Quarterlytics / Real Estate / REIT - Hotel & Motel / Hersha Hospitality Trust

Hersha Hospitality Trust

ht · NYSE Real Estate
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Ticker ht
Exchange NYSE
Sector Real Estate
Industry REIT - Hotel & Motel
Employees 11-50
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FY2017 Annual Report · Hersha Hospitality Trust
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The Envoy, Boston Seaport

 
 
 
144148r1  4/12/18  4:31 PM  Page 3

ersha’s  steadfast  commitment  to  being  the  leading  hotel  company  is

supported by an experienced management team and guided by the values instilled by our

founders 30 years ago.  An acute focus on accretive capital allocation, revenue and asset

management initiatives and the rare entrepreneurial skill to create value during the highs

and  the  lows  of  the  market  cycle  are  the  foundations  of  Hersha’s  success  and  our

HH

extraordinary growth trajectory. 

The  strategy  of  focusing  on  markets  with  investments  in  high-quality

hotels across all hotel segments is a unique approach in the lodging sector.  It has given us

a competitive advantage in our core markets, enabling the compilation of valuable market

and consumer insights to maximize revenues and enhance margins. 

We have a great sense of gratitude for the outstanding associates at our

hotels and our dedicated management team for their exceptional efforts throughout the

year.  Together with them, we look forward to continue to deliver value to you, our fellow

shareholders.  Thank you for your continued confidence.

jay h. shah

chief executive officer

neil h. shah

president and 

chief operating officer

144148r1  4/12/18  4:31 PM  Page 4

The Hotel Milo, Santa Barbara

ersha’s performance in 2017 builds on a strong track record of transformation

and  performance  across  the  last  several  years.    Today,  our  portfolio  of  hotels  consists  of  newer,  high-

quality hotels in the most valuable urban and destination markets in the United States that are positioned

to meet evolving consumer expectations and drive both market share and loyalty.  Our strategy balances

connecting  with  guests  to  drive  top-line  growth  with  operational  efficiency  to  generate  sector  leading

margins.    Hersha’s  hotels  are  extraordinarily  well-positioned  to  generate  earnings  growth  and  safely

deliver dividends while the real estate appreciation of our hotels and our markets will drive long-term value

HH

to our shareholders.

As  you  know,  when  faced  with  a  decelerating  fundamental  operating  environment  in

2015, we began a 24-month transformative recycling of our hotel portfolio with impressive results.  During

the last two years, we sold $870 million of mature, stabilized hotels, successfully deferring $270 million of

taxable  gains  with  $816  million  of  accretive  acquisitions.  We  are  proud  of  our  ability  to  transact

efficiently, demonstrated by selling our non-core hotels for an average of 15x EBITDA or a 6% economic

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The Ambrose Hotel, Santa Monica

The Sanctuary Beach Resort, Monterey Bay

capitalization rate – these were the slower growth, lower quality assets in our portfolio.  Our sales further

demonstrate the current disconnect between the Company’s perceived net asset value and private market

valuations.  In addition to refining our portfolio’s market mix to urban gateway and coastal destinations,

our improved portfolio quality focuses our capabilities on hotels with higher RevPAR and EBITDA growth

potential in our core markets.  

Last year was challenging for the lodging sector with low RevPAR growth across the top-

ten gateway markets.  The third quarter was an especially difficult operating environment for the industry

overshadowed  by  multiple  catastrophic  hurricanes  that  impacted  the  everyday  lives  of  millions  of

Americans.    The  Hersha  teams  and  our  operating  partners  performed  admirably,  around-the-clock  to

quickly and safely prepare our hotels and guests for the impact of the historic storms.  In South Florida,

Hurricane Irma resulted in the closure of our six hotels in September, causing significant interruption to

our portfolio.  

 
 
 
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Hyatt Union Square, New York City

Following the storm, our primary focus was devoted to resuming operations at four of

our six properties less impacted by the storm.   At our Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club and Parrot Key Hotel &

Resort, our two largest South Florida assets, the disruption was more significant, and we utilized this period

to  commence  our  previously  planned  repositioning  and  elevation  of  the  Cadillac  and  more  significant

renovations at Parrot Key. The transition at each hotel, although disruptive to the near-term EBITDA growth

of our portfolio, is almost complete and both properties will reopen in the second quarter of 2018.  

