Vancouver’s Trump International Hotel and Tower is quietly and partially open for business.
In October, management said the November grand opening was delayed until January and relocated hotel guests who had already booked. But the building bearing the name of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has hosted events, such as the October 2 Bling Boutique Bridal Show, for more than a month in its third-floor ballroom.
The Canadian Liver Foundation booked its annual November 19 fundraising gala for the Trump earlier this year. Organizer Monica Chui said the foundation respects the right to protest outside, but she hopes the foundation’s cause will also be respected.
“We are doing what we need to do to help raise awareness and funds to support our mandate, which is to invest in research and education for people who are struggling with liver disease,” said Chui, the foundation’s Western Canada director of business development.
The 69-storey tower, including the 15-storey luxury hotel, is owned by the Malaysian Holborn Group, which is using Trump Organization trademarks and management systems under a licensing agreement. The sidewalk outside the under-construction lobby has been the site of several anti-Trump protests, before and after the Republican’s November 8 victory. The Trump sign at 1161 West Georgia Street remains wrapped in a blue tarp.
“The ballroom has an occupancy permit, the service staff are all hired, they have been doing business since last month,” Chui said.
The theme of this year’s LIVERight gala is children with liver disease. Scotiabank tops the list of various high-end mainstream and Chinese community sponsors. Chui is expecting 450 attendees after the $218 tickets sold out. Last year, $370,000 was raised.
“We want to raise some awareness and money to help treat children with liver disease,” she said. “We hope it will go smoothly.”
Trump said before the election that his children Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric would take over his companies, including those managing licensing agreements. However, all three are also on his transition team and questions remain about how Trump will avoid conflicts of interest at the White House.
Vision Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Coun. Kerry Jang unsuccessfully lobbied for Holborn to change the tower’s name. They have not, however, publicly lobbied for name changes of other Vancouver towers bearing the logos of controversial brands like HSBC and SNC-Lavalin, which have been under international criminal probes over allegations of terrorist financing and corruption, respectively.
Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs represented city council when Trump and his three children visited the site in 2013.
In late September, the Trump Organization announced it would open a new line of hotels under the Scion brand. DTTM Operations LLC, Trump’s Delaware-based holding company, filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for the Scion trademark on March 1, to potentially use Scion for hotel, restaurant, conference, spa and concierge services in Canada.
