branding
The Trump Hotel Vancouver is the second Trump property in Canada to not do well. The Trump Hotel Toronto opened in 2012, and hadn’t been doing well financially. The property was sold off by the developers due to bankruptcy, and the property ended up being sold for less than the cost of debt in the project.
The hotel ended up being converted into a St. Regis.
With the Vancouver property failing as well, that means there are no more Trump properties in Canada.
The St. Regis Toronto (former Trump Hotel Toronto)
Bottom line
The Trump Hotel Vancouver has shut its doors just a few years after opening, and it’s also the second Trump Hotel in Canada to close in the past few years. I feel bad for all the people losing their jobs. Hopefully another investor picks up this hotel, and it can be rebranded as a luxury property with one of the major hotel groups.
What hotel brand would you like to see take over the Trump Hotel Vancouver?
This hotel is owned by this trash family called tony tiah and his son joo kim tiah.
they are NOT multi-billiionaires. in fact, they are playing way out of their league when it comes to building a hotel this size in vancouver.
and no they are NOT close to trump, joo kim tiah had to get introduced to them by another friend. he WISHES that ivanka trump would give him a second glance...
This hotel is owned by this trash family called tony tiah and his son joo kim tiah.
they are NOT multi-billiionaires. in fact, they are playing way out of their league when it comes to building a hotel this size in vancouver.
and no they are NOT close to trump, joo kim tiah had to get introduced to them by another friend. he WISHES that ivanka trump would give him a second glance but she doesn't even follow him back on social media LOL @jookimtiah go check yourself.
this guy is so desperate to prove his daddy wrong, to prove that he can make a big splash in canada. he is SMALL POTATOES developer compared to the real billion dollar developers in asia, hk and shanghai these days.
guy brought DRAIS the night club to trump vancouver too. google it. it got shut down in a year.
guy is stupid and out of touch with reality. he thinks hes big fish but only in a small pond.
this family is unethical as well, google tony tiah criminal charge and you will know what his father is all about.
like father like son
those poor trump hotel workers aint getting shit back..no wages...classic move by this family.
oh and lets not forget little mountain project. this is the family that kicked those people out and hoarded that piece of land for years..
karma is coming.
Everything Trump touches dies.
This closure of a major hotel in Vancouver is a not something to be rubbing thine hands in glee over. It is a harbinger of very bad things to come, economically, for not only Vancouver but for all of Canada.
I have to assume that the majority of the posters who see the closure as a vindication of their vitriol towards Donald Trump have never known hardship as seen in the war years or...
This closure of a major hotel in Vancouver is a not something to be rubbing thine hands in glee over. It is a harbinger of very bad things to come, economically, for not only Vancouver but for all of Canada.
I have to assume that the majority of the posters who see the closure as a vindication of their vitriol towards Donald Trump have never known hardship as seen in the war years or the depression. Never in the history of the modern world has government intentionally destroyed its own economy and put millions of people out of work and destroyed countless lives and businesses all in the name of safety.
The choices and decisions made by poorly informed politicians will haunt us for many years to come. You will be affected. Trust me. This is gonna hurt.
Everybody in the comments: argues
Me: Grabs popcorn
Amazing to see all the hurt feelings and snowflakes on a travel site as well.
Frankly, I am amazed there are any left given what a laughing stock he is in the civilized world. On the other hand, they might do very well in Brazil, Turkey, the Philippines and India. Pity many there couldn’t afford the nightly rates.
Trump is in the hospitality business. His supporters are generally not the financially able people to afford his prices. With that said, I checked his hotel prices at his Florida Hotels, in particular the Doral, prior to his becoming involved in politics. The prices were far below the other five star brands. This is a bad omen. If he was cutting prices then, it showed a problematic vacancy rate rate.
The virus is devastating...
Trump is in the hospitality business. His supporters are generally not the financially able people to afford his prices. With that said, I checked his hotel prices at his Florida Hotels, in particular the Doral, prior to his becoming involved in politics. The prices were far below the other five star brands. This is a bad omen. If he was cutting prices then, it showed a problematic vacancy rate rate.
The virus is devastating the hotel industry. The casinos in Las Vegas are laying off employees after reopening. Pandemics usually run three years. Very few hotels will survive this financial environment. Who will loan them money? No one.
