According to The New York Times, the excuse Trump's business gruop found was saying it's impossible to track down all foreign officials who walked through their hotels.
From the NYT article:
As Donald J. Trump prepared to assume the presidency, he unveiled an ethics plan promising that his company would donate to the United States Treasury “all profits” from foreign government patronage of his hotels. Several months later, the Trump Organization is finding that pledge daunting to keep.
The company told Congress in a recent submission that it was all but impossible to identify every foreign government official who walked through the doors of its hotels. And investigating all its patrons, the organization argued, would interfere with its business and ask too much of customers.
Two things:
1. If it's impossible, why did Trump offer it?
2. Sounds more like an excuse not to deliver on Trump's primise.
Why? Well, maybe they don't want to give up the money. Why? Difficult to say, but the news coincides with another report that's actually related: at least one of Trump's hotels isn't doing well. According to CNBC, a Trump hotel in New York is planning to lay off staff.
Managers of the lower Manhattan property are planning to lay off a dozen room attendants — out of a housekeeping staff of 80 —and to eliminate the hotel's turn-down service, two sources said, according to WNYC radio.
Documents reviewed by the public broadcasting station show the hotel's conference and events business booked 29 large corporate events between January and mid-May 2016, for the likes of Citibank, GE and Amazon. This year, such bookings were down to 11 events, with fewer well-known names, WNYC reported.
So at least one Trump hotel is making less money. And it would make even less money if Trump were to give up income from foreign officials.
That may or may not be the reason for Trump backing off on his own promise, but it sure is a big coincidence.
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