Trump brand under scrutiny as Vancouver hotel holds grand opening
VANCOUVER — As the latest Trump hotel gears up for its official opening in Vancouver on Tuesday, some experts are expressing doubts about the fate of the newest addition to the city’s skyline thanks to billionaire businessman Donald Trump’s polarizing behaviour as president of the United States.
Simon Fraser University’s Lindsay Meredith predicts Trump’s actions, which include a foiled executive order to ban visitors from seven majority-Muslim nations as well as lewd comments about women that surfaced during the presidential race, will take a toll on the bottom line of his luxury hotel brand.
“We know it takes a long time to build brand awareness and brand value, and we know you can blow it away in seconds flat if you’re not careful,” Meredith, who teaches marketing at the Vancouver-area university, said Monday.
“Any CEO better give his head a shake if he thinks he can get away with doing or saying absolutely anything and that there’s not going to be repercussions for either the corporation or the many brands that it encompasses.”