Apart from that, the Trump organization is under a serious investigation in New York that could leave it branded as a ___________________ organization. I will let you fill in the blank. Let’s just say the word starts with an “r” and rhymes with mountaineering.
And then there is the enormous legal and financial problem of the Trump and his sibling and the question of their payment of their inheritance taxes. This is a major money issue.
Fines and penalties add up mighty fast. They could swallow the entire family’s wealth.
Malaysian owners? Might this be overspill from the 1MdB scandal? Corrupt ex-PM Razik desperately brown-nosed Trump, probably hoping he'd call off the dogs sniffing around Razik's billion $$ heist. Trump + corruption = Naturally.
When I saw the headline I had assumed the company had started using the Trump name before his foray into politics. I did not expect it to be a property that opened in 2017. That's just poor decision making.
Now before his minions start yelling that I am bashing Trump, it would be poor decision making to open a property under an Obama or Biden name as well. You instantly alienate at least half...
When I saw the headline I had assumed the company had started using the Trump name before his foray into politics. I did not expect it to be a property that opened in 2017. That's just poor decision making.
Now before his minions start yelling that I am bashing Trump, it would be poor decision making to open a property under an Obama or Biden name as well. You instantly alienate at least half of your customer base.
The one exception being Jerry Falwell properties which always have the best looking pool boys.
@Cedric
Trump has been well recognized in pop culture for 40 years. From Home Alone 2 to Gossip Girl, he was constantly mentioned in movies and tv series and was a brand people wanted to be associated with. His early work as a property developer pre-casinos did very well. He should have stuck to property development as he overextended himself on 3 casinos in Atlantic City and had to sell off some prime assets. Since,...
@Cedric
Trump has been well recognized in pop culture for 40 years. From Home Alone 2 to Gossip Girl, he was constantly mentioned in movies and tv series and was a brand people wanted to be associated with. His early work as a property developer pre-casinos did very well. He should have stuck to property development as he overextended himself on 3 casinos in Atlantic City and had to sell off some prime assets. Since, he mostly leases out his name or develops properties with partners who provide the financing. I think Trump got cautious after the 1990 crisis and rather have cash flow than risk developing properties without a partner. Golf courses, however, is an area that he had become the top developer of before his election.
Some Trump properties are very nice. Trump International Tower on Columbus circle is rated very highly as a hotel. The Trump Las Vegas (he developed 50-50 with Phil Ruffin and owns 1/3 since 33% of the rooms were sold as condos) is very nice as well. Trump DC was very well done. Properties that just lease the name and that Trump management doesn’t run can be hit or miss (4 star hotels for instance). 1/3 of the country loves him, 1/3 of the country hates him, and 1/3 are somewhere in between: like any national politician. Obviously, running for president and being President has had ramifications for these properties.
What’s Interesting is that of most of the buildings he developed in Manhattan and sold off all the apartments to buyers he still owns most of the parking garages and roof space.
Unbelievable! The hatred from our neighbors to the north is simply unbelievable. Did your elders bring you folks up this way? I have Canadian and U S family and what I'm hearing is total ugliness and disturbing! Thank God my family is nothing like you who spew such hatred!!! No wonder the country is in such turmoil with people like you sharing the same air. You're disgusting and pathetic! Grow up!
Commenting as a resident of Vancouver and owner of an investment unit at the (former) Trump Vancouver Residences. The property is developed by Holborn which is an arm of TA Global.
The actual real estate of the hotel portion of the tower is owned by a separate shell company called West Georgia Holdings LP or West Georgia Partnership LP (there were two companies) while the management portion of the hotel (the company hiring all the...
Commenting as a resident of Vancouver and owner of an investment unit at the (former) Trump Vancouver Residences. The property is developed by Holborn which is an arm of TA Global.
The actual real estate of the hotel portion of the tower is owned by a separate shell company called West Georgia Holdings LP or West Georgia Partnership LP (there were two companies) while the management portion of the hotel (the company hiring all the staff and signing the management contract with the Trump Organization), the one which filed for bankruptcy recently called TA Management LP.
