Downtown Hotels

It looks like a Trump Scion hotel is back on track in Dallas

A rendering of the Scion hotel that was on the table for Dallas.

Courtesy of 5G Studio Collaborative

It appears that a Dallas hotel under the Trump family's new Scion brand is back on track. After some bumps with finding a partnering entity, the CEO of the Trump Organization's hotel business has put Dallas back in its plans, telling the New York Times that a hotel here will be announced "in the next couple of months."

The Scion brand is geared toward younger, cost-conscious travelers, with room rates at $200-$300 per night. In February, Dallas developer Mike Sarimsakci of Alterra Worldwide revealed that he'd been in talks with the Trump group to open a Scion in downtown Dallas for more than a year.

But by April, the deal had fallen through; the Trumps scrapped the plan amid concerns over Alterra's ties to foreign business interests.

However, Eric Danziger, CEO of the Trump Organization's hotel business, told the New York Times that Dallas is still in their game plan. Dallas will not be the first to open, as originally planned. But they've found a new partner in Chawla Hotels, who will open three properties in Mississippi.

Danziger said that Dallas will be one of four more Scion hotels to be announced in the next couple of months.

Chawla Hotels' principal, Dinesh Chawla, says that they will not be the partner for Dallas. The Times report didn’t identify where the proposed Dallas hotel will be built or who the Trumps' partner is for the Dallas project.

The Trump Organization has said it wants to develop Scion hotels in city and resort locations "that have a true sense of place and personality." Aside from Dallas, other spots that have been mentioned as potential sites for Scion hotels include Austin, Cincinnati, Nashville, and New York.

The Trumps won’t own any of the Scion hotels but instead will license them to business partners. However, the Trumps plan to manage day-to-day operations of those properties.

hotels downtown

Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

holidays