The Trump brand still commands a premium & that's something that might leave many local charities holding the bag:
Bottom Line: As the march of the penguins continues (organizations, largely charities caving to political pressure to flee Mar-A-Lago), an inconvenient truth may be realized. Aside from the employees at Mar-A-Lago, the only ones they might really be hurting by caving to outside political influences are the organizations themselves (and by extension those who're the beneficiaries of the organizations). The reason why Mar-A-Lago has long been a popular destination for many of South Florida's companies, charities and like organizations - isn't because they like seeing how much money they can blow on a posh party. It's because it's a destination that creates a unique experience with the ability to accommodate far more people than your average upscale destination. It's also a historic landmark and yes, that it's the second home of the President does add a great deal of added intrigue. Even now.
Yesterday the Palm Beach Post reported that the Flagler Museum appeared to be significantly benefiting from Mar-A-Lago's defections. Now, the Flagler Museum is a wonderful Museum and a true Palm Beach Treasure but does it have the cache of Mar-A-Lago? And if it did and if it were the best choice then all of the defectors would have already been there. That's just common sense. Secondly, what the media that's so quick to excitingly report the most recent Mar-A-Lago defection isn't telling you is...That Trump branded properties command a significant premium still according to one of the preeminent brand experts in the world, Brand Keys.
Brand Keys completed it's most recent study of the value of the Trump brand just last week. The result...The Trump brand commands a 15% premium over a like non-Trump option. That is down from the high point of 21% in the first few months of his administration but it's still a considerable option. So consider for a moment that you're one of these organizations that's opting to jettison Mar-A-Lago (because a left-wing interest group put your name and number on a list for a bunch of activists who've never patronized your organization to call and harass you)...not only might the next destination not be able to hold as many people...not only will it potentially not have as much cache. Even if it were an equitable experience it'd be an average of 15% less valuable.
And for anyone who's so blinded by ideology to see that reality, all you need to have done is compare the typical traffic on that stretch of South Ocean Blvd. from five years ago - to today. There's no comparison.