The filing for bankruptcy actually coincides with the extended deadline in which the staff employed are assumed to be permanently laid off and are able to receive their severance. However, they are likely to be placed on the bottom of the list in terms as other creditors would have more priority.
The actual hotel's hard product is extremely lacking in that there is not proper business centre, a unisex change room by the pool with only three lockers and no sauna or steam facilities. The hotel porte cochere is accessed via the rear alleyway. However, the staff are great (at least for the residences side) but those who live there, unfortunately are not. The residential population is approximately 95% Chinese and those who live there are either extremely entitled or are spoiled younger individuals (I am Chinese myself). There was once an incident where a resident's gas stove wouldn't turn on so she started to speaking in Mandarin to the Latino concierge who explained that she doesn't understand the language; as a result, the lady decided that speaking louder in Chinese would help her understand the language. It didn't.
Holborn actually wanted to sever the contract with Trump quite a while ago but didn't want to pay the penalty (in the ballpark of 10m+) so they attempted to run the hotel poorly I guess in a way to breach the contract. The public restrooms didn't have any actual towels two years ago and had paper towels instead; not really acceptable for a so called five star hotel imo.
While it's great that the Trump branding will be gone, it's really unfortunate for the staff as they will be highly unlikely to recover their expected severance. Holborn/TA Global retains ownership of the hotel and will have a different hotel.
It's actually not the first time Holborn has engaged in not exactly ethical propositions with regards to real estate development. Just google Holborn Little Mountain and you will see how they demolished the social housing on site with a 90-something year old blind couple still living on site.
A little googling would have made this article more then the cheap click bate that it is. The building 69 stories the tallest in Vancouver was developed by the Canadian arm of a Malaysian family owned company called Holborne development. It is run by the son of the multi billionaire family. Condos were completely pre sold at very high prices so the development was very successful. The hotel takes up I think only the bottom...
A little googling would have made this article more then the cheap click bate that it is. The building 69 stories the tallest in Vancouver was developed by the Canadian arm of a Malaysian family owned company called Holborne development. It is run by the son of the multi billionaire family. Condos were completely pre sold at very high prices so the development was very successful. The hotel takes up I think only the bottom 15 floors with a very high end spa and bar and an outpost of the Mott 32 restaurant. It originally was to be a Ritz Carton but the son has very close relationships with the trump children and it became a trump hotel. It was run by a separate shell company as most businesses such as these are for liability reasons. The hotel closed on March 15 by government order along with all businesses in Vancouver and never ever reopened . It relied on cruise business and some conventions but never lived up to expectations and it is also in a pretty poor location . The company that ownes it is also still sitting on some of the best undeveloped land in Vancouver and has no financial issues whatsoever and will re brand and run a new hotel when cruise ships return. Trump other then licensing has never had anything to do with the place . The trump name as posted earlier however was not a problem as the hotel relied on wealthy Americans on cruises and the Chinese house shoppers for its business. That has dried up completely. Just as a side the Shang ri la across the street And the Rosewood Hotel Georgia 3 blocks away are also still closed. Hope this clears it up without political bias .
@dot - you apparently have...not impeccable taste. LOL.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/trump-tower-chicago-revenue
(and BTW this hotel should be on absolutely no one's list when visiting The Second City)
@AlohaDaveKennedy
I would recommend you look into changing your medication. There are some excellent anti-psychotics out there these days.
As to the Trump branding, this should be a warning to any business, or individual for that matter I suppose, in getting to close to that toxic name. The Icarus fable of Greek mythology comes to mind...….
What a bunch of HATERS very scary... I stay in Chicago TRUMP every time I'm in Chicago.I have tried many other hi end hotels there but TRUMP wins hands down!!!!
TA Global had a vulnerability before COVID, and was quite exposed in the event of any economic conditions adversely affecting cashflow and consequent capacity to service debt. It is unsurprising that this subsidiary has hit the wall.
While they are not new to hotel management ( previously owned The Westin, Melbourne, and a couple of others), the core business is residential property development in Malaysia.
One takes no joy from this.