Various  market  tailwinds  and  robust  operating  performance  in  the  fourth  quarter

demonstrated a fundamental turnaround in a number of our core markets, most notably South Florida and

New York City, leading to our 2017 comparable portfolio RevPAR of $184.23, the highest year-end RevPAR

figure in our history and at the high-end of the lodging REIT sector.  

In response to the slower growth operating environment last year and the conclusion of

our capital recycling program, we turned our focus to investing in strategic, value creation projects at many

 
 
 
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The Parrot Key Hotel & Resort, Key West

of  our  owned  hotels.    We  prioritized  several  capital  projects  that  position  the  portfolio  for  significant

organic earnings growth in 2018 and 2019.  Notable capex projects included transforming the 357-room

Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club that occupies an entire block on Miami Beach from a Courtyard by Marriott to

an Autograph Collection lifestyle hotel along with upgrading the rooms at the Parrot Key Hotel & Resort in

Key  West,  The  Rittenhouse  in  Philadelphia,  and  The  St.  Gregory  in  Dupont  Circle.    In  addition,  we

upgraded the restaurants, bars and event space at the Hyatt Union Square in Manhattan, the Sanctuary

Beach Resort in Monterey, and The Ritz-Carlton, Coconut Grove in Miami.  

The  Company’s  ownership  philosophy  is  keenly  focused  on  assets  in  the  most  sought-

after  locations  across  the  U.S.  and  a  unique  combination  of  category-killing  branded  hotels  and

independent  lifestyle  hotels.    In  addition,  our  segmented  clusters  enable  us  to  leverage  local  consumer

insights and scale to capture a differentiated mix of leisure and business transient customers while boasting

assets that respond to the tastes and preferences of today’s traveler.  Many of our hotels are situated in the

country’s most populated technology and innovation districts including the fast-growing Seaport in Boston,

144148r1  4/12/18  4:31 PM  Page 8

The Pan Pacific Hotel, Seattle

The Boxer, Boston

Hilton Garden Inn, New York City

Playa Vista and Santa Monica in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and South Lake Union in Seattle, which is home

to Amazon, Facebook, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as notable medical research centers

including  the  Fred  Hutchinson  Cancer  Research  Center,  The  Allen  Institute  for  Brain  Science  and  the

University of Washington Medical Center.

While  investing  in  growth  by  acquiring  high-quality  hotels  in  strategic  markets  is  our

priority, there are times when buying back the Company’s stock is as productive, if not a more productive

use  of  capital  to  drive  shareholder  returns.    At  Hersha,  all  major  decisions  are  focused  on  long-term,

sustainable value creation.  When the Company’s shares are trading below the private market valuation of

the portfolio’s hotels, like in the second half of 2017, we will use our capital to buy back shares.  Since 2014,

Hersha has repurchased over $241 million of its common shares, representing approximately 23% of its

public float. Share buybacks, in addition to the Company’s strong dividend, demonstrate the Company’s

total return philosophy and our steadfast commitment to shareholder value.

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St. Gregory, Washington, D.C.

Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club, Miami Beach

Hersha’s  unique  hotel  portfolio,  characterized  by  high  absolute  RevPAR  and  sector-

leading margins, located in the most valuable markets in the country is further supported by a talented

management  team  that  thinks  like  long-term  investors  and  manages  like  owner-operators.    Following

several  years  of  well-timed  dispositions,  calculated  acquisitions,  and  ROI-generating  renovations,  our

collection of hotels is uniquely in tune with the evolving expectations of today’s travelling consumers. We

have our focus trained now on driving the performance from our hotel portfolio and generating EBITDA

growth  from  our  recent  investments.    We  are  confident  in  our  operating  capabilities,  the  value  of  our

portfolio, the markets where we are focused, and the overall earnings potential of our investments to drive

significant growth for years to come. 

 
 
 
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Duane Street Hotel, New York City

NU Hotel, Brooklyn

®

Hersha  embraces  environmental  and  community  stewardship  as  an  integral  part  of

maintaining and building a successful business. To best put this vision into practice, we conceptualized and

developed  a  proprietary  program,  EarthView®,  encompassing  a  triple-bottom-line  approach  to

sustainability.  Since  2010,  the  program  has  delivered  environmental  and  conservation  programs  that

positively  impact  a  hotel  operation's  bottom  line  while  simultaneously  improving  the  well-being  of  our

guests, our employees, our communities, and our planet.

