Travel Companies Were Big Donors to Trump’s Inauguration – See Who Gave
Photo Credit: President Donald Trump addresses the audience after the inaugural parade during the 60th Presidential Inauguration at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2025. Department of Defense
Skift Take
Trump administration policies will have a major impact on the travel industry so it’s no surprise companies felt a need to give.
Prominent travel industry companies and trade associations together contributed several million dollars to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration festivities, according to new records filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The contributions — part of more than $245 million given to Trump’s January 20 inaugural committee overall — come at a precarious time for the travel industry, which stands to be profoundly affected by Trump administration policy decisions concerning tariffs, taxes, technology, visas, aviation, and labor.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Boeing, and Uber each contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural, federal records indicate.
Hilton Worldwide, whose hotel brands include the Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites, Hampton and all Hilton-branded properties, made an in-kind contribution valued at $282,897.04.
In a statement, a Hilton spokesperson said: "Hilton provides a welcoming environment for all guests who visit our properties, and our hotels regularly host large events. We contributed in-kind donations to assist with the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s activities taking place at Washington, DC-area Hilton hotels. We have a long history of making political contributions on a bipartisan basis and disclose our political spending in accordance with all requirements.”
Royal Caribbean Group USA Inc. and Las Vegas-based BQ Resorts LLC — part of the New York City-based TZP Group — each contributed $100,000 in cash.
Airbnb made a previously reported “non-monetary” contribution of $100,000 despite its leaders having sharply criticized Trump in the past. In a statement, Airbnb said: “Airbnb provided $100,000 in coupons to the inaugural committee to assist with accommodations in Washington, D.C. during the inauguration, as we did for both the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention over the summer of 2024.”
The U.S. Travel Association, meanwhile, contributed $50,000, as did Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware North Companies Inc., which operates a lodging management division.
The U.S. Travel Association “has a record of giving political contributions via U.S. Travel’s PAC to members of both political parties,” spokesperson Allison O’Connor told Skift, adding that the association “also contributed to the Official Presidential Inauguration Committee to support the 2025 Inauguration.”
The association has previously warned that the United States is “losing its competitive edge as a global travel destination.” It has called on the federal government to invest in airports, improve traveler security technology and make visa processing more efficient.
Trump’s fundraising haul is a “testament to the excitement surrounding his historic win,” Trump inaugural spokesperson Danielle Alvarez told the Wall Street Journal.
Paying for Access
What does someone get for a big contribution to Trump’s inauguration committee?
“They want to ensure continued access to and influence of the Trump administration, and they see donating to the inaugural fund as continuing to grease the wheels,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog organization. “Very few donors to inaugurations are donating out of the goodness of their heart.”
A presidential inauguration ceremony itself is organized and funded by the U.S. government, as is related security and official logistics.
But most everything else — including a days-long slate of pre- and post-inauguration VIP breakfasts, lunches, brunches, dinners, galas, balls and private parties — are privately funded. So, too, were Trump’s campaign-style indoor rallies at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C.
Aside from a prohibition on direct foreign contributions, federal law places few limits on how much money a presidential inaugural committee may raise — and from whom.
That leaves incoming presidents themselves to decide whether to voluntarily limit the size and scope of inaugural committee contributions in the name of ethical considerations.
Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden each instituted some voluntary contribution restrictions, with Obama’s 2009 inauguration featuring the strictest rules this century — banning corporations, lobbyists, political action committees and unions from giving any money and capping individual contributions at $50,000. Obama loosened those rules for his 2013 inauguration.
Biden’s 2021 presidential inauguration proved much more permissive, accepting individual contributions of up to $500,000 and corporate contributions of $1 million. But it banned lobbyists and certain kinds of corporations — such as those trading in fossil fuels — from donating at all.
Trump placed no such restrictions on his 2025 inauguration, and his nearly quarter-billion-dollar inaugural committee haul is more than twice what his 2017 inaugural committee raised.
While federal law requires presidential inaugural committees to disclose who gave them money within 90 days of a presidential inauguration, it does not compel such committees to detail how they spend the money raised.
Therefore, Trump is under no obligation to publicly account for where any of his 2025 inauguration money went, and he has not voluntarily done so.
Dave Levinthal is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist.
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