Chatham Lodging Trust - 10-K annual report 2014

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

OR

Commission File Number: 001-34693

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(561) 802-4477

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

The aggregate market value of the 26,877,757 common shares of beneficial interest held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $588,622,878.30 based on the closing sale price on the New York Stock Exchange for such common shares of beneficial interest as of June 30, 2014.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as such may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identified by our use of words, such as "intend," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "continue," "potential," "opportunity," or similar expressions, whether in the negative or affirmative. All statements regarding our expected financial position, business and financing plans are forward-looking statements. Factors which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and future prospects include those discussed in "Business," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating any forward-looking statement contained in this report or incorporated by reference herein.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report or, in the case of any document incorporated by reference, the date of that document. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements in this section. We undertake no obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this report, except as required by law.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

Chatham Lodging Trust (“we,” “us” or the “Company”) was formed as a Maryland real estate investment trust on October 26, 2009. We elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes (a "REIT") commencing with our 2010 taxable year. The Company is internally-managed and was organized to invest primarily in premium-branded upscale extended-stay and select-service hotels.

(1) The Company sold 500,000 common shares to Jeffrey H. Fisher, the Company's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer ("Mr. Fisher") in a private placement concurrent with the closing of its IPO.

In January 2014, the Company established a $25 million dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan ("DRSPP"). Under the DRSPP, shareholders may purchase additional common shares by reinvesting some or all of the cash dividends received on the Company's common shares. Shareholders may also make optional cash purchases of the Company's common shares subject to certain limitations detailed in the prospectus for the DRSPP. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, we had issued 2,083 and 0 shares under the DRSP at a weighted average price of $24.38. As of December 31, 2014, there was approximately $24.9 million of commons shares available for issuance under the DRSPP.

In January 2014, the Company established an At the Market Equity Offering ("ATM Plan") whereby, from time to time, we may publicly offer and sell up to $50 million of our common shares by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE"), in negotiated transactions or in transactions that are deemed to be "at the market" offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, with Cantor Fitzgerald &Co. ("Cantor") acting as sales agent. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, we had issued 880,820 and 0 shares under the ATM Plan at a weighted average price of $23.54 in addition to the offerings discussed above. As of December 31, 2014, there was approximately $29.3 million commons shares available for issuance under the ATM Plan.

 

 

 

We evaluate all of our hotels as a single industry segment because all of our hotels have similar economic characteristics and provide similar services to similar types of customers. Accordingly, we do not report segment information.

Our primary objective is to generate attractive returns for our shareholders through investing in hotel properties (whether wholly owned or through a joint venture) at prices that provide strong returns on invested capital, paying dividends and generating long-term value appreciation. We believe we can create long-term value by pursuing the following strategies:

When purchasing hotel properties, we may issue limited partnership interests in our operating partnership as full or partial consideration to sellers who may desire to take advantage of tax deferral on the sale of a hotel or participate in the potential appreciation in value of our common shares.

Competition

We face competition for investments in hotel properties from institutional pension funds, private equity investors, REITs, hotel companies and others who are engaged in hotel investments. Some of these entities have substantially greater financial and operational resources than we have or may be willing to use higher leverage. This competition may increase the bargaining power of property owners seeking to sell, reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities available to us and increase the cost of acquiring our targeted hotel properties.

The lodging industry is highly competitive. Our hotels compete with other hotels for guests in each market in which they operate. Competitive advantage is based on a number of factors, including location, convenience, brand affiliation, room rates, range of services and guest amenities or accommodations offered and quality of customer service. Competition is often specific to the individual markets in which our hotels are located and includes competition from existing and new hotels. Competition could adversely affect our occupancy rates, our average daily rates ("ADR") and revenue per available room (“RevPAR”), and may require us to provide additional amenities or make capital improvements that we otherwise would not have to make, which may reduce our profitability.

Demand for our hotels is affected by recurring seasonal patterns. Generally, we expect that we will have lower revenue, operating income and cash flow in the first and fourth quarters and higher revenue, operating income and cash flow in the second and third quarters. These general trends are, however, influenced by overall economic cycles and the geographic locations of our hotels. To the extent that cash flow from operations is insufficient during any quarter, due to temporary or seasonal fluctuations in revenue, we expect to utilize cash on hand or borrowings under our credit facility to pay expenses, debt service or to make distributions to our equity holders.

Our properties must comply with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA") to the extent that such properties are "public accommodations" as defined by the ADA. Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. Although we believe that the properties in which we own interests (including the JV properties) substantially comply with present requirements of the ADA, we have not conducted a comprehensive audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance, and one or more properties may not be fully compliant with the ADA.

In March 2012, a substantial number of changes to the Accessibility Guidelines under the ADA took effect. The new guidelines have caused us to renovate some of our hotel properties and to incur costs to become fully compliant.

If we or any of our joint ventures are required to make substantial modifications to our wholly-owned or joint venture hotel properties, whether to comply with the ADA or other changes in governmental rules and regulations, our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be adversely affected. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and to make alterations as appropriate.

Under various federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, an owner of real property may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of certain hazardous or toxic substances on or in such property. Such laws often impose such liability without regard to whether the owner knew of or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. The cost of any required remediation and the owner's liability therefore as to any property are generally not limited under such laws and could exceed the value of the property and/or the aggregate assets of the owner. The presence of such substances, or the failure to properly remediate contamination from such substances, may adversely affect the owner's ability to sell the real estate or to borrow funds using such property as collateral, which could have an adverse effect on our return from such investment.

Furthermore, various court decisions have established that third parties may recover damages for injury caused by release of hazardous substances and for property contamination. For instance, a person exposed to asbestos while working at or staying in a hotel may seek to recover damages if he or she suffers injury from the asbestos. Lastly, some of these environmental issues restrict the use of a property or place conditions on various activities. One example is laws that require a business using chemicals to manage them carefully and to notify local officials if regulated spills occur.

