Donald Trump's luxury hotel effort may be bad timing

A room in The Trump Soho, New York City

Donald Trump's known for putting his name on everything from office towers to condos, board games, ties, fragrances, and of course, TV shows. But hotels, luxury hotels in particular, have not been touched by the giant "T." That's due to change in 2010.

But even with the magic of the Trump brand, is this a good time for Donald Trump, or any new player, to make a move into the small and large luxury hotel business?

According to the Times Online UK, the timing is questionable, but he's going for it. The luxury hotel market is steady but while bookings are up over 2009, the average rate is down by $100 from $400 a room night to $300 a room night. But with Donald Trump making what's a reported 10-year bet, the economy then will be different that today; whether it will be in the right direction is anyone's guess.

Still, Trump presses on. He has an established hotel at One Central Park West, one in Las Vegas, and in New York again, the Trump SoHo, a new 46-story 391-room steel and glass wonder. Donald Trump told the Times Online UK he thinks the Trump brand can succeed in the luxury hotel business because "We're great builders. We guarantee outstanding design and architecture, the best location and great management. But we go further. Our hotels will be different. We will try to do something new everywhere we go. A lot of the hotel companies can't do this because they have a set of standards that they don’t know how to deviate from."

Will it work? Time will tell. But if you see a Dubai-version of The Apprentice, just bet there's a hotel marketing tie-in.

Stay tuned.