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- Former President Trump is in talks with hotel companies to sell the rights to his DC hotel, sources told Axios.
- The hotel is located in the historic Old Post Office building, which Trump leases from the federal government.
- In 2017, the GSA said that the Trump Organization was paying $250,000 monthly in base rent.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Former President Donald Trump is in talks with hotel companies to sell the leasing rights to his hotel in Washington, DC, sources told Axios.
The hotel is located on Pennsylvania Avenue just blocks from the White House in the 122-year-old Old Post Office building, which Trump leases from the federal government.
The former president would sell the leasing rights to the Trump International Hotel to a real estate developer, who would then negotiate with hotel companies that would manage the property and overhaul it, according to the Axios report.
The full details of the deal are still unknown, but Axios reported that "Trump's representatives have been in talks with major hotel chains and investors."
The former president sought to sell the leased federal property in 2019, while he was still in office, and sources told Axios that he was likely to receive less than the $500 million that he reportedly sought that year.
Trump leases the Old Post Office property from the General Services Administration (GSA) under a 60-year agreement put into place in 2013, according to Axios. In 2017, the GSA said that the Trump Organization was paying $250,000 monthly in base rent, which was slated to rise with inflation costs.
During Trump's tenure in office from 2017 to 2021, the hotel became a focal gathering place for Republican lobbyists and prominent figures within the former president's orbit - from attorney Rudy Giuliani to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
However, after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with Trump's election loss and his subsequent move to Florida - the hotel's profits plummeted in 2020.
According to CNN, sales at the DC hotel declined by 63 percent last year compared with 2019, when the Trump Organization was looking into a possible sale.
Trump, who has continued to hold campaign-style rallies across the country as a private citizen, is still eyeing a 2024 presidential bid - this week, GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said on video that the former president is "ready to announce" a run, but a spokesperson for the lawmaker denied that he made the statement.
source https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-advanced-talks-sell-leasing-rights-washington-dc-hotel-2021-9