Boutique Design - January/February 2017 - 4

THE HOTELIER IN
THE WHITE HOUSE
THE FIRST AND ONLY time I've seen Donald
Trump in person was in 2012, at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in
Los Angeles. Trump's surprise (at least in some
quarters) election to the presidency last fall
caused me to dig into my personal archives to
review the specifics of what the then-developer/
hotelier talked about in his keynote address
at that event, as well as at a subsequent press
conference later the same day.
It took some serious spelunking in the
nether regions of my desk, but I did find my
notebook from that event (complete with its
own coffee stain from a long-ago spill). Some
snippets from those appearances:
* Trump, who had previously expressed
interest in running for president in the 2012
election, spent a considerable amount of time
bashing President Barack Obama, Congress and
banks during his speech. On our elected officials, he said the U.S. has "tremendous potential" but is being held back by a "bad president
and bad decision makers." On the financial
institutions: "Banks have let the hotel industry
down, in case you haven't noticed. You're
nothing compared to what they did to the residential people."

EDITORIAL
Executive Editor
Mary Scoviak
mary.scoviak@stmediagroup.com
Editor
Matthew Hall
matthew.hall@stmediagroup.com

* "If someone tells you [a hotel] renovation
is more expensive than new construction, they
don't know what they're talking about."
* Trump said he believes star and diamond
ratings bring people to properties, and that
design is also important in doing so. "I really
insist on premium architecture."
Based on the above comments, here's what
I wrote in the margins of my notes on Trump's
speech: "sift thru the bombast-some useful
information." I've decided that will be my mantra
for the foreseeable future (or at least the next
four years). It certainly applies to the features in
the following pages, where we do some serious
sifting on such timely topics as what it takes to
be an influencer in hospitality design (page 24);
which new brands are worth watching (page 34);
and how technological innovations may impact
hotel design (page 44). Read 'em and reap.

Art Director
Kelly Farrar
kelly.farrar@stmediagroup.com
Associate Editor
Christina Green
christina.green@stmediagroup.com
Contributing Editor
Oriana Lerner
oriana.lerner@stmediagroup.com

SALES
Associate Publisher/
Business Development Manager,
Midwest/West
Melani Beattie
melani.beattie@stmediagroup.com
(312) 218-5691
Business Development Manager,
Northeast
Michael Schneider
michael.schneider@stmediagroup.com
(212) 404-6936
Business Development Manager,
Southeast
Scott Rickles
scott.rickles@stmediagroup.com
(770) 664-4567

CORPORATE
President
Tedd Swormstedt
Senior VP, Boutique Design Group,
ST Media Group
President, Hospitality Media Group
Michelle Finn
michelle.finn@stmediagroup
(312) 961-2772

EDITOR

Audience Development Director
Christine Baloga
Book Division Director
Mark Kissling
Production Coordinator
Linda Volz
Reprint Information
(717) 632-3535, ext. 8065

SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICES
P.O. Box 1060
Skokie, IL 60076
(847) 504-8166
fax: (847) 763-9030
BD@omeda.com

CORPORATE
11262 Cornell Park Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45242
(513) 421-2050
fax: (513) 421-5144

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