Trump Hotel in Vancouver closes as company files for bankruptcy

The company that owns Vancouver's Trump International Hotel has filed for bankruptcy,according to documents from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada.

Staff who answered the hotel phone Friday morning said the hotel has closedpermanently.

Hotel operator TA Hotel Management Partnership Ltd. filed for bankruptcy on Thursday. TA Hotel Management Limited Partnership is a subsidiary of TA Global Berhad.

TA Global Berhad'swebsite says it is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and involved in property development and investment, with luxury highrises in key locations worldwide.

CEOTiah Joo Kim has been at the helm of TA Global Berhad as CEO since 2016, according to his online bio. He opened the Trump hotel in Vancouver in 2017and soon after expressed concerns about the deal, amid protests.

A creditors meeting is scheduled for Sept. 16.

Kim, whois also CEO of Vancouver-based Holborn Group, did not respond to requests for comment.Bankruptcy files list TA Hotel Management Partnership's liabilities at$4.8 million, withassets of $1 million.

Union says news came as a shock

On Friday, twopeopleanswering the phone at the front concierge desk said the hotel is empty and staff are gone.

Meanwhile calls to make bookings Thursday and Friday were refused by staff who said the hotel was not taking any business. The online booking portal for the luxury hotel shows no rooms available beyond Aug 27.

Repeated calls for more information to Holborn Group and the hotel manager, who is based in Hawaii, were not returned.

The front entrance to the hotel is boarded up, and the online booking system does not connect to staff.

Earlier this month Vancouver Coastal Health expanded a warning about a possible coronavirus exposure at the hotel's lounge, called the Ivy, between Aug. 7 and 9.

A union representative for hotel staff told CBCthe news came as a shock and staff learned of the closure from the media.

There were protests in 2017 when the hotel opened and unveiled the gleaming silver Trump name emblazoned on its front facade.