President Donald Trump is about to have a hefty bill come due in his first few years after leaving office. Reports on his taxes, financial disclosures and loans revealed Trump owes about $479 million that is about to come due when he leaves office. At the worst possible time for him, his New York hotel is now losing money as the coronavirus pandemic is driving people away from the hospitality industry again.
According to Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold, Trump hotel executives revealed in an investor call that the crowds have stopped coming to his luxury property in Manhattan.
"While we were seeing encouraging signs of growth and recovery, that momentum tempered down towards the end of October, with rising covid cases nationwide," said general manager Matthew Vandegrift in the investor call. "The momentum we were experiencing has slowed as of late November."
New York was an early hotspot for the coronavirus, but as the virus spread, the whole country has fallen under the increased severity of the pandemic. Despite public health experts telling Americans not to travel for the holidays, millions of Americans ignored warnings and the impacts has been a predictable increase in cases. Hospitalizations are now also on the rise, and that typically leads to an eventual increase in deaths about a month later. COVID-19 doesn't typically lead Americans to seek vacations, particularly around the holidays.
But that's exactly what the Trump hotels need to break even. One executive explained that the Trump hotel on Central Park West will need 70 percent capacity at a $600 per night rate just to make it. Since the beginning of November, they've only been able to get to 16 percent capacity.
At the same time, Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant on the first floor of the hotel is taking a hit due to New York lockdown restrictions. They had to lay off 216 staffers. Even though establishments are starting to reopen, the city is growing in COVID-19 cases again and Mayor Bill de Blasio may have to order another lockdown. The chef told the Post that he has no idea what to expect.
In the end, the Trump investors were told not to expect any profits this year. Then they were asked to send more money.
"Besides the money, we unit owners have been losing in 2020, do we still have to wire more money?" asked one investor on the call.
"You're certainly going to have to wire more money for 2021," said building board chair Douglas Russell.