@FNT Delta Diamond looks like they have a decent number of other hotel properties, including a Westin and a Radisson Blu in Australia, Swissotels in Singapore and Kunshan, China, and luxury boutique resorts in Phuket, Thailand and Whistler, Canada. So it’s not exactly like they don’t know how to run a hotel…
I’m surprised the trump brand has any weight outside the US, even before being president he was seen as a goofball.
God the TDS is amazing.
Move along people and just live your own life. I promise you will be much happier than obsessing over him.
My, oh, my, anything with Trump on it or about Trump really brings out multitudes of Trump haters, a handful of sort of Trump backers, and one or two reasonable commenters. All of this on an aviation/hospitality travel site.
This property is a fairly nice physical plant in a decent location. It’ll be open again as part of an upscale global brand before next summer. The only question is which one and what, if any, updates are made.
@ Neil, most importantly you did not mention is Trump is a lier and a dictator, he thought he kept lying and making up things and kept lying and telling in your face eventually you will believe him, he is a cancer and a toxic.
Since this thread has become political as well, let me point out that it's well known that Trump has no sense of humor and cannot tell a joke to save his life. And AlohaDaveKennedy shows that applies in spades to Trump cultists as well.
Compare the humor (or lack thereof) is his comment to the subtle tongue-in-cheek style in the Yeshiva Univ safety video.
My guesses are it will be a Four Seasons. Second guess is a Hyatt.
In retrospect, the Trump name was worse than if they just called it an Econolodge or Rodeway Inn or maybe Rodeway Inn Plus.
What BRAND would I like to see it converted to? I’d like to see it TORN DOWN, anything with a trump name deserves to be imploded.
Even before the pandemic and border closures, the Trump properties in Canada and everywhere had been struggling. When you consistently insult your allies and half the American population, it undercuts your customer base. Hopefully, the properties will rebrand and the employees will be rehired.
All business associated with Trump's name should have the same end results globally.
Trump exists because of trolling. That's his raison d'etre and likewise for his supporters. That's why they're fine with his absolutely appalling record. They don't give a rip about actually doing anything. This isn't about actually getting anything done, this is about ripping the "others", however they define that.
That's what we're dealing with. It's incredibly sad that nearly half of Americans have bought into this baloney.
Speaking of Canada, this week marks the 90th anniversary of Hanford MacNider’s historic August 1930 flight from Bolling Field in Washington, D.C., to Ottawa, Canada. MacNider was the first American ambassador to travel to his post by air. He and his wife made the trip on an Army Air Corps plane piloted by Capt. Ira E. Eaker. A special aluminum apparatus had been installed in the cockpit because Eaker had broken his right ankle, a week before, in a parachute jump.
@AlohaDaveKennedy's post is a great example of how bizarre Trump fanatics sound when they get out of their social media bubbles. It's the kind of word salad that would rack up dozens of likes in one of those weird cultish pro-Trump Facebook group, for example, but when the post escapes into the real world it comes across as unhinged and unsettling.
Like...consider the sentence "Biden Hotels have a great points program they tested in Portland...
@AlohaDaveKennedy's post is a great example of how bizarre Trump fanatics sound when they get out of their social media bubbles. It's the kind of word salad that would rack up dozens of likes in one of those weird cultish pro-Trump Facebook group, for example, but when the post escapes into the real world it comes across as unhinged and unsettling.
Like...consider the sentence "Biden Hotels have a great points program they tested in Portland with homemade PVC spears." Dave is clearly trying to make some double entendre about loyalty points and spear points, but the whole thing is barely coherent as a sentence, let alone as a joke. It's so odd.
Dave, I think you might feel better if you took a couple weeks to just log off and calm down.
Some Trump properties are nice enough to stay at. But the brand is sort of toxic nowadays.
I know one Biden campaign donor -- someone who has been contributing to Biden since some point early in his campaign in 2019 -- whom I booked into a Trump property last year. The rate was much lower than comparable properties, and the property was acceptable enough that the Biden contributor didn't complain about it or say to avoid Trump brand properties elsewhere.
Literally hundreds hotels have closed during the pandemic, and you chose to highlight this one. Purely to troll. Classy move.
@ Matt -- That's complete hogwash. I've highlighted several major hotels that have either closed or rebranded during the pandemic, ranging from the EDITION Times Square, to the InterContinental Moorea, to 103 IHG properties being rebranded as Sonesta.