EarthView is successfully implemented across many leading brands, independent hotels

and  geographic  regions.  Through  EarthView,  Hersha  is  able  to  drive  incremental  value  by  implementing

efficiency initiatives with measureable and timely returns. We invest in capital projects that reduce energy

and water consumption, positively impacting our operating margins and hotel valuations.

 
 
 
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The Rittenhouse, Philadelphia

The  Company’s  industry  leadership  in  sustainability  is  recognized  by  numerous

governmental agencies, cities, brands and trade organizations.  EarthView has repeatedly been awarded

the  prestigious  “Leader  in  the  Light”  award  amongst  Lodging  &  Resort  companies  for  superior

portfolio-wide  energy  use  practices  and  sustainability  initiatives  from  the  National  Association  of  Real

Estate  Investment  Trusts  (NAREIT).  Hersha  is  also  a  participant  in  the  Global  Real  Estate  Sustainability

Benchmark (GRESB), and has recently ranked in the top 4% of GRESB participants globally. 

As  we  look  toward  the  future,  we  are  energized  by  the  commitment  of  a  growing

number  of  hospitality  industry  leaders  focused  on  sustainability.    EarthView  will  continue  evolving  as  a

platform  in  which  new  concepts  for  sustainable  hospitality  are  cultivated.  Hersha’s  commitment  to

sustainable hospitality is enduring, and a testament to how we build and deploy unique capabilities. 

Please visit us at Hersha.com to discover more about EarthView’s innovative sustainability programs.

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The Sanctuary Beach Resort, Monterey Bay

Financial Highlights

(In thousands, except per share data)    

consolidated hotel

operating results

hotel operating revenues

average daily rate

occupancy

revenue per available room

(In thousands, except per share data) 

hersha hospitality trust
operating data: (Excluding Impairment Charges)

Total Revenues (Including Discontinued Operations)
Net Income applicable to Common Shareholders
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted Funds from Operations

per share data: (Excluding Impairment Charges)
Diluted Earnings Per Common Share
Adjusted Funds from Operations
Distributions to Common Shareholders

balance sheet data: (as of December 31st)
Total Assets 
Total Debt 
Total Liabilities and Equity

$

$

$

$

$

$

Year Ended December 31,

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

497,140

466,370

470,272

417,226

338,064

215.58
83.4%
179.84

202.59
82.5%
167.13

197.29
84.1%
165.83

187.82
82.6%
155.19

179.70
79.7%
143.30

Year Ended December 31,

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

498,237 
79,524
167,364
96,926

466,629 
95,579
171,564
109,804

470,385 
27,440
177,288
118,093

419,346 
54,638
162,506
102,832

1.88
2.16
1.12

2.18
2.40
1.32

0.56
2.35
1.12

1.08
1.96
1.04

396,458
44,467
145,064
86,487

0.88
1.64
0.96

2,138,336
1,093,013
2,138,336

2,155,536
1,103,327
2,155,536

1,962,649
1,169,964
1,962,649

1,855,539
918,923
1,855,539

1,748,097
819,336
1,748,097

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The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.

hersha portfolio by market segment1

Luxury & Lifestyle 49%
Upscale 36%
Upper Midscale 15%

1
hersha portfolio by location

New York City 23%
West Coast 22%
Washington, DC 17%
Philadelphia 13%
Boston 12%
South Florida 8%
Other 5%

hersha portfolio by hotel brand

1

Marriott 35%
Independent & Collections 30%
Hilton 22%
Hyatt 7%
IHG 6%

(1) Reflects estimated 2018 Proforma Consolidated Portfolio EBITDA.

 
 
 
 
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The Capitol Hill Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Property Portfolio

washington, d.c.

