After some retailers and customers chose to boycott First Daughter Ivanka Trump’s merchandise, many thought that the Trump Organization would be wary of expanding its brand. However, it looks like President Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are determined to push through with the family’s real estate business as the two are launching a new line of mid-range hotels called Scion.
According to AP, Scion will be the first Trump-run hotels which will not be bearing the family’s name. Rooms will reportedly cost from $200 to $300 a night and will feature modern, sleek interiors and common areas.
It appears that the Trump Organization is now trying to appeal to a different market as a stay in an average room at their other hotel brands normally cost about $500 to $700 a night.
Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger told AP that the company has signed letters of intent with more than 20 developers to build the hotels.
“It’s full steam ahead,” said Danziger about the new hotel line. “It’s in the Trump boys’ DNA.”
While the expansion could raise some ethical questions, it was said that the family won’t be putting up the money to build the hotels. Instead, the Trump Organization plans to get local real estate developers and their investors to produce the funds to build the Scion hotel line.
The Trump brothers’ decision to expand their business comes after Ivanka Trump was given an unofficial role in the White House. As previously reported by Jobs & Hire, the First Daughter will be given a West Wing office, government-issued communication devices, and access to classified information in the unnamed role. She is said to follow the ethics rules that apply to government employees.
Meanwhile, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are also said to be following the letter of an ethics arrangement that states that they are not to talk about the family business with their father. The arrangement also states that the president should not discuss government business with his sons or the Trump Organizations’ executives.
In a joint statement to Politico, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. said, “We do not have any role in the current administration and we take the separation of the Trump Organization and the office of the president very seriously.”