Although it is our policy to require an acceptable Phase I environmental survey for all real property in which we invest prior to our investment, such surveys are limited in scope. As a result, there can be no assurance that a Phase I environmental survey will uncover any or all hazardous or toxic substances on a property prior to our investment in that property. We cannot assure you that:

Tax Status

We elected to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes commencing with our short taxable year ended December 31, 2010 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Our qualification as a REIT depends upon our ability to meet, on a continuing basis, through actual investment and operating results, various complex requirements under the Code relating to, among other things, the sources of our gross income, the composition and values of our assets, our distribution levels and the diversity of ownership of our shares of beneficial interest. We believe that we are organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code and that our current and intended manner of operation will enable us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT for federal income tax purposes.

As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to federal income tax on our REIT taxable income that we distribute currently to our shareholders. Under the Code, REITs are subject to numerous organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that they distribute each year at least 90% of their taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gains. If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year and do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, our income for that year will be taxed at regular corporate rates, and we will be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to qualify as a REIT. Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may still be subject to state and local taxes on our income and assets and to federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income. Additionally, any income earned by our TRS Lessees will be fully subject to federal, state and local corporate income tax.

Hotel Franchise Agreements

Employees

 

Available Information

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business faces many risks. The risks described below may not be the only risks we face. Additional risks that we do not yet know of or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described in the following risk factors actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, our ability to make cash distributions to our shareholders could be impaired and the trading price of our common shares could decline. You should know that many of the risks described may apply to more than just the subsection in which we grouped them for the purpose of this presentation.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our investment policies are subject to revision from time to time at our Board of Trustees' discretion, which could diminish shareholder returns below expectations.

Our investment policies may be amended or revised from time to time at the discretion of our Board of Trustees, without a vote of our shareholders. Such discretion could result in investments that may not yield returns consistent with investors' expectations.

We depend on the efforts and expertise of our key executive officers whose continued service is not guaranteed.

We depend on the efforts and expertise of our chief executive officer, as well as our other senior executives, to execute our business strategy. The loss of their services, and our inability to find suitable replacements, could have an adverse effect on our business.

If we are unable to successfully manage our growth, our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our ability to grow our business depends upon our senior executive officers' business contacts and their ability to successfully hire, train, supervise and manage additional personnel. We may not be able to hire and train sufficient personnel or develop management, information and operating systems suitable for our expected growth. If we are unable to manage any future growth effectively, our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our future growth depends on obtaining new financing and if we cannot secure financing in the future, our growth will be limited.

The success of our growth strategy depends on access to capital through use of excess cash flow, borrowings or subsequent issuances of common shares or other securities. Acquisitions of new hotel properties will require significant additional capital and existing hotels (including those owned through joint ventures) require periodic capital improvement initiatives to remain competitive. We may not be able to fund acquisitions or capital improvements solely from cash provided from our operating activities because we must distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined before the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gains) each year to satisfy the requirements for qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a result, our ability to fund capital expenditures for acquisitions through retained earnings is very limited. Our ability to grow through acquisitions of hotels will be limited if we cannot obtain satisfactory debt or equity financing, which will depend on capital markets conditions. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain additional equity or debt financing or that we will be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms.

We may be unable to invest proceeds from offerings of our securities.

We will have broad authority to invest the net proceeds of any offering of our securities in any real estate investments that we may identify in the future, and we may use those proceeds to make investments with which you may not agree. In addition, our investment policies may be amended or revised from time to time at the discretion of our Board of Trustees, without a vote of our shareholders. These factors will increase the uncertainty, and thus the risk, of investing in our common shares. Our failure to apply the net proceeds of any offering effectively or to find suitable hotel properties to acquire in a timely manner or on acceptable terms could result in returns that are substantially below expectations or result in losses.

Until appropriate investments can be identified, we may invest the net proceeds of any offering of our securities in interest-bearing short-term securities or money-market accounts that are consistent with our intention to qualify as a REIT. These investments are expected to provide a lower net return than we seek to achieve from our hotel properties. We may be unable to invest the net proceeds on acceptable terms, or at all, which could delay shareholders from receiving an appropriate return on their investment. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify properties that meet our investment criteria, that we will successfully consummate any investment opportunities we identify, or that investments we may make will generate income or cash flow.

We must rely on third-party management companies to operate our hotels in order to qualify as a REIT under the Code and, as a result, we have less control than if we were operating the hotels directly.

Our management agreements could adversely affect the sale or financing of hotel properties and, as a result, our operating results and ability to make distributions to our shareholders could suffer.

While we would prefer to enter into flexible management contracts that will provide us with the ability to replace hotel managers on relatively short notice and with limited cost, we may enter into, or acquire properties subject to, management contracts that contain more restrictive covenants. For example, the terms of some management agreements may restrict our ability to sell a property unless the purchaser is not a competitor of the manager and assumes the related management agreement and meets specified other conditions. Also, the terms of a long-term management agreement encumbering our properties may reduce the value of the property. If we enter into or acquire properties subject to any such management agreements, we may be precluded from taking actions that would otherwise be in our best interest or could cause us to incur substantial expense, which could adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to shareholders. Moreover, the management agreements that we use in connection with hotels managed by IHM were not negotiated on an arm's-length basis due to Mr. Fisher's control of IHM and therefore may not contain terms as favorable to us as we could obtain in an arm's-length transaction with a third party. See "There are conflicts of interest between us and affiliates owned by our Chief Executive Officer" below.

Our franchisors could cause us to expend additional funds on upgraded operating standards, which may reduce cash available for distribution to shareholders.

