Data Insights Inform Hotel Profitability
—Bloomberg News
The Trump SoHo Hotel Was Struggling to Survive. Then It Dropped Its Name.
By Nikki Ekstein February 27, 2019, 4:00 AM EST
“At midnight on Dec. 20, 2017, the Trump SoHo New York faded into the history books. But the lights never turned off and the doors never closed. Instead, the David Rockwell-designed hotel— which commands some of the most impressive views in the city—took on a new name. When its guests woke up on Dec. 21, they became the first patrons of the Dominick.
In the year since the hotel’s rechristening, not much has changed. While at the spa you can now get a Detox & Glow facial from skin-care line Babor, instead of the former offering, Ivanka’s Choice, the lobby still bears the Trump SoHo’s signature travertine-and-gold aesthetic. The main restaurant, which closed long ago because of slow business, remains shuttered, and the ultra-spacious rooms have maintained their custom Fendi furnishings and tufted-leather headboards. Even the staff has mostly remained in place.
But business has done a full 180. At a time when New York’s luxury and upper-upscale hotels are flagging—with demand, revenues, and occupancy all stagnant or slowing, according to data from research firm STR —the Dominick’s revenue per available room, or revpar, rose more than 20 percent from a year earlier, recovering fully from a prolonged slump. The hotel’s average nightly rate shot up $51, or 20 percent, compared with a citywide average increase of just 2 percent among its competitors. And the 391-room, 46-story hotel booked 7,000 more room nights in 2018 than in 2017.”
“Substantiating that claim is data from System2, a quantitative analysis firm, that tracked foot traffic at the St. Regis and Dominick hotels in the months immediately before and after their renaming. In both cases, the Trump hotels were underperforming relative to their rivals. Within two months of getting a new name, the hotels had become competitive again.”