The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown
The St. Gregory, Dupont Circle
The Capitol Hill Hotel
Hilton Garden Inn, M Street
Hampton Inn Washington, D.C.
Annapolis Waterfront Hotel
Residence Inn, Tysons Corner

2

miami & key west

The Ritz-Carlton, Coconut Grove 
The Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club, Miami Beach
The Winter Haven Hotel, Miami Beach
The Blue Moon Hotel, Miami Beach
Residence Inn, Coconut Grove
The Parrot Key Hotel & Resort, Key West

west coast

The Pan Pacific Hotel, Seattle
Courtyard by Marriott, Sunnyvale
TownePlace Suites, Sunnyvale
The Sanctuary Beach Resort, Monterey Bay
The Hotel Milo, Santa Barbara
The Ambrose Hotel, Santa Monica
Courtyard by Marriott, Los Angeles Westside
Courtyard by Marriott, Downtown San Diego

new york city

Hyatt Union Square
Duane Street Hotel
NU Hotel, Brooklyn
Hilton Garden Inn, Manhattan Midtown East
Hilton Garden Inn, Tribeca 
Holiday Inn Express, Madison Square Garden 
Hampton Inn, Seaport 
Sheraton Hotel, JFK International Airport 
Hilton Garden Inn, JFK International Airport
Holiday Inn Express, Times Square South
1
Candlewood Suites, Times Square South
1
Hampton Inn, Manhattan/Times Square 
Hampton Inn, Chelsea
1
Hampton Inn, Madison Square Garden
Holiday Inn, Wall Street
Holiday Inn Express, Wall Street

1

1

1

1

boston

The Envoy, Boston Seaport
The Boxer, Boston
Courtyard by Marriott, Brookline
Holiday Inn Express, Cambridge
Courtyard by Marriott, South Boston
Holiday Inn Express, South Boston
Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa, Mystic, CT

philadelphia

The Rittenhouse
The Philadelphia Westin
Hampton Inn, Center City/Convention Center
Sheraton Wilmington South

(1) Unconsolidated Joint-Venture; (2) Acquired March 28, 2018

 
 
 
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The Ritz-Carlton, Coconut Grove

board of trustees

Hasu P. Shah
Chairman, 
Hersha Hospitality Trust

Jay H. Shah
Chief Executive Officer, 
Hersha Hospitality Trust

Donald J. Landry
Lead Director, Hersha Hospitality Trust
Former President & CEO, Sunburst Hospitality Inc.

Jackson Hsieh
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Spirit Realty Capital, Inc.

Thomas J. Hutchison III
Former CEO, 
CNL Hotels & Resorts 
and CNL Retirement Properties, Inc.

Michael A. Leven
Former President and Chief Operating Officer,
Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Dianna F. Morgan
Former Senior Vice President,
Walt Disney World Co.

John M. Sabin
Executive Vice President and CFO, 
Revolution LLC. and Case Foundation

management team

Jay H. Shah
Chief Executive Officer

Neil H. Shah
President and Chief Operating Officer

Ashish R. Parikh
Chief Financial Officer

Michael R. Gillespie
Chief Accounting Officer

David L. Desfor
Treasurer and Corporate Secretary

William J. Walsh
Senior Vice President of Asset Management

Robert C. Hazard III
Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development

Bennett Thomas
Senior Vice President of Finance and Sustainability

executive offices
One Washington Square
510 Walnut Street, 9th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Telephone: (215) 238-1046
Fax: (215) 238-0157
corporate/securities counsel

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
independent registered 
public accounting firm

KPMG LLP

registrant address
44 Hersha Drive
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Telephone: (717) 236-4400
Fax: (717) 774-7383
registrar 
& stock transfer agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
common stock information
The Common Stock of Hersha Hospitality Trust 
is traded on the New York Stock Exchange 
under the Symbol “HT”.
management certifications
The Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
provided certifications to the Securities and  Exchange Commission
as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and
these certifications are  included in the Company’s Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.  

annual report on form 10-k
Shareholders may obtain a copy of the Company’s Annual Report
on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
free of charge (except for exhibits), by writing to the Company’s
Investor Relations Manager, Hersha Hospitality Trust, 510 Walnut
Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106; or, visit the Company’s
website at www.hersha.com and refer to the Company’s SEC
Filings.

annual meeting
The annual meeting of shareholders of Hersha Hospitality Trust will
be held at 9:00 A.M. (EDT) at The St. Gregory Hotel in Washington,
D.C., on Friday, June 1, 2018. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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HERSHA

hotels and resorts

www.hersha.com