Our hotels operate under franchise agreements, and we may become subject to the risks that are found in concentrating our hotel properties in one or several franchise brands. Our hotel operators must comply with operating standards and terms and conditions imposed by the franchisors of the hotel brands under which our hotels operate. Pursuant to certain of the franchise agreements, certain upgrades are required approximately every six years, and the franchisors may also impose upgraded or new brand standards, such as substantially upgrading the bedding, enhancing the complimentary breakfast or increasing the value of guest awards under its ‘frequent guest' program, which can add substantial expense for the hotel. The franchisors also may require us to make certain capital improvements to maintain the hotel in accordance with system standards, the cost of which can be substantial and may reduce cash available for distribution to our shareholders.

Our franchisors may cancel or fail to renew our existing franchise licenses, which could adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to shareholders.

Our franchisors periodically inspect our hotels to confirm adherence to the franchisors' operating standards. The failure of a hotel to maintain standards could result in the loss or cancellation of a franchise license. We rely on our hotel managers to conform to operational standards. In addition, when the term of a franchise expires, the franchisor has no obligation to issue a new franchise. The loss of a franchise could have a material adverse effect on the operations or the underlying value of the affected hotel because of the loss of associated name recognition, marketing support and centralized reservation systems provided by the franchisor. The loss of a franchise or adverse developments with respect to a franchise brand under which our hotels operate could also have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to shareholders.

As a REIT, we are required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income each year to our shareholders (determined before the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gains). In the event of downturns in our operating results and financial performance or unanticipated capital improvements to our hotels (including capital improvements that may be required by franchisors or joint venture partners), we may be unable to declare or pay distributions to our shareholders, or maintain our then-current dividend rate. The timing and amount of distributions are in the sole discretion of our Board of Trustees, which considers, among other factors, our financial performance, debt service obligations and applicable debt covenants (if any), and capital expenditure requirements. We cannot assure you we will generate sufficient cash in order to continue to fund distributions.

Among the factors which could adversely affect our results of operations and distributions to shareholders are reductions in hotel revenues; increases in operating expenses at the hotels leased to our TRS Lessees; increased debt service requirements, including those resulting from higher interest rates on variable rate indebtedness; cash demands from the joint ventures and capital expenditures at our hotels, including capital expenditures required by the franchisors of our hotels. Hotel revenue can decrease for a number of reasons, including increased competition from new hotels and decreased demand for hotel rooms. These factors can reduce both occupancy and room rates at hotels and could directly affect us negatively by: 

Future debt service obligations could adversely affect our overall operating results or cash flow and may require us to liquidate our properties, which could adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our shareholders and our share price.

We plan to maintain a prudent capital structure and intend to maintain our leverage over the long term at a ratio of net debt to investment in hotels (at cost) (defined as our initial acquisition price plus the gross amount of any subsequent capital investment and excluding any impairment charges) at a level that will be lower than the level at which we currently operate. A subsequent decrease in hotel property values will not necessarily cause us to repay debt to comply with this limitation. While we intend to maintain our leverage over the long term at lower levels, our Board of Trustees believes that maintaining higher leverage levels at this stage of the lodging cycle is appropriate, as interest rates on a historical basis are very attractive. As a result, we may be able to incur substantial additional debt, including secured debt, in the future. Incurring additional debt could subject us to many risks, including the risks that:

If we violate covenants in our debt agreements, we could be required to repay all or a portion of our indebtedness before maturity at a time when we might be unable to arrange financing for such repayment on attractive terms, if at all.

If we are unable to repay our debt obligations in the future, we may be forced to refinance debt or dispose of or encumber our assets, which could adversely affect distributions to shareholders.

If we do not have sufficient funds to repay our outstanding debt at maturity or before maturity in the event we breach our debt agreements and our lenders exercise their right to accelerate repayment, we may be required to refinance the debt through additional debt or additional equity financings. Covenants applicable to our existing and future debt could impair our planned investment strategy and, if violated, result in a default. If we are unable to refinance our debt on acceptable terms, we may be forced to dispose of hotel properties on disadvantageous terms, potentially resulting in losses. We have placed mortgages on certain of our hotel properties to secure a portion of our credit facility, have assumed mortgages on other hotels we acquired and may place additional mortgages on certain of our hotels to secure other debt. To the extent we cannot meet any future debt service obligations, we will risk losing some or all of our hotel properties that are pledged to secure our obligations to foreclosure.

Interest expense on our debt may limit our cash available to fund our growth strategies and shareholder distributions.

Higher interest rates could increase debt service requirements on debt under our credit facility and any floating rate debt that we incur in the future and could reduce the amounts available for distribution to our shareholders, as well as reduce funds available for our operations, future business opportunities, or other purposes. Interest expense on our credit facility is based on floating interest rates.

Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may adversely affect our results of operations and our ability to make shareholder distributions.

We may obtain in the future one or more forms of interest rate protection - in the form of swap agreements, interest rate cap contracts or similar agreements - to hedge against the possible negative effects of interest rate fluctuations. However, such hedging implies costs and we cannot assure you that any hedging will adequately relieve the adverse effects of interest rate increases or that counterparties under these agreement will honor their obligations thereunder. Furthermore, any such hedging agreements would subject us to the risk of incurring significant non-cash losses on our hedges due to declines in interest rates if our hedges were not considered effective under applicable accounting standards.

Joint venture investments that we make could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on joint venture partners' financial condition and disputes between us and our joint venture partners.

We are co-investors with NorthStar in each of the NewINK JV and Inland JV, which own 47 and 48 hotels, respectively. We are co-investors with Cerberus in the Torrance JV, which owns the 248-room Residence Inn by Marriott in Torrance, CA, and we may invest in additional joint ventures in the future. We may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the properties owned through the JVs or other joint ventures that we may invest in. Investments in joint ventures may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present when a third party is not involved, including reliance on our joint venture partners and the possibility that joint venture partners might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions, thus exposing us to liabilities in excess of our share of the investment. Joint venture partners may have business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor the partner would have full control over the partnership or joint venture. Any disputes that may arise between us and our joint venture partners may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and/or trustees from focusing their time and effort on our business. Consequently, actions by, or disputes with, our joint venture partners might result in subjecting properties owned by the partnership or joint venture to additional risk. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our third-party partners or co-venturers.

