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H OW TO M ANAGE P ROPER TY L IKE T RUMP

aren’t used to seeing. He will only use the finest marble, and each
piece has to match. He will only use mirrored steel and it has to be
perfect. It’s one thing to use these materials; it’s another to keep
them in pristine condition.
Trump’s philosophy on repairs and maintenance is unwavering:
Everything must be constantly maintained by skilled personnel.
What other building owners and property managers do is not good
enough for Trump. The windows must be cleaned every few weeks;
not just four times a year like other properties. Elevator carpets are
vacuumed three times a day, not once a week. Uniforms have to be
clean and pressed and fit properly. (By the way, the uniforms in
Trump buildings are designed with more flourish and distinction
than typical uniforms.) If you go into any Trump building, you will
notice that the marble floors are always highly polished and all glass
is spotless. A Trump rule for his properties is, “Don’t wait until it’s
broken to fix it, fix it before it breaks.”
This level of vigilance concerning service, maintenance, and re-
pairs is one of the reasons Trump International Hotel in New York
City, which has always had a Five-Star rating, was recently voted the
best hotel in New York City by Travel & Leisure magazine. This
property is not even branded with one of the big-name hotel chains,
such as The Four Seasons, Hyatt, or Ritz Carlton. Even without
major name recognition, it was rated the number one hotel in New
York City. Capitalizing on Trump’s reputation for quality and ser-
vice, it also charges the highest rates of any hotel in New York City—
which guests willingly pay.

SUMMARY

People have a tendency to think that just because something is small
it doesn’t require much attention. The fact is that size has nothing to

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