When entering into a business relationship, the parties will usually go through a process of due diligence to ensure that they can have assurance that the people or organisation they are dealing with are capable of delivering what they say they plan to do.
Employers undertake their own due diligence when asking job candidates for details of who can provide a reference for their previous experience and behaviour.
You might ask a roofer to identify what work he had done on other buildings so their bona fides can be established.
Politicians seeking election set out their experience in their manifesto/promotional material and expect to be asked about that experience by the media and by individual electors.
The exception to this rule appears to be the front man for a major golf course development on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Ask yourself if you would do business with a man with this track record.
Is it true? Note the date - April 2011. Due Diligence would establish that Donald Trump is quite quick on the draw in deploying his learned friends if he thinks he's been slighted. This article is still there 2 years later so one can only assume that Aberdeenshire Council, Scottish Enterprise, Robert Gordon University, successive First Ministers of Scotland, and many others involved in the great project Scotland didn't look very closely. Indeed it looks very much like they did not exercise due diligence.
Wednesday 10 July 2013
Monday 8 July 2013
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 1 July 2013
Monday 1 July
- 33 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 10 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 41 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 12 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 80 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 21 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 58 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 17 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 79 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 22 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 62 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 19 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 53 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 18 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 47.7% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Sunday 30 June 2013
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 24 June 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Monday 24 June
For the whole week, this works out at 47.1% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 24 June
- 29 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 8 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 57 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 18 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 96 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 26 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 94 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 26 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 71 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 23 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 34 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 11 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 20 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 7 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 47.1% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Sunday 23 June 2013
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 17 June 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Monday 17 June
For the whole week, this works out at 49.3% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 17 June
- 28 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 8 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 40 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 11 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 72 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 20 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 99 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 26 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 86 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 26 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 70 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 19 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 25 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 7 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 49.3% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Sunday 16 June 2013
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 10 June 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Monday 10 June
For the whole week, this works out at 51.6% of golfer capacity used. This was the second week in a row this season that usage capacity had appeared to go above 50%
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 10 June
- 20 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 7 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 91 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 25 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 20 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 7 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 41 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 12 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 107 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 28 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 77 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 21 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 84 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 23 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 51.6% of golfer capacity used. This was the second week in a row this season that usage capacity had appeared to go above 50%
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 10 June 2013
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 3 June 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Thursday and Friday of this week coincided with the visit of Donald J Trump to hold a press conference about his plans for building a second course at Menie
Monday 3 June
Friday 7 June
For the whole week, this works out at 58.1% of golfer capacity used. This was by far the busiest week of the season to date, and the first time usage capacity had appeared to go above 50%
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Thursday and Friday of this week coincided with the visit of Donald J Trump to hold a press conference about his plans for building a second course at Menie
Monday 3 June
- 33 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 11 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 28 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 9 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 79 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 22 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 125 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 32 tee-time slots used from 33 available
Friday 7 June
- 105 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 27 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 77 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 22 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 48 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 14 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 58.1% of golfer capacity used. This was by far the busiest week of the season to date, and the first time usage capacity had appeared to go above 50%
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Turning it up to 11
The spoof rock music documentary This is Spinal Tap had many memorable goofy moments, not least when guitarist
Nigel Tufnel explained that his amplifier was louder because it went
up to, not just ten, but eleven.
The Menie Dunes witnessed a similar
moment last week when Donald J Trump outlined his plans for building
a second golf course.
At the end of the press conference,
Joseph Cinque, President of the American Academy of HospitalitySciences, gave Donald Trump their Six Star Diamond Award for Best
Golf Course Worldwide 2013.
Six Stars? I thought they only went up to Five? On this, Wikipedia notes “As
no traditional organization or formal body awards or recognizes any
rating over five-star deluxe, such claims are meaningless”.
Six
Stars is the same as turning it up to 11.
As of much relevance is the fact that
one of the principal Trustees of the American Academy of Hospitality
Sciences is its Ambassador Extraordinaire - Donald J Trump. Honorary Trustees include Donald's
two sons, and the Trustees include Trump's Chief Operating Officer. A complete coincidence, no doubt.
The Scotsman and the Herald newspapers covered Trump's receipt of this “turned up to 11” award
without any reference to this coincidence. Congratulations through
to the Daily Record for seeing through this scam and explaining that
Trump is pictured next to Cinque on the Trustees page of the
“Academy's” internet site.
Perhaps the Daily Record can run some training events on using internet search engines for staff at the Scotsman and The Herald. This demonstrates a lack of questioning of Trump Press Releases and Lines by the Scottish Press and more widely. And it also suggests that the Trump organisation, by engaging in what is basically a scam, is contemptuous of the people they are dealing with in Aberdeenshire (as well as recognising the inability of the media to ask questions beyond what is presented to them).
Perhaps the Daily Record can run some training events on using internet search engines for staff at the Scotsman and The Herald. This demonstrates a lack of questioning of Trump Press Releases and Lines by the Scottish Press and more widely. And it also suggests that the Trump organisation, by engaging in what is basically a scam, is contemptuous of the people they are dealing with in Aberdeenshire (as well as recognising the inability of the media to ask questions beyond what is presented to them).
A kind commenter on the Scotsman story has found a five-year old item giving some more alleged background on the relationship between Cinque and Trump, which you may read here if you wish.