In our joint ventures, there will be a potential risk of impasse in some joint venture decisions because our approval and the approval of each co-venturer will be required for some decisions. The types of decisions that would require the approval of each co-venturer would be determined under the joint venture agreement between the parties, but those types of decisions are likely to include borrowing above a certain level or disposing of assets. In any joint venture, we may have the right to buy our co-venturer’s interest or to sell our own interest on specified terms and conditions in the event of an impasse regarding a sale. However, it is possible that neither party will have the funds necessary to complete such a buy-out. In addition, we may experience difficulty in locating a third-party purchaser for our joint venture interest and in obtaining a favorable sale price for the interest. As a result, it is possible that we may not be able to exit the relationship if an impasse develops. In addition, there is no limitation under our declaration of trust and bylaws as to the amount of funds that we may invest in joint ventures. Accordingly, we may invest a substantial amount of our funds in joint ventures, which ultimately may not be profitable as a result of disagreements with or among our co-venturers.

The Company does not have sole control of the JVs and may be required to contribute additional capital in the event of a capital call.

The Company’s ownership interests in the JVs are subject to change in the event that we, NorthStar or Cerberus calls for additional capital contributions to a JV that is necessary for the conduct of business, including contributions to fund costs and expenses related to capital expenditures. NorthStar or Cerberus may also approve certain actions by the JVs in which it participates without the Company’s consent, including certain property dispositions conducted at arm’s length, certain actions related to the restructuring of the JV's and the removal of the Company as managing member in the event the Company fails to fulfill its material obligations under the joint venture agreement.

In connection with certain non-recourse mortgage loans on certain of the properties owned by the JVs, our Operating Partnership could be required to repay portions of this indebtedness, up to an amount commensurate with our ownership interests in those JVs, in connection with certain customary non-recourse carve-out provisions such as environmental conditions, misuse of funds and material misrepresentations.

We may from time to time make distributions to our shareholders in the form of our common shares, which could result in shareholders incurring tax liability without receiving sufficient cash to pay such tax.

Although we have no current intention to do so, we may, if possible, in the future distribute taxable dividends that are payable in cash or common shares at the election of each shareholder. Taxable shareholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for federal income tax purposes. As a result, shareholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends received. If a U.S. shareholder sells the common shares that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our shares at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. shareholders, we may be required to withhold federal income tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common shares. In addition, if a significant number of our shareholders determine to sell common shares in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our common shares. 

Our conflict of interest policy may not be successful in eliminating the influence of future conflicts of interest that may arise between us and our trustees, officers and employees.

We have adopted a policy that any transaction, agreement or relationship in which any of our trustees, officers or employees has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest must be approved by a majority of our disinterested trustees. Other than this policy, however, we have not adopted and may not adopt additional formal procedures for the review and approval of conflict of interest transactions generally. As such, our policies and procedures may not be successful in eliminating the influence of conflicts of interest.

There are conflicts of interest between us and affiliates owned by our Chief Executive Officer.

 

Risks Related to the Lodging Industry

The lodging industry has experienced significant declines in the past and failure of the lodging industry to exhibit improvement may adversely affect our ability to execute our business strategy.

The performance of the lodging industry has historically been closely linked to the performance of the general economy and, specifically, growth in U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP. It is also sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending levels. Declines in corporate budgets and consumer demand due to adverse general economic conditions, risks affecting or reducing travel patterns, lower consumer confidence or adverse political conditions can lower the revenues and profitability of our future hotel properties and therefore the net operating profits of our TRSs.

A substantial part of our business strategy is based on the belief that the lodging markets in which we invest will continue to experience improving economic fundamentals in the future. We cannot predict the extent to which lodging industry fundamentals will continue to improve. In the event conditions in the industry do not continue to improve as we expect, or deteriorate, our ability to execute our business strategy would be adversely affected, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Our ability to make distributions to our shareholders may be affected by various operating risks common in the lodging industry.

Hotel properties are subject to various operating risks common to the hotel industry, many of which are beyond our control, including:

These factors could reduce the net operating profits of our TRSs and the rental income we receive from our TRS Lessees, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Competition for acquisitions may reduce the number of properties we can acquire.

We compete for hotel investment opportunities with competitors that may have a different tolerance for risk or have substantially greater financial resources than are available to us. This competition may generally limit the number of hotel properties that we are able to acquire and may also increase the bargaining power of hotel owners seeking to sell, making it more difficult for us to acquire hotel properties on attractive terms, or at all.

Competition for guests may lower our hotels' revenues and profitability.

The upscale extended-stay and mid-price segments of the hotel business are highly competitive. Our hotels and those of our JVs compete on the basis of location, room rates and quality, service levels, reputation, and reservation systems, among many other factors. Competitors may have substantially greater marketing and financial resources than our operators or us. New hotels create new competitors, in some cases without corresponding increases in demand for hotel rooms. The result in some cases may be lower revenue, which would result in lower cash available for distribution to shareholders.

The seasonality of the hotel industry may cause fluctuations in our quarterly revenues that cause us to borrow money to fund distributions to shareholders.

Some hotel properties have business that is seasonal in nature. This seasonality can be expected to cause quarterly fluctuations in revenues. Quarterly earnings may be adversely affected by factors outside our control, including weather conditions and poor economic factors. As a result, we may have to enter into short-term borrowings in order to offset these fluctuations in revenue and to make distributions to shareholders.

