Still, Doral’s business appears to have been down from before Trump took office, even as the presidency fueled concern that he would use his role to boost his properties. The 2017 forms showed $115.9 million in revenue at Doral for the prior 15.5 months.

During the presidency, Jessica Vachiratevanurak, a tax consultant for the Trump Organization, advocated to a Miami-Dade County official that Doral’s tax bill be lowered because it was “severely underperforming” other area resorts, according to a 2019 story by the Washington Post. She cited “some negative connotation that is associated with the brand,” the Post reported.

Vachiratevanurak, whose firm Paradigm Tax Group no longer represents the Trump Organization, declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement.

For all the troubles, there are bright spots for the resort and Trump. The pandemic has sent people flocking to Miami for better weather and looser restrictions, and golf is seeing a renaissance as a safe, socially distanced outdoor sport. While the hotel’s conferences and weddings have been on pause, Doral is seeing bookings for later this year and early 2022, said a person with knowledge of the resort, who asked not to be named speaking about its performance.

Trump won Florida in the election and has plenty of supporters there. And if the hotel continues to struggle, the property is on valuable land that could be redeveloped for lucrative uses such as condos.

“Doral is probably the most valuable property in south Florida,” Eric Trump said. “It’s 700 acres in Miami and that is invaluable.”

As long as the Trump Organization can repay its debts, the company also likely has bigger plans for its future than golf clubs and hotels. After an election in which Trump won 74 million votes, people have speculated that he will start his own TV channel, or even a newsletter, asking supporters to shell out cash to subscribe. Eric Trump declined to comment on future ventures.

Riot Fallout
The success of those efforts may depend on the damage to Trump’s brand in the wake of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that was incited by his attempts to overturn the election. The outcome of the impeachment trial that starts this week may be critical to the business, said Eric Schiffer, a branding consultant.

If he’s convicted, it “ratifies and cements his legacy as being fully impeached and also barred from the presidency,” Schiffer said. “That’s as close as you can get to being buried alive as a brand.”

Perhaps even more crucially, the Capitol riots also spurred several financial institutions that worked with Trump to cut ties with him, including Signature Bank, BankUnited and Professional Bank—as well as Deutsche Bank AG, which holds more than $300 million in loans to the former president. That includes two totaling $125 million that were used to pay for Doral and its $250 million renovation.