The man who slaps his name on everything he touches will soon be launching a new hotel chain, one that doesn’t bear his name. From the Chicago Tribune:
The presidential candidate's newest line of hotels is to be called Scion, offering an alternative to Trump Hotels, the line of luxury properties where a one-night stay can cost upwards of $20,000.
The announcement by the Trump Organization comes as marketing and travel experts have suggested the Republican candidate's bombastic rhetoric and polarizing presidential campaign has tarnished his businesses.
When a person walks around making racist, misogynistic, bigoted comments, it has a tendency to tarnish their reputation and business interests.
According to Merriam-Webster, here is the definition of “scion”:
Full Definition of scion
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1: a detached living portion of a plant (as a bud or shoot) joined to a stock in grafting and usually supplying solely aerial parts to a graft
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2a : descendant, child; especially : a descendant of a wealthy, aristocratic, or influential family b: heir 1 <scion of a railroad empire>
Emphasis added on that second part. The man running around courting the populist vote of the “every man” is on the verge of launching a hotel line that trumpets aristocratic roots. Just perfect.
Will the Trump-less branded hotels be enough to overcome the damaged image of Trump and his family? Not likely:
Nir Kossovsky, president and chief executive of Steel City Re, a Pittsburgh firm that analyzes reputational risk for public companies, described Trump as "a damaged brand."
"A corporation can take a hit - Volkswagen can take a hit, BP can take a hit - and bounce back, but personal reputations are fragile. You mess with them and it can be fatal to your company.”