[Steve_ Shaffer]

Trump’s prized Doral resort is in steep decline, according to company documents, showing his business problems are mounting
The troubles at Trump Doral — detailed here for the first time, based on documents and video obtained under Florida’s public-records law — suggest the Trump Organization’s problems are bigger than previously known. This is also the first known case in which a Trump Organization representative has publicly acknowledged the president’s name has hurt business.
The decline at Doral is especially significant because the resort had seemed better insulated from political backlash than other Trump properties, protected by its place in golf’s history, by its recent renovations, and by its location in a booming state that Trump won in 2016.
It wasn’t.

Read more...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-prized-doral-resort-is-in-steep-decline-according-to-company-documents-showing-his-business-problems-are-mounting/2019/05/14/03cc701a-6b54-11e9-be3a-33217240a539_story.html

[Tom_Doak]

I would think the biggest factor in declining revenue at Doral would be having lost the PGA TOUR event, and the cachet and the free publicity that accompanies it.  That's not mentioned in the article at all.


One could argue that losing the tournament was directly a result of the Trump brand, but it was still a decision made by the TOUR and the event's sponsors, rather than by consumers.

[Kalen Braley]

I would think the biggest factor in declining revenue at Doral would be having lost the PGA TOUR event, and the cachet and the free publicity that accompanies it.  That's not mentioned in the article at all.


One could argue that losing the tournament was directly a result of the Trump brand, but it was still a decision made by the TOUR and the event's sponsors, rather than by consumers.

True Tom,

But why did the Tour decide to move the event in the first place?  How many decades had it been on the Tour Schedule?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Why did they move? Sponsor didn't renew and/or other wannabe sponsors didn't offer enough $$$ for a World Golf event.


However...


https://www.golfdigest.com/story/trump-national-doral-to-host-a-pga-tour-sanctioned-event-once-again

[Kalen Braley]

Cadillac pulled out in the summer of 2016 after Trump won the Republican nomination and they couldn't find a replacement.


https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-leaving-trump-national-doral-sad-weird-among-other-player-reaction

[Nick Ribeiro]

It must have really bothered the Washington Post to add at the very end after all that The Trump Org still profited 4 mil out of the place while in such turmoil. How many other golf resorts profit what Doral does? Not sure many if any...


When I was there 2 years ago the place was packed. Mostly foreigners like Eric Trump stated in the article but none the less packed. Doral is a worldwide golf destination and despite politics people go there for everything the place has to offer.


I've been to their properties in the North East a bunch, constantly improving and adding new amenities. Always expanding and always investing. Upgrading and investing in the future of the clubs never end.


It's a shame 99% will see the headline and come to a negative conclusion having no clue, but that's what the news is all about these days...

[Doug_Feeney]

I would think the biggest factor in declining revenue at Doral would be having lost the PGA TOUR event, and the cachet and the free publicity that accompanies it.  That's not mentioned in the article at all.

The article seems to address this exact point:


In 2016, Cadillac — the main sponsor of Doral’s big tournament — pulled out.


“The problem that the tour had was that we couldn’t find a replacement for Cadillac. So we had to move the tournament,” Butch Buchholz, who served as chairman of the golf tournament, called the World Golf Championships, said in an interview this year. “If they could have found a sponsor, they would — I believe — still be playing there.”


They didn’t find another sponsor. The tournament moved to Mexico.


One former employee at Doral familiar with the club’s marketing said the loss of the tournament brought the club’s appeal down a notch.

[Tom_Doak]

I would think the biggest factor in declining revenue at Doral would be having lost the PGA TOUR event, and the cachet and the free publicity that accompanies it.  That's not mentioned in the article at all.

The article seems to address this exact point:


In 2016, Cadillac — the main sponsor of Doral’s big tournament — pulled out.


“The problem that the tour had was that we couldn’t find a replacement for Cadillac. So we had to move the tournament,” Butch Buchholz, who served as chairman of the golf tournament, called the World Golf Championships, said in an interview this year. “If they could have found a sponsor, they would — I believe — still be playing there.”


They didn’t find another sponsor. The tournament moved to Mexico.


