The hotel opened with a lot of fanfare a few months before ex-President Donald Trump took office, and quickly became an attraction for Trump’s loyal and initiated throughout his term.
“I mean, we were very busy,” explained Shawn Matijevich, the former executive chef at the hotel’s steakhouse, to CNN. “With so many every day, you know it is almost almost unbearable at times – how many VIPs and members of our government you know are making headlines are all in the same place together.”
A hotel official told CNN this month: “From the coronavirus we weren’t so bad until I would say it probably was a month ago. It really, like, decreased.”
“It’s normal during this time of year to have that kind of slowdown, but because of everything that’s going on, it kind of really did – a different time.”
Washington’s indoor restaurants and bars are limited to 25% capacity or 250 people in total, whichever is less. The country’s capital stopped all meals indoors in December, with the increase in cases and hospitalizations at Covid-19.
On a recent Friday night, CNN observed about 30 customers in the hotel bar and lounge area over a three-hour period. But the main elevators were used only a few times, signaling that many would not stay overnight.
The hotel corridors looked almost lifeless at about 7 pm Eastern Time.
“Where is everyone?” one of the men asked. The waiter raised his hands slightly, as if to express uncertainty.
Asked about the hotel’s current occupancy and revenue figures, Eric Trump, who runs the daily operations of the family’s real estate empire, praised the hotel in a statement without providing any specific numbers.
“Our location is unmatched and we are extremely proud to have the best hotel in our country’s capital,” he said.
During a separate CNN visit to the hotel, only a handful of people were present in the lobby for several hours.
Hotels and other hospitality companies, which form a substantial part of Trump’s business empire, were hit particularly hard during the epidemic as travelers stay at home and governments impose restrictions.
Jan Freitag, senior vice president of Lodging Insights at STR, told CNN that in 2019 the occupancy in luxury hotels in downtown DC was 73%.
“So basically, one in four rooms was empty,” said Freitag. “Today, four out of five rooms are empty.”
While a standard room can usually be booked for around $ 500, according to an analysis on the hotel’s website, a room on March 4 costs about $ 1,300. The Trump Organization did not answer several questions about whether the price increase was related to QAnon’s March 4 conspiracy.
Still, the price increase underscores the tie that the former president can still command, even if he is no longer on the road at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“God bless Donald Trump. I mean, what else can you do?” a woman recently told CNN spontaneously in the hotel lobby. “We came here and supported him.”