Donald Trump's Controversial Presidential Campaign Hurts Business? Visits To Hotels, Golf Courses Dip

Donald Trump may have officially received the Republican Party's nomination for president last month, but his businesses are apparently not enjoying the same success as his campaign. A Foursquare study released Thursday showed that ever since Trump entered the race for the White House last year, foot traffic to his business properties has fallen. The monthly overall year-over-year change has ranged from 4 percent to -17 percent, with some venues hit harder than others.

"For fans of Trump, the business losses may simply reflect the cost of sticking by his campaign statements and beliefs," Foursquare wrote on Medium. "For critics of Trump, the fact that more people are staying away from Trump-branded properties may reflect people 'voting with their feet.'"

Trump's business organization includes hotels in Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, Canada and Ireland as well as golf courses in Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates, according to his website. He's also linked to a casino, the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which the company announced Tuesday would be closing amid labor protests.

Because he refuses to release his tax returns, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how much Trump is profiting from these properties. But CNN reported Trump could have brought in as much as $560 million last year alone.

This is despite the data uncovered by Foursquare, which revealed that Trump businesses in traditionally Democratic states were suffering more than others. In particular, women in those blue states were avoiding Trump hotels, golf courses and casinos.

The Trump Organization told IBTimes it was "very pleased with the performance of our business and with our guest engagement" on social media.

"The findings cited are minute and inconsequential, and they do not provide a complete or accurate representation of performance," a spokesperson wrote in a statement. "We encourage all businesses to exercise caution in reporting and interpreting these figures."

However, the Foursquare study wasn't the first time data has shown Trump's campaign hurting his businesses. In May, Pricenomics and Hipmunk found bookings at Trump-owned hotels had tanked 59 percent from the year before. His hotels in New York City, Las Vegas and Toronto saw the greatest losses.

"It seems that customers willing to spend $500 a night on a Trump Hotel room may not be fans of Trump the political candidate," Pricenomics wrote at the time.

The Trump camp has refuted these claims.

Politico reported that as part of legal proceedings between Trump and chefs Jose Andres and Geoffrey Zakarian, who pulled out of a business deal after Trump suggested Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals, lawyers insisted business was fine.

An analysis showed five of the six Trump hotels in the United States were performing on par with their competitors, lawyer Rebecca Woods wrote in a legal document reviewed by Politico. Moreover, "data from the signature restaurants in each of these hotels show that these restaurants are performing better in the timeframe after the political statements than they were in the timeframe before the political statements," Wood said.

Foursquare discovered a similar trend, writing in its report that more customers were visiting Trump properties in swing states after he nabbed the GOP's nomination. It also didn't differentiate between customers paying for services at the Trump properties and simple sight-seers, noting that "traffic does not always equate with revenue."