Sunday 9 June 2013
A forward look at the bookings at TIGL for the whole summer
I waded through the TIGL on-line booking tool on Spring Bank Holiday weekend and logged all the bookings. These are summarised below (as at Sunday 26 May).
Mondays are assessed on the basis that play starts late.
I started looking a week or so ahead last week and have found that there are very few late bookings being made. It will be interesting to see how much these numbers (for August, September etc) change by the time we get there.
So on this calculation, we're looking at around 7,500 golfers for the season - compared with the 25,000 plus that would mean full capacity.
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 27 May 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Monday 27 May
For the whole week, this works out at 34.6% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 27 May
- 15 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 5 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 35 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 12 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 35 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 10 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 51 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 16 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 81 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 22 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 46 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 16 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 32 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 12 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 34.6% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 20 May 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Monday 20 May
For the whole week, this works out at 44.5% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 20 May
- 14 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 5 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 18 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 5 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 49 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 14 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 78 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 23 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 94 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 26 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 75 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 23 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 51 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 17 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 44.5% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 13 May 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots
of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it
appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers
every quarter of an hour.
Monday 13 May
For the whole week, this works out at 47.8% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
Monday 13 May
- 16 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 4 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 23 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 6 tee-time slots used from 31 available
- 78 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 21 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 82 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 22 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 73 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 23 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 68 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 19 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 67 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 21 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 47.8% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 6 May 2013
The links were open from 0730 until 1530 every day - 33 available slots of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour - except for Mondays where it appears to start business from 12 noon - 15 available slots of 4 golfers every quarter of an hour.
On Monday 6 May, the Scottish Ladies Open Tour played at TIGL. It is assumed that the bookings calculated were primarily for that event.
Monday 6 May
For the whole week, this works out at 32.1% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
On Monday 6 May, the Scottish Ladies Open Tour played at TIGL. It is assumed that the bookings calculated were primarily for that event.
Monday 6 May
- 53 golfers booked out of 60 potential
- 14 tee-time slots used from 15 available
- 62 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 20 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 12 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 6 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 17 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 6 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 60 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 17 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 45 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 13 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 25 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 9 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 32.1% of golfer capacity used.
[All data transcribed from TIGL online booking tool the evening before. Casual on the day bookings not therefore captured; all golfers assumed to have turned up. Cannot guarantee that all paid for their rounds]
TIGL Golfer Bookings Week Commencing 29 April 2013
There were no visible bookings for Monday 30 April - so either the links were closed, or there was only private golfing activity.
Tuesday 30 April
- 17 golfers booked out of 116 potential;
- 6 tee-time slots used from 29 available
- 58 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 16 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 45 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 14 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 36 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 13 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 7 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 5 tee-time slots used from 33 available
- 50 golfers booked out of 132 potential;
- 14 tee-time slots used from 33 available
For the whole week, this works out at 26.9% of golfer capacity used.
How much money is coming in through the TIGL Till?
The Trump Golf and Hotel Development is slated to be a £750 million investment. That means some serious money will need to be earned in attracting visitors to the Development.
Right now (2013) that attraction is a single golf course with supporting driving range, some hotel facilities at the old Estate House, the Golf House Restaurant & Bar, and the Golf Shop.
Green Fees are consequentially expensive:
For Aberdeenshire Residents, the Greens Fees are
Once the season is in full swing there will be up to 132 slots available each day from 11th April to the end of October. So that's about 30 weeks of golf. About £4.5m in greens fees - if the 25,000+ golfing opportunities are fully booked. From that you need to pay an Executive vice-President, a senior Professional, and other golf professionals, a Greenkeeper, maintenance and security staff (even allowing for the other services like bar etc breaking even). And then you might need to pay back some of your loan for the investment, or indeed fund further new investment on developing and maintaining the course and grounds. While some of that work might be seasonal, some of the more expensive people will not be. And you would need to take into account the number of free opportunities/loss leaders that might have been offered to get business flowing.
Your guess is as good as mine, but I would expect that they would need to bring in upward of £2m this summer to cover their running costs - utilising about 50% of the courses capacity. We'll see how the year unfolds.
Right now (2013) that attraction is a single golf course with supporting driving range, some hotel facilities at the old Estate House, the Golf House Restaurant & Bar, and the Golf Shop.
Green Fees are consequentially expensive:
For Aberdeenshire Residents, the Greens Fees are
- Weekday Rate: £156.00
- Weekend Rate: £172.00
- Weekday Rate: £195.00
- Weekend Rate: £215.00
Once the season is in full swing there will be up to 132 slots available each day from 11th April to the end of October. So that's about 30 weeks of golf. About £4.5m in greens fees - if the 25,000+ golfing opportunities are fully booked. From that you need to pay an Executive vice-President, a senior Professional, and other golf professionals, a Greenkeeper, maintenance and security staff (even allowing for the other services like bar etc breaking even). And then you might need to pay back some of your loan for the investment, or indeed fund further new investment on developing and maintaining the course and grounds. While some of that work might be seasonal, some of the more expensive people will not be. And you would need to take into account the number of free opportunities/loss leaders that might have been offered to get business flowing.
Your guess is as good as mine, but I would expect that they would need to bring in upward of £2m this summer to cover their running costs - utilising about 50% of the courses capacity. We'll see how the year unfolds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)