The cyclical nature of the lodging industry may cause the return on our investments to be substantially less than we expect.

The lodging industry is cyclical in nature. Fluctuations in lodging demand and, therefore, operating performance, are caused largely by general economic and local market conditions, which subsequently affects levels of business and leisure travel. In addition to general economic conditions, new hotel room supply is an important factor that can affect the lodging industry's performance and overbuilding has the potential to further exacerbate the negative impact of an economic recession. Room rates and occupancy, and thus RevPAR, tend to increase when demand growth exceeds supply growth. Decline in lodging demand, or a continued growth in lodging supply, could result in returns that are substantially below expectations or result in losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Due to our concentration in hotel investments, a downturn in the lodging industry would adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

Our entire business is related to the hotel industry. Therefore, a downturn in the hotel industry, in general, will have a material adverse effect on our revenues, net operating profits and cash available to distribute to shareholders.

The ongoing need for capital expenditures at our hotel properties may adversely affect our financial condition and limit our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Hotel properties have an ongoing need for renovations and other capital improvements, including replacements, from time to time, of furniture, fixtures and equipment. The franchisors of our hotels and those of our JVs also require periodic capital improvements as a condition of keeping the franchise licenses. In addition, our lenders require us to set aside amounts for capital improvements to our hotel properties. These capital improvements may give rise to the following risks:

The costs of all these capital improvements could adversely affect our financial condition and amounts available for distribution to our shareholders.

The increasing use of Internet travel intermediaries by consumers may adversely affect our profitability.

Some of our hotel rooms are booked through Internet travel intermediaries. As Internet bookings increase, these intermediaries may be able to obtain higher commissions, reduced room rates or other significant contract concessions from us and our management companies. Moreover, some of these Internet travel intermediaries are attempting to offer hotel rooms as a commodity, by increasing the importance of price and general indicators of quality (such as "three-star downtown hotel") at the expense of brand identification. These agencies hope that consumers will eventually develop brand loyalties to their reservations system rather than to the brands under which our properties are franchised. Although most of the business for our hotels is expected to be derived from traditional channels, if the amount of sales made through Internet intermediaries increases significantly, room revenues may flatten or decrease and our profitability may be adversely affected.

Future terrorist attacks or changes in terror alert levels could adversely affect travel and hotel demand.

Previous terrorist attacks and subsequent terrorist alerts have adversely affected the U.S. travel and hospitality industries over the past several years, often disproportionately to the effect on the overall economy. The impact that terrorist attacks in the U.S. or elsewhere could have on domestic and international travel and our business in particular cannot be determined but any such attacks or the threat of such attacks could have a material adverse effect on our business, our ability to finance our business, our ability to insure our properties and our results of operations and financial condition.

Uninsured and underinsured losses could adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

We maintain comprehensive insurance on each of our hotel properties, including liability, terrorism, fire and extended coverage, of the type and amount customarily obtained for or by hotel property owners. There can be no assurance that such coverage will continue to be available at reasonable rates. Various types of catastrophic losses, like earthquakes and floods and losses from foreign terrorist activities such as those on September 11, 2001 or losses from domestic terrorist activities such as the Oklahoma City bombing may not be insurable or may not be insurable on reasonable economic terms. Lenders may require such insurance and failure to obtain such insurance could constitute a default under loan agreements. Depending on our access to capital, liquidity and the value of the properties securing the affected loan in relation to the balance of the loan, a default could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and ability to obtain future financing.

In the event of a substantial loss, insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover the full current market value or replacement cost of the lost investment. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occur, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we invested in a hotel property, as well as the anticipated future revenue from that particular hotel. In that event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the property. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors might also keep us from using insurance proceeds to replace or renovate a hotel after it has been damaged or destroyed. Under those circumstances, the insurance proceeds we receive might be inadequate to restore our economic position on the damaged or destroyed property.

Noncompliance with environmental laws and governmental regulations could adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to shareholders.

Under various federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, an owner of real property may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of certain hazardous or toxic substances on or in such property. Such laws often impose such liability without regard to whether the owner knew of or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. The cost of any required remediation and the owner's liability therefore as to any property are generally not limited under such laws and could exceed the value of the property and/or the aggregate assets of the owner. The presence of such substances, or the failure to properly remediate contamination from such substances, may adversely affect the owner's ability to sell the real estate or to borrow funds using such property as collateral, which could have an adverse effect on our return from such investment.

Furthermore, various court decisions have established that third parties may recover damages for injury caused by release of hazardous substances and for property contamination. For instance, a person exposed to asbestos while working at or staying in a hotel may seek to recover damages if he or she suffers injury from the asbestos. Lastly, some of these environmental issues restrict the use of a property or place conditions on various activities. One example is laws that require a business using chemicals to manage them carefully and to notify local officials if regulated spills occur.

Although it is our policy to require an acceptable Phase I environmental survey for all real property in which we invest prior to our investment, such surveys are limited in scope. As a result, there can be no assurance that a Phase I environmental survey will uncover any or all hazardous or toxic substances on a property prior to our investment in that property. We cannot assure you:

 

Compliance with the ADA and other changes in governmental rules and regulations could substantially increase our cost of doing business and adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Our hotel properties are subject to the ADA. Under the ADA, all places of public accommodation are required to meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Although we intend to continue to acquire assets that are substantially in compliance with the ADA, we may incur additional costs of complying with the ADA at the time of acquisition and from time-to-time in the future to stay in compliance with any changes in the ADA. A number of additional federal, state and local laws exist that also may require modifications to our investments, or restrict certain further renovations thereof, with respect to access thereto by disabled persons. Additional legislation may impose further burdens or restrictions on owners with respect to access by disabled persons. If we were required to make substantial modifications at our properties to comply with the ADA or other changes in governmental rules and regulations, our ability to make expected distributions to our shareholders could be adversely affected.

