Another Trump-branded hotel has fallen into the lap of Hilton. The Trump International Hotel Waikiki, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is set to rebrand under Hilton’s luxury LXR Hotels & Resorts brand.
The hotel will be renamed Wākea Waikiki Beach and managed by Hilton beginning in February 2024, after the property owner Irongate and Trump Hotels came to a “mutual agreement” to sever ties after a “significant buyout of the hotel management and license agreements.”
In a statement, Eric Trump, EVP of The Trump Organization, said Irongate and Trump combined to “set sales records” with more than $700 million in residences sold in one day in 2006. The 38-story, 462-room property opened in November 2009. “Since opening, we have achieved some of the highest ADRs in Waikiki year after year, we were the only Forbes five-star property on the island of Oahu for eight years, and were consistently ranked in the top three Waikiki hotels on Trip Advisor. It has been an honor to work with the team at Irongate and we would like to thank Jason Grosfeld for his dedication and professionalism. We wish them all the best as they bring this property to its next phase,” Trump said.
“We would like to thank the Trump Organization, Trump Hotels Group and especially the team at Trump Waikiki for their commitment to excellence in the operation of the property. With the support of the Trump team, we have achieved great things in 14 years of operation, commencing with our initial real estate sales offering in 2006, and continuing with Trump Hotels’ stewardship of the hotel program since 2009. We are proud of what we have accomplished together, and we are looking forward to the next chapter,” said Jason Grosfeld, chairman and CEO for Irongate.
According to Irongate’s website, a significant renovation project by Bryan O’Sullivan Studios will commence in late 2024 with an expected completion date of late 2025.
This is the second Trump International Hotel to rebrand with Hilton, following the sale of the Trump International Hotel Washington. D.C. for $375 million. In 2021, Miami-based CGI Merchant Group acquired the lease rights to the hotel, the city’s second tallest building after the Washington Monument and the former U.S. Post Office Department Headquarters. The hotel was rebranded as Waldorf Astoria Washington DC.
This will be the first LXR Hotels & Resorts property in Hawaii. Currently, Hilton has more than 20 properties open across Hawaii.