Trump in talks to sell rights to DC hotel

Washington

FORMER US president Donald Trump is in talks with hotel chains and investors to sell the leasing rights to his hotel in Washington, Axios reported.

The Trump International Hotel is housed a few blocks from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Old Post Office building, which Mr Trump leases from the United States government.

He would sell the rights to a real estate developer, who subsequently would negotiate with hotel companies that would manage and rebrand it, the website reported, citing people familiar with the transaction.

The lease is likely to fetch less than the US$500 million the Wall Street Journal said Mr Trump was seeking in 2019, Axios said.

The Trump Organization and Margo Martin, the former president's deputy director for communications, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment last Saturday.

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Mr Trump signed the lease for the building in 2013, and the General Services Administration oversees the contract. The hotel opened in September 2017, about eight months after he took office. The Trump International Hotel became one of the former president's most successful property projects, generating revenues from foreign governments that rented space for events and favour-seekers eager to be seen there.

Mr Trump owns the hotel through his trust, which holds all of his business interests, and ultimately profits from it. The hotel has become a magnet for high-powered Republicans in Washington, from lobbyists to lawmakers. BLOOMBERG