In March 2012, a substantial number of changes to the Accessibility Guidelines under the ADA took effect. The new guidelines caused some of our hotel properties to incur costs to become fully compliant.

If we are required to make substantial modifications to our hotel properties, whether to comply with the ADA or other changes in governmental rules and regulations, our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be adversely affected. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and to make alterations as appropriate.

General Risks Related to Real Estate Industry

Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our hotel properties and adversely affect our financial condition.

Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, our ability to promptly sell one or more hotel properties in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions may be limited. The real estate market is affected by many factors that are beyond our control, including:

We may seek to sell hotel properties owned by us or any of the JVs in the future. There can be no assurance that we will be able to sell any hotel property on acceptable terms.

If financing for hotel properties is not available or is not available on attractive terms, it will adversely impact the ability of third parties to buy our hotels. As a result, we or our JVs may hold hotel properties for a longer period than we would otherwise desire and may sell hotels at a loss.

We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a hotel property can be sold. We cannot assure you that we will have funds available to correct those defects or to make those improvements. In acquiring a hotel property, we may agree to lock-out provisions that materially restrict us from selling that property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed or repaid on that property. These factors and any others that would impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition, as well as our ability to pay distributions to shareholders.

Increases in our property taxes would adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Hotel properties are subject to real and personal property taxes. These taxes may increase as tax rates change and as the properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. In particular, our property taxes could increase following our hotel purchases as the acquired hotels are reassessed. If property taxes increase, our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be materially and adversely affected and the market price of our common shares could decline.

Our hotel properties may contain or develop harmful mold, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediating the problem.

When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Concern about indoor exposure to mold has been increasing, as exposure to mold may cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of mold to which hotel guests or employees could be exposed at any of the properties in which we own an interest could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold from the affected property, which could be costly. In addition, exposure to mold by guests or employees, management company employees or others could expose us to liability if property damage or health concerns arise.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Our rights and the rights of our shareholders to take action against our trustees and officers are limited, which could limit your recourse in the event of actions not in your best interests.

Under Maryland law generally, a trustee is required to perform his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. Under Maryland law, trustees are presumed to have acted with this standard of care. In addition, our declaration of trust limits the liability of our trustees and officers to us and our shareholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

Our bylaws obligate us to indemnify our trustees and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. Our bylaws require us to indemnify each trustee or officer, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service to us. In addition, we may be obligated to advance the defense costs incurred by our trustees and officers. As a result, we and our shareholders may have more limited rights against our trustees and officers than might otherwise exist absent the current provisions in our declaration of trust and bylaws or that might exist with other companies.

Provisions of Maryland law may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of our Company and may result in entrenchment of management and diminish the value of our common shares.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law ("MGCL") applicable to Maryland real estate investment trusts may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide our common shareholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including:

Additionally, Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permits our Board of Trustees, without shareholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our declaration of trust or bylaws, to implement certain takeover defenses, including, but not limited to, the adoption of a classified board, which we had in place as of December 31, 2014. These provisions may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making an acquisition proposal for our company or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company under the circumstances that otherwise could provide our common shareholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then current market price.

Provisions of our declaration of trust may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of our Company and may result in entrenchment of management and diminish the value of our common shares.

Our declaration of trust authorizes our Board of Trustees to issue up to 500,000,000 common shares and up to 100,000,000 preferred shares. In addition, our Board of Trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend our declaration of trust to increase the aggregate number of our shares or the number of shares of any class or series that we have the authority to issue and to classify or reclassify any unissued common shares or preferred shares and to set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our Board of Trustees may authorize the issuance of additional shares or establish a series of common or preferred shares that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company, including transactions at a premium over the market price of our shares, even if shareholders believe that a change of control is in their interest.

In order for federal corporate income tax not to apply to earnings that we distribute, each year we must distribute to our shareholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined before the deductions for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed REIT taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our shareholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under the Code. Our only source of funds to make these distributions comes from distributions that we will receive from our operating partnership. Accordingly, we may be required to borrow money, sell assets or make taxable distributions of our capital shares or debt securities, to enable us to pay out enough of our REIT taxable income to satisfy the distribution requirement and to avoid federal corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax in a particular year.

Failure to qualify as a REIT, or failure to remain qualified as a REIT, would subject us to federal income tax and potentially to state and local taxes.

We elected to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. However, qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code, for which only a limited number of judicial and administrative interpretations exist. Even an inadvertent or technical mistake could jeopardize our REIT qualification. Our qualification as a REIT depends on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, shareholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis.

Moreover, new tax legislation, administrative guidance or court decisions, in each instance potentially applicable with retroactive effect, could make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we would be subject to federal income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates, and distributions to shareholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. We may also be subject to state and local taxes if we fail to qualify as a REIT. Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our shareholders, which in turn could have an adverse impact on the value of our shares of beneficial interest. If, for any reason, we failed to qualify as a REIT and we were not entitled to relief under certain Code provisions, we would be unable to elect REIT status for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to so qualify, which would negatively impact the value of our common shares.

Our TRS Lessee structure subjects us to the risk of increased hotel operating expenses that could adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to shareholders.

Our leases with our TRS Lessees require our TRS Lessees to pay rent based in part on revenues from our hotels. Our operating risks include decreases in hotel revenues and increases in hotel operating expenses, which would adversely affect our TRS Lessees' ability to pay rent due under the leases, including but not limited to the increases in wage and benefit costs, repair and maintenance expenses, energy costs, property taxes, insurance costs and other operating expenses.

Increases in these operating expenses can have a significant adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

Our TRS structure increases our overall tax liability.