One former employee at Doral familiar with the club’s marketing said the loss of the tournament brought the club’s appeal down a notch.

Wow, I missed that entirely.  I read the article to the point where they started talking about Trump's office buildings and other businesses, and having ads in the copy after every paragraph, and thought they were done talking about Doral.  I didn't get to the end - which is where they have to include the balanced side of the story, if they have to include one at all.  Not that I'm supporting Mr. Trump here, but WaPo is not exactly neutral on Trump stories. 

[MClutterbuck]

To foreigners, Doral was the gateway to US golf at one time. Information was limited pre Internet era, and we all saw the PGA Tour on TV, we knew it was public and thought it would be cool to play a course that appeared so different to what we saw at home.


Miami connected well with South America and certain European cities.



Today there is unlimited information and we know there are several hundred courses we can choose from, at much lower rates and in better golfing areas than Miami AND, similar courses to Doral have shown up around the world. If we are going to pay for a US Golf trip, we will look for classic great courses or better golfing weather. Doral is pricing itself out for a lot of customers.

[Anthony Butler]

It must have really bothered the Washington Post to add at the very end after all that The Trump Org still profited 4 mil out of the place while in such turmoil. How many other golf resorts profit what Doral does? Not sure many if any...

Why would it 'bother' the Washington Post to 'add' that?


The Washington Post doesn't write or add things to articles. It's reported by a journalist employed by the Post who likely has no connection to their political coverage... It might bother someone at Fox News to say something nice about Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, but that's not how the editorial side works at the major newspapers... Their journalists are simply instructed to report the story along with sources. It's not an opinion piece.

[Michael Dugger]

I'm finding the article to be a little bit of "gotcha" journalism.


Indeed the facts are that revenue is down at Doral.  Indeed this could be because there are many out there who hate Trump.  Could be revenue is down because of that, and the hurricanes and the Zika? virus.  That made me chuckle...ok, sure, Eric Trump.


Meanwhile, allegedly revenue is maintaining for other nearby resorts so that ought to give you pause.


Losing the Cadillac Sponsorship and subsequent tournament probably hasn't helped.


Overall, the article was somewhat "much ado about nothing." 


Hell, didn't I read last week that The Donald said losing 1 billion was "good"     He should be thrilled then.

[Tom_Doak]

It must have really bothered the Washington Post to add at the very end after all that The Trump Org still profited 4 mil out of the place while in such turmoil. How many other golf resorts profit what Doral does? Not sure many if any...

Why would it 'bother' the Washington Post to 'add' that?


The Washington Post doesn't write or add things to articles. It's reported by a journalist employed by the Post who likely has no connection to their political coverage... It might bother someone at Fox News to say something nice about Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, but that's not how the editorial side works at the major newspapers... Their journalists are simply instructed to report the story along with sources. It's not an opinion piece.

Anthony:
I’m sorry, but that’s not how things work at big American newspapers anymore, either.  They’re not much different than Fox News, other than protecting a different status quo.  Indeed, what was the news value of them pursuing this story at all, other than to reinforce their preferred political narrative?  I don’t see them doing stories on how other golf resorts or golf developers are faring in today’s economy.

[Kalen Braley]

Tom,

I won't disagree with your last point, and I accept that nearly all major journalism does have bias, its difficult to write something for mass consumption without it.

But where i draw the line is getting facts straight.  I didn't see anything not true in the WA POST article, even if it didn't contain every last fact and comparison, but I can't say the same for the garbage coming from Fox News these days....

[Tom_Doak]

Kalen, you couldn’t pay me enough to watch Fox News, so I can’t agree or disagree with your point there. 


It wouldn’t surprise me if they misreported facts on purpose.  But the main thing I’ve learned from observing the last few years is that it’s the facts you don’t report that are the main lever of bias in the news.  And the billionaire who runs Amazon is not neutral on a lot of topics.

[Tim Martin]

It must have really bothered the Washington Post to add at the very end after all that The Trump Org still profited 4 mil out of the place while in such turmoil. How many other golf resorts profit what Doral does? Not sure many if any...

