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The Trump International Hotel in Chicago, part of the group of luxury hotels owned by former President Donald Trump. Eric Danziger has stepped down as CEO of Trump Hotels to become CEO of Boise’s Braintree Group, whose businesses include hotel management.
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Former President Donald Trump’s top hotel executive has left the company to take over as CEO of a Boise investment and hotel company.
Eric Danziger, 67, spent seven years leading Trump Hotels before announcing his departure last week. In his new position, he will oversee Braintree Group, which has a portfolio of companies including real estate investment and development; hospitality management; and venture capital investments.
“I have an excitement for learning new things, and this is a unique opportunity for me to apply my skills to an expanded portfolio of businesses, as well as allow me to move closer to family in the Boise area,” Danziger said in an announcement on Braintree’s website.
His son, Evan Danziger, is a regional hotel director at Braintree Hospitality, a subsidiary of Braintree Group.
“Eric is a titan of industry,” Jason Kotter, Braintree’s co-founder, said in the announcement. “He will bring a depth and breadth of executive prowess previously unseen in the Treasure Valley and further Braintree’s impact in communities across the West.”
Eric Danziger began his hotel career at age 17 as a bellman for the luxury Fairmont San Francisco. He previously served as CEO at Starwood Hotels and Wyndham Hotel Group and president of Carlson Hotels Worldwide.
Danziger joined Trump Hotels in 2015, tasked with expanding the business. Instead, the company faced a shrinking portfolio as Donald Trump’s divisive politics and the coronavirus pandemic took a toll, said The New York Times, which first reported Danziger’s move to Braintree.
Danziger did not immediately reply to a voicemail message left at Braintree on Monday.
Braintree owns and operates 14 hotels in the West, including the Hilton Garden Inn Boise Spectrum, 7699 W. Spectrum St.; a La Quinta in Twin Falls; and a Hampton Inn in Coeur d’Alene. It also operates four hotels in Oregon, along with others in Las Vegas and Gilbert, Arizona.
Braintree operates four charter schools, Athlos Academies, in Utah, Louisiana and Minnesota.
Athlos, as well as Braintree, was founded by Kotter and Ryan Van Alfen. Although neither is an educator, they saw links among fitness, performance characteristics and academic success.
Athlos Academies sells a healthy-bodies curriculum to schools as part of a wider program to increase fitness, build positive character traits and furnish a curriculum aimed at gaining deeper understanding.
Braintree’s headquarters are located in the old Macy’s store in downtown Boise. It shares the building at 918 W. Idaho St. with an Athlos training site.
During Danziger’s time at Trump Hotels, the luster fell off the brand. Partners in hotels in New York and Toronto paid the family to walk away and remove their name from the buildings, The New York Times reported.
The company that owned a Trump hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, declared bankruptcy and removed the name. And the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., is being sold.
Reporter John Sowell has worked for the Statesman since 2013. He covers business and growth issues. He grew up in Emmett and graduated from the University of Oregon. If you like seeing stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a digital subscription to the Idaho Statesman.
