Virtuoso Travel is a major luxury travel company. It has finished its partnership with Donald Trump and removed all Trump Hotels from its special listings. The hotel empire of the former President has been struggling for a while and now Donald Trump has been dealt a new blow.
This was reported by Zenger News last week that Virtuoso Travel which is a luxury travel company and only caters to the wealthy has cut off Trump Hotels this month.
“Virtuoso considers many variables when reviewing both existing and new network participation. Out of respect for all involved parties, and as a general policy, we do not share comments regarding our non-renewal and exit decisions.” This was spoken by a spokesperson of Virtuoso travel to the website.
The Washington Post has reported that Virtuoso agencies are free to book their clients at Trump properties but they will not obtain any perks and benefits that come with booking a stay through Virtuoso’s preferred partner hotels. Trump Hotels are not listed on Virtuoso’s website any more either.
“It’s a big deal because Virtuoso is very well-respected in the industry,” Henry Harteveldt who is a travel industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group told a newspaper. He said Virtuoso has a very high-valued base of customers and often everyone in the travel industry mimics Virutoso’s actions. They follow whatever Virtuoso does and incorporate that into their business. Henry said, “Some travel agencies that may have been debating whether or not to do it could decide, well, if Virtuoso has done this, we too will end our professional relationship with the Trump hotels.”
The pandemic and quarantine restrictions have dealt severe losses to the hospitality industry in the past year. Former President Donald Trump’s properties were hit very hard on two different levels. Trump lost the reelection in 2020 and everyone that was hoping to obtain political favours no longer was visiting his clubs and hotels. Trump also is said to have incited the gathering that took over the U.S. Capitol on January 6 of 2021 and many firms cut ties with his hotels completely after that. Trump’s Bedminster golf club was all set to host the championship tournament in 2022 but after the Washington incident, the PGA cancelled his role as the host for the New Jersey tournament. The result can be seen in the declining number of visitors to Trump’s properties.
CNN reported in January that many members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club were seen walking out of his club in Florida after his presidency was over. Earlier in March, The Guardian had reported that Trump International Hotel in Washington which is near the White House and was considered the most premium Trump Hotel was empty and resembled a hotel from The Shining.
The four years that Trump was President have however provided him with some financial advantages. Government agencies are now forced to book properties and purchase services for Trump properties to make sure they are close to the former president. It is said that the Secret Service spent over $ 1 million on golf cart rentals almost all of it on Trump properties. In 2020, Washinton Post reported that the agency paid 650$ for each room for the stay of its agents at Trump properties.
