TRUMP: Loss or not according to David Cay Johnson

For years, the Kuwaitis hosted their annual soirée at the Four Seasons hotel, one of Washington’s swankiest. But after the 2016 elections the Kuwaitis decided they would get much more value for the money by moving the affair to Trump’s hotel. 

President Trump stopped by the hotel for dinner a few times, reinforcing the message of seamlessness between his official duties and his private business. In official appearances, the president often talked about how terrific his properties are, using the White House and the presidential seal as props to promote his profiteering. Trump’s strategy has made the hotel a phenomenal success. 

*  *  * Trump had leased the property from the federal government for sixty years. Reports the Trump Organization filed before the opening projected losses of $2.1 million in the first four months of 2017. Instead it generated a profit of almost $2 million, documents obtained by The Washington Post showed. 

Trump’s hotel charges the highest room rates in Washington even though nothing distinguishes it from other high-end lodging establishments, other than the name over the entrance.

Johnston, David Cay. It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America (pp. 14-15). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.