Well the G-7 but it could have been influenced by Trump's Family. Either way Violation of Emoluments Clause.
G-7 (G-8 before Russia was suspended) rotates the "Presidency" of the organization each year, and the Presidency is responsible for planning and hosting the meeting. Under the G-8, that meant the United States hosted every 8 years. Under the G-7 it would be every 7 years as long as Russia remains suspended. Anyway, it is the United States' turn to hold the Presidency in 2020, so we plan and host the meeting.
Whomever is considered the "head" of government of a member country is the leader who is supposed to attend to represent their country. UK will send their Prime Minister as will Canada. France and the USA send their President. Depends solely on the form of government of the member nation.
The United States as host is the one who decides where the meeting will be held and plans all the details surrounding it. In the past, that meant the President of the United States made the decision on where to locate and host the meeting.
Wikipedia has a list of all previous G-7/G-8 meetings. They're usually held at a government-owned retreat or residence, or a private resort facility with limited access due to security requirements. Not always, but that's generally been the case.
Trump Doral is definitely an eclectic location for the G-7 for a variety of reasons. Obviously the primary thing that is strange about it is that the President of the United States and/or his family own and operate the property. Definitely something unique in the history of these meetings as previous summits were held at places owned by a government or a private owner who didn't have anything to do with the hosting leader. Definitely never held on the personal propety of a world leader or their family.
I'm sure Trump will say he's "losing tons of money" by hosting the event but that there simply wasn't "anywhere else comparable" to host it at. I'd imagine a number of his supporters and allies will believe that or at least act like they do. I don't know that Trump chose Doral to enrich himself or his family. It could just be his typical ego wanting to show off his wealth, and the fact that he's comfortable there.
The problem is, the American public will not have a way to know. It's a private company and neither the company nor Trump has released any tax return information. However,
The Washington Post has reviewed public business records and filings that show serious issues at Doral.
According to the article I linked, Doral has seen steep declines in revenue and profitability, and they've had to sharply cut expenses. Additionally, similar resorts in the area and throughout Florida have not experienced those same issues. Doral is trailing its competitors in revenue growth and profitability in a very substantial way.
You'd think a public servant and elected official wouldn't even want the slightest whiff of impropriety to hang over such an important meeting or their reputation. There are various ways Trump could've dealt with the ethical implications long ago. He could've disposed of properties and assets, put them in a blind-trust, or made a commitment not to hold any events or meetings at facilities he owned.
Even if he declined to do all of the above, if he was dead-set on hosting the meeting at Doral, he could've avoided accusations of self-dealing by hiring an independent auditing and consulting firm to collect every dollar of revenue related to the event and donate it to charity. He could've publicly signed a contract giving the firm fully access and transparency to any required records. Obviously he hasn't done that, and it is extremely unlikely that he will. More to the point, he simply could've chosen to host the meeting at one of the thousands of similar resorts in the country that he or his family do not own.
