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Donald Trump's tumultuous presidential campaign has undoubtedly impacted his image among travelers. But how will it impact their attitudes toward the Republican front-runner's Trump Hotel Collection?
According to a survey conducted for Forbes by consulting firm Penn Schoen Berland, nearly half (45 percent) of the 500 surveyed U.S. residents earning at least $200,000 annually indicated that they would set out to avoid staying at a Trump-branded hotel or visiting a Trump-branded golf course over the next four years.
What's more, of that 45 percent, more than three-fourths (77 percent) said they would be boycotting the properties in an effort to protest Trump's presidential campaign.
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Meanwhile, only 7 percent of respondents said they would make a specific point to visit a Trump-branded hotel or golf property over the next four years.
"The fact that we have nearly half of these people saying they are going to avoid going to a property tells us that that net [of customers] has been restricted," Penn Schoen Berland senior vice president David James told Forbes. "It leads us to believe that the net of people he can pull from is getting so small that the demand is going to go down."
"Charging premiums is going to be counterproductive."
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While Democrats (68 percent) and Independents (48 percent) were found to be more likely to avoid Trump-branded hotels and golf courses than Republicans (20 percent), at least three-fourths of Trump-avoiders from each party cited his presidential campaign as their primary motivation.
Despite the fact Trump's son Eric Trump has dismissed the survey findings, it's clear that the aforementioned sentiments matter.
After all, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of the 500 surveyed Americans said they were either very likely or somewhat likely to select or influence personal travel for four or more people. Plus, 35 percent of respondents said they were somewhat or very likely to select or influence business travel for four or more people.
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