Our TRS Lessees are subject to federal, state and local income tax on their taxable income, which consists of the revenues from the hotel properties leased by our TRS Lessees, net of the operating expenses for such hotel properties and rent payments to us. Accordingly, although our ownership of our TRS Lessees allows us to participate in the operating income from our hotel properties in addition to receiving rent, that operating income is fully subject to income tax. The after-tax net income of our TRS Lessees is available for distribution to us.

Our ownership of TRSs is limited and our transactions with our TRSs will cause us to be subject to a 100% penalty tax on certain income or deductions if those transactions are not conducted on arm's-length terms.

A REIT may own up to 100% of the stock of one or more TRSs. A TRS may hold assets and earn income that would not be qualifying assets or income if held or earned directly by a REIT, including gross operating income from hotels that are operated by eligible independent contractors pursuant to hotel management agreements. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. A corporation of which a TRS directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the stock will automatically be treated as a TRS. Overall, no more than 25% of the value of a REIT's gross assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. In addition, the TRS rules limit the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT to assure that the TRS is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. The rules also impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm's-length basis.

Our TRSs are subject to federal, foreign, state and local income tax on their taxable income, and their after-tax net income is available for distribution to us but is not required to be distributed to us. We believe that the aggregate value of the stock and securities of our TRSs is and will continue to be less than 25% of the value of our total gross assets (including our TRS stock and securities). Furthermore, we will monitor the value of our respective investments in our TRSs for the purpose of ensuring compliance with TRS ownership limitations. In addition, we will scrutinize all of our transactions with our TRSs to ensure that they are entered into on arm's-length terms to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to comply with the 25% limitation discussed above or to avoid application of the 100% excise tax discussed above.

If our leases with our TRS Lessees are not respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, we would fail to qualify as a REIT.

To qualify as a REIT, we are required to satisfy two gross income tests, pursuant to which specified percentages of our gross income must be passive income, such as rent. For the rent paid pursuant to the hotel leases with our TRS Lessees, which should constitute substantially all of our gross income, to qualify for purposes of the gross income tests, the leases must be respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes and must not be treated as service contracts, joint ventures or some other type of arrangement. We have structured our leases, and intend to structure any future leases, so that the leases will be respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, but there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with this characterization, not challenge this treatment or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the leases were not respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, we would not be able to satisfy either of the two gross income tests applicable to REITs and likely would fail to qualify for REIT status.

Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends.

Rent paid by a lessee that is a "related party tenant" of ours will not be qualifying income for purposes of the two gross income tests applicable to REITs. We lease substantially all of our hotels to our TRS Lessees. A TRS Lessee will not be treated as a "related party tenant," and will not be treated as directly operating a lodging facility to the extent the TRS Lessee leases properties from us that are managed by an "eligible independent contractor." In addition, our TRS holding companies will fail to qualify as “taxable REIT subsidiaries” if they lease or own a lodging facility that is not managed by an “eligible independent contractor.”

If our hotel managers do not qualify as "eligible independent contractors," we would fail to qualify as a REIT. Each of the hotel management companies that enters into a management contract with our TRS Lessees must qualify as an "eligible independent contractor" under the REIT rules in order for the rent paid to us by our TRS Lessees to be qualifying income for our REIT income test requirements and for our TRS holding companies to qualify as “taxable REIT subsidiaries”. Among other requirements, in order to qualify as an eligible independent contractor a manager must not own more than 35% of our outstanding shares (by value) and no person or group of persons can own more than 35% of our outstanding shares and the ownership interests of the manager, taking into account only owners of more than 5% of our shares and, with respect to ownership interests in such managers that are publicly traded, only holders of more than 5% of such ownership interests. Complex ownership attribution rules apply for purposes of these 35% thresholds. Although we intend to monitor ownership of our shares by our property managers and their owners, there can be no assurance that these ownership levels will not be exceeded.

Our ownership limitations may restrict or prevent you from engaging in certain transfers of our common shares.

If anyone transfers shares in a way that would violate the ownership limit, or prevent us from qualifying as a REIT under the federal income tax laws, those shares instead will be transferred to a trust for the benefit of a charitable beneficiary and will be either redeemed by us or sold to a person whose ownership of the shares will not violate the ownership limit. If this transfer to a trust fails to prevent such a violation or our continued qualification as a REIT, then the initial intended transfer shall be null and void from the outset. The intended transferee of those shares will be deemed never to have owned the shares. Anyone who acquires shares in violation of the ownership limit or the other restrictions on transfer in our declaration of trust bears the risk of suffering a financial loss when the shares are redeemed or sold if the market price of our shares falls between the date of purchase and the date of redemption or sale.

The REIT provisions of the Code substantially limit our ability to hedge our liabilities. Any income from a hedging transaction we enter into to manage risk of interest rate changes with respect to borrowings made or to be made to acquire or carry real estate assets does not constitute "gross income" for purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income tests applicable to REITs. To the extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions, the income from those transactions is likely to be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of both of the gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we intend to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRSs would be subject to tax on gains or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, losses in our TRSs will generally not provide any tax benefit, except for being carried forward against future taxable income in the TRSs.

The ability of our Board of Trustees to revoke our REIT qualification without shareholder approval may cause adverse consequences to our shareholders.

Our declaration of trust provides that our Board of Trustees may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our shareholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to qualify as a REIT, we would become subject to federal income tax on our taxable income and would no longer be required to distribute most of our taxable income to our shareholders, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our shareholders.

The ability of our Board of Trustees to change our major policies may not be in our shareholders’ interest.