It would be news to me if hundreds of hotels had actually permanently announced they're shutting down during the pandemic. The few other permanent closures I've seen have been of limited service properties, where I don't think...
@ Matt -- That's complete hogwash. I've highlighted several major hotels that have either closed or rebranded during the pandemic, ranging from the EDITION Times Square, to the InterContinental Moorea, to 103 IHG properties being rebranded as Sonesta.
It would be news to me if hundreds of hotels had actually permanently announced they're shutting down during the pandemic. The few other permanent closures I've seen have been of limited service properties, where I don't think there's much of an interesting story.
If you don't see how both Trump hotels closing in Canada a few years apart is an interesting story, that's fine. But please don't pretend that this post is "purely to troll." It's an interesting story...
The Trump family real estate business today only exists because of Trump's grandfather -- himself the father of President Trump's KKK-supporting father -- and father who got their capital from owning a brothel business in Canada:
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-trump-family-fortune/
Seems like Hilton has been trying to grow Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria, so I wonder if either of those brands could take over this property.
If you think rioting in major cities is an epidemic, that it's a more serious problem than the real epidemic (coronavirus), and that it is somehow associated with Joe Biden or that he is responsible, then your belief is a testament to the effectiveness of the Fox News / RNC propaganda machine.
I live in New York City, about 6 or 7 blocks from a public housing project. I have not seen a riot ever this year. (Or the whole time I've lived in this apartment, for that matter.) The last time I saw any organized protest – entirely peaceful – was late June. I'd expect more, of course, in the wake of Kenosha, in which case they have my full support.
It's not our first pick but we think a Four Seasons is likely since the brand vacated the existing hotel in January 2020 for not meeting brand standards more or less. This would be easy for them to jump back into the Vancouver market. Personally, we would love to see a Hyatt or Walford Astoria!
Wouldn’t be surprised to see this turned into a Four Seasons after the Vancouver location closed early this year.
@AlohaDaveKennedy,
You still drinking Trump bottled water on Trump Airways, on your way to Trump University and Trump casinos on the weekends?
Trump hotels are horrible to begin with anyway especially in terms of service, cleanliness, and luxury. They would still do bad even if it were managed by a Trump company versus a Malaysian company.
Politics aside, this hotel wasn't just owned by Malaysians. It was operated by a Malaysian company and not Trump's hotel management company. I think that's significant because (a) the Malaysian company probably didn't have the expertise in this market, particularly in lucrative meetings and events, to be successful and (b) it's also a classic case of why licensing your name is a bad idea. Just ask Tommy Hilfiger.
@AlohaDaveKennedy
Wow, triggered much?
Personally, I'd like to see a Biden Hotel. I hear rooms come their own fire place, lots of loot to take home, great air conditioning from the broken windows and a wonderful sound system playing drums and megaphones. Each guest receives unlimited frozen water bottles and baggies of free marijuana. Biden Hotels have a great points program they tested in Portland with homemade PVC spears. The only downside to switching to a Biden Hotel is...
Personally, I'd like to see a Biden Hotel. I hear rooms come their own fire place, lots of loot to take home, great air conditioning from the broken windows and a wonderful sound system playing drums and megaphones. Each guest receives unlimited frozen water bottles and baggies of free marijuana. Biden Hotels have a great points program they tested in Portland with homemade PVC spears. The only downside to switching to a Biden Hotel is that the property is very old and the organizers behind it have a history of running failed institutions, including several cities and a police force in Minneapolis. The Biden hotel chain is rumored to be backed by money from investors in China and Ukraine. Currently the hotel chain is running a promotion for loyal customers called "If You Ain't Here You're Not Back!"
Whoever thought a Trump branding was smart in Canada...
Let’s see how the emotionally unstable Trump supporters will pearl their clutches and react to this news now. Popcorn is ready.
No doubt this is not good for the employees and hopefully it becomes another hotel and they get rehired. But man oh man is it good to get the stench of that name out of Canada.
How sad.. NOT. Only feeling for the employees
Some should really read the article before posting BS...
Trump and bankrupt in the same sentence? Pearl clutch!
Let's hope this is an omen for the rest of the Trump "brand".