Why would it 'bother' the Washington Post to 'add' that?


The Washington Post doesn't write or add things to articles. It's reported by a journalist employed by the Post who likely has no connection to their political coverage... It might bother someone at Fox News to say something nice about Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, but that's not how the editorial side works at the major newspapers... Their journalists are simply instructed to report the story along with sources. It's not an opinion piece.

Anthony:
I don’t see them doing stories on how other golf resorts or golf developers are faring in today’s economy.

No other golf developers double as the president.

[Jeff Taylor]

"But where i draw the line is getting facts straight.  I didn't see anything not true in the WA POST article, even if it didn't contain every last fact and comparison, but I can't say the same for the garbage coming from Fox News these days...."


So yo watch Fox news? Is it the news part or the opinion part? Is the Washington Post perfectly divided between news and opinion?
I think Mr. Doak gets close to the truth when it comes to what "information" is circulated in the media.
Finchem dropped Doral and went to Mexico. Think of the odds. Everybody is biased.

[Steve Okula]

If Trump cared about keeping the Tour at Doral he could have put up the prize money himself. Obviously the tournament wasn't a priority for him.

[Tom_Doak]

If Trump cared about keeping the Tour at Doral he could have put up the prize money himself. Obviously the tournament wasn't a priority for him.

That's true for every Tour event, but how many are financed that way.  It's a lot of money they are asking for.


Our client in Houston, Jim Crane, agreed to underwrite the Houston Open for five years to keep it in the city, but only on the condition that the Tour would allow him to sign up other companies as co-sponsors.  Shell had dropped the event because they couldn't justify spending $8m per year as a tournament sponsor when they were laying off employees in a downturn, but the truth is, most public companies are in the same predicament.  I think it will get harder for the Tour to find companies willing to make 5-year commitments as title sponsors going forward.

[Tom_Doak]

No other golf developers double as the president.

Exactly my point.  The origin of the story is political, not about the golf business.  And the slant was clearly to show that Trump's name led to declining business, instead of that he was still making good money at it. 

[BHoover]

If Trump cared about keeping the Tour at Doral he could have put up the prize money himself. Obviously the tournament wasn't a priority for him.

Maybe he didn’t have the money for that?

[Jason Topp]

Rick Reilly extensively discusses Cadillac pulling out in his book.  The basic story is that tournament publicity became all about Trump rather than the sponsor that was footing the bill. 


The title of the book, "Commander in Cheat," does not suggest the most objective reporting.   

[Steve Okula]

If Trump cared about keeping the Tour at Doral he could have put up the prize money himself. Obviously the tournament wasn't a priority for him.

Maybe he didn’t have the money for that?

Trump is worth over 10 billion dollars*. A purse of $10 million per year over five years would amount to 0.5% of his fortune.

But why stop there? Why not make it a $15 million purse and be able to boast of the richest tournament ever! He needn't share the spotlight with other sponsors, he could just promote the Trump name in huge font everywhere. He's missing a golden opportunity for some self-promotion here.

This is my main criticism of President Trump, he constantly sells himself short.

*Source: President Donald Trump

[Mike Sweeney]

oops

[John McCarthy]

Of the Trump courses I have seen Scotland and Doral are the only ones I want to play, but the prices seem really high. 


Doral was essentially a re-build.  Over how many years does the owner get to depreciate a renovated/rebuilt golf course?

[Lou_Duran]

I hope that you will review the following with the lovely Mrs. Sweeney.  Hopefully it won't drive her over the edge.


On who was Vlad's bitch:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mgQaFlo_p8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1409sXBleg


And this is what interfering in other countries' elections looks like:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkNamVKz8I


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpIVPuDgJVc


Of course, the former president's efforts didn't quite work out.


As to Trump's golf courses, I contacted Doonbeg couple of years ago and couldn't get a tee time.  I then asked if I could get on the course if I stayed at the hotel; they said the rooms were completely booked.  By contrast, we stopped by Trump Balmedie and it was deserted.  Who knows how his businesses are doing.  Maybe Trump Moscow will be a big hit 10 years from now.

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