Our Board of Trustees determines our major policies, including policies and guidelines relating to our acquisitions, leverage, financing, growth, operations and distributions to shareholders and our continued qualification as a REIT. Our board may amend or revise these and other policies and guidelines from time to time without the vote or consent of our shareholders. Accordingly, our shareholders will have limited control over changes in our policies and those changes could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately determine our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, our investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could harm our business and the market value of our common shares.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. We may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate and report on our internal controls over financial reporting and have our independent auditors annually issue their opinion on our internal control over financial reporting. As we grow our business and acquire new hotel properties, directly or through joint ventures, with existing internal controls that may not be consistent with our own, our internal controls will become more complex, and we will require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. If we or our independent auditors discover a material weakness, the disclosure of that fact, even if quickly remedied, could reduce the market value of our common shares. In particular, we will need to establish, or cause our third party hotel managers to establish, controls and procedures to ensure that hotel revenues and expenses are properly recorded at our hotels. The existence of any material weakness or significant deficiency would require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and management may not be able to remediate any such material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in a timely manner. Any such failure could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and adversely affect the market value of our common shares or limit our access to the capital markets and other sources of liquidity.

Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities or liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

To qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our shareholders and the ownership of our shares of beneficial interest. In order to meet these tests, we may be required to forego investments we might otherwise make. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our performance.

In particular, we must ensure that at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our gross assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified real estate assets. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than government securities, securities that constitute qualified real estate assets and securities of our TRSs) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our gross assets (other than government securities, securities that constitute qualified real estate assets and securities of our TRSs) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of our total gross assets can be represented by the securities of one or more TRSs. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our shareholders.

We have not established a minimum distribution payment level and we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows from our operations to make distributions to our shareholders at any time in the future.

We are generally required to distribute to our shareholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income each year for us to qualify as a REIT under the Code, which requirement we currently intend to satisfy. To the extent we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. We have not established a minimum distribution payment level, and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders may be adversely affected by the risk factors described in this Form 10-K. Subject to satisfying the requirements for REIT qualification, we intend over time to make regular distributions to our shareholders. Our Board of Trustees has the sole discretion to determine the timing, form and amount of any distributions to our shareholders. Our Board of Trustees makes determinations regarding distributions based upon, among other factors, our historical and projected results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and liquidity, satisfaction of the requirements for REIT qualification and other tax considerations, capital expenditure and other expense obligations, debt covenants, contractual prohibitions or other limitations and applicable law and such other matters as our Board of Trustees may deem relevant from time to time. Among the factors that could impair our ability to make distributions to our shareholders are:

As a result, no assurance can be given that we will be able to continue to make distributions to our shareholders or that the level of any distributions we do make to our shareholders will achieve a market yield or increase or even be maintained over time, any of which could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common shares. Distributions could be dilutive to our financial results and may constitute a return of capital to our investors, which would have the effect of reducing each shareholder's basis in its common shares. We also could use borrowed funds or proceeds from the sale of assets to fund distributions.

In addition, distributions that we make to our shareholders are generally taxable to our shareholders as ordinary income. However, a portion of our distributions may be designated by us as long-term capital gains to the extent that they are attributable to capital gain income recognized by us or may constitute a return of capital to the extent that they exceed our earnings and profits as determined for tax purposes. A return of capital is not taxable, but has the effect of reducing the basis of a shareholder's investment in our common shares.

Our senior secured revolving credit facility prohibits us from repurchasing our common shares and may limit our ability to pay dividends on common shares.

The market price of our equity securities may vary substantially, which may limit your ability to liquidate your investment.

 

The trading prices of equity securities issued by REITs have historically been affected by changes in market interest rates. One of the factors that may influence the price of our shares in public trading markets is the annual yield from distributions on our common or preferred shares as compared to yields on other financial instruments. An increase in market interest rates, or a decrease in our distributions to shareholders, may lead prospective purchasers of our shares to demand a higher annual yield, which could reduce the market price of our equity securities.

Other factors that could affect the market price of our equity securities include the following:

Because we have a smaller equity market capitalization compared to some other hotel REITs and our common shares may trade in low volumes, the stock market price of our common shares may be susceptible to fluctuation to a greater extent than companies with larger market capitalization. As a result, your ability to liquidate your investment in our company may be limited.

The number of shares available for future sale could adversely affect the market price of our common shares.

 

We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of common shares, or the availability of common shares for future sale, on the market price of our common shares. Sales of substantial amounts of common shares (including shares issued to our trustees and officers), or the perception that these sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common shares.

We also may issue from time to time additional common shares or limited partnership interests in our operating partnership in connection with the acquisition of properties and we may grant demand or piggyback registration rights in connection with these issuances. Sales of substantial amounts of our common shares or the perception that these sales could occur may adversely affect the prevailing market price for our common shares or may impair our ability to raise capital through a sale of additional equity securities. Our Equity Incentive Plan provides for grants of equity based awards up to an aggregate of 3,000,000 common shares and we may seek to increase shares available under our Equity Incentive Plan in the future.

Future offerings of debt or equity securities ranking senior to our common shares or incurrence of debt (including under our credit facility) may adversely affect the market price of our common shares.

If we decide to issue debt or equity securities in the future ranking senior to our common shares or otherwise incur indebtedness (including under our credit facility), it is possible that these securities or indebtedness will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility and limiting our ability to make distributions to our shareholders. Additionally, any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges, including with respect to distributions, more favorable than those of our common shares and may result in dilution to owners of our common shares. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities in any future offering or otherwise incur indebtedness will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings or financings, any of which could reduce the market price of our common shares and dilute the value of our common shares.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2. Properties

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Item 5.    Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Shareholder Information

On February 28, 2015, there were 79 registered holders of record of our common shares. This figure does not include beneficial owners who hold shares in nominee name. However, because many of our common shares are held by brokers and other institutions, we believe that there are more beneficial holders of our common shares than record holders. In order to comply with certain requirements related to our qualification as a REIT, our charter, subject to certain exceptions, limits the number of common shares that may be owned by any single person or affiliated group to 9.8% of the outstanding common shares.

Distribution Information

In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we must make distributions to our stockholders each year in an amount equal to at least: