EX-99.1 11 dex991.htm FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND RISK FACTORS Forward-Looking Information and Risk Factors

EXHIBIT 99.1

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND RISK FACTORS

Our Quarterly Report on Form l0-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2005, our 2005 Annual Report to Shareholders, any of our other Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, or any other oral or written statements made in press releases or otherwise by or on behalf of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc., may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of such terms and phrases as “intends,” “intend,” “intended,” “goal,” “estimate,” “estimates,” “expects,” “expect,” “expected,” “project,” “projected,” “projections,” “plans,” “predicts,” “potential,” “seeks,” “anticipates,” “anticipated,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “designed to,” “foreseeable future,” “believe,” “believes” and “scheduled” and similar expressions. Our actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those anticipated. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Our actual results may differ significantly from any results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some, but not all, of the factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to:

 

    Availability of capital;

 

    Our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures;

 

    Risks related to natural disasters (including the damage sustained by our New Orleans property as a result of Hurricane Katrina);

 

    Increases in interest rates and operating costs;

 

    Difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions;

 

    Availability to obtain or refinance debt;

 

    The failure of closing conditions to be satisfied;

 

    Rising insurance premiums;

 

    Delays in construction and development;

 

    Marketing challenges associated with entering new lines of business or pursuing new business strategies;

 

    Our ability to dispose of existing properties in a manner consistent with our investment strategy;

 

    Downturns in economic and market conditions, particularly levels of spending in the travel and leisure industries in the markets where we invest;

 

    General volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common shares;

 

    Our failure to maintain our status as a REIT;

 

    Increases in real property tax rates;

 

    Changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we invest;


    Changes in real estate and zoning laws or regulations; and

 

    Hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, or apprehension of hostilities that affect travel within or to the United States, Mexico, Czech Republic, Germany, France or other countries where we invest; and

 

    The risk factors set forth below.

Risks Related to Our Business

If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

If our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, we cannot provide reliable financial information. Subsequent to the filing of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, we determined that our consolidated statements of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004 included in our annual report on Form 10-K and for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 included in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 should be restated because the statements incorrectly classified certain items as cash flows from operating activities that should have been reported as cash flows from investing activities. Accordingly, we restated our consolidated statements of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004 and our consolidated statement of cash flows for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 in our annual report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2005 and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2006, respectively. In connection with these restatements, we determined that our internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2005 was not effective due to the existence of a material weakness in the internal control over financial reporting relating to the proper classification of cash flows pertaining to certain escrow deposits, purchased notes receivable and investments in our hotels. Although we have implemented additional procedures that we believe enable us to properly prepare and review our consolidated statement of cash flows, we cannot be certain that these measures will ensure that we will maintain adequate controls over our financial reporting process in the future. If we discover additional deficiencies, we will make efforts to remediate these deficiencies; however, there is no assurance what we will be successful either in identifying deficiencies or in their remediation. Any failure to maintain effective controls in the future could adversely affect our business or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Such noncompliance could also result in an adverse reaction in the financial marketplace due to a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. In addition, perceptions of our business among customers, suppliers, rating agencies, lenders, investors, securities analysts and others could be adversely affected

Our New Orleans hotel property has been substantially damaged by Hurricane Katrina. There can be no assurance as to when the property will be restored and when our operations there will fully recover, and ultimately whether our losses will be completely covered by our insurance.

Our Hyatt Regency New Orleans Property has been substantially damaged by Hurricane Katrina that struck the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, and as a result, the hotel’s operations have substantially ceased. The physical damage to the property and the interruption of the hotel’s operations has had and is expected to have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Substantial capital expenditures for the restoration of the property are required and we expect to incur operating losses at the property for the foreseeable future. There can be no assurance that our losses from property damage and business interruption will be offset by the proceeds of insurance obtained under our insurance policy. Further, the insurance policy requires payment by us of a deductible of approximately $11.0 million for this claim. Ultimately, our claims for insurance will be subject to review by our insurance carrier, any of which may be rejected in whole or in part. The value of the hotel and its future contribution to our results of operations will depend on our ability to restore the property without any substantial delays and on the recovery of the New Orleans local economy in general and, in particular, the recovery of the New Orleans tourism and convention industry. A natural disaster producing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina is unprecedented in recent U.S. history and the recovery of the local economies and impacted industries in the affected regions will turn on the leadership and actions of federal, state and local governments, which are beyond our control. We can provide no assurance as to the timing and ultimate success of government lead recovery efforts. Our New Orleans property contributed approximately 15% of our EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2005.

 

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We rely on our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Laurence Geller, the loss of whom could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our continued success will depend to a significant extent on the efforts and abilities of our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Laurence Geller. Mr. Geller is an experienced hotel industry senior executive, operator and consultant with over 40 years’ experience working with many major multinational hotel companies and executives. Mr. Geller is actively engaged in our management and determines our strategic direction, especially with regard to operational, financing, acquisition and disposition activity. Mr. Geller’s departure could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition and operating results. Mr. Geller’s employment agreement was automatically renewed on January 1, 2006 for a one-year term ending on December 31, 2006.

The geographic concentration of our hotels in California makes us more susceptible to economic downturn in that state.

As of August 4, 2006, seven of our hotels were located in California, the greatest concentration of our portfolio properties in any state. California has been historically at greater risk to certain acts of nature, such as floods and earthquakes, than other states, and has also been subject to a more pronounced economic downturn than other regions. It is also possible that a change in California laws applicable to hotels and the lodging industry may have a greater impact on us than a change in comparable laws in another jurisdiction where we have hotels. Accordingly, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be particularly susceptible to a downturn or changes in the California or other local economies where we operate.

We have substantial debt, a portion of which is variable rate debt, and we may incur additional indebtedness, which may negatively affect our business and financial results.

Our debt may negatively affect our business and financial results, including:

 

    requiring us to use a substantial portion of our funds from operations to make required payments on principal and interest, which will reduce the amount available for distributions to stockholders, funds available for operations and capital expenditures, future business opportunities and other purposes;

 

    making us more vulnerable to economic and industry downturns and reducing our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions;

 

    limiting our ability to borrow more money for operations, capital or to finance acquisitions in the future; and

 

    requiring us to dispose of properties in order to make required payments of interest and principal.

We have a substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness, a portion of which bears interest at a variable rate, and we may borrow additional variable rate debt under our revolving credit facility. Increases in interest rates on our existing variable rate indebtedness would increase our interest expense, which could harm our cash flow and our ability to pay distributions.

Since we anticipate that our internally generated cash will be adequate to repay only a portion of our indebtedness prior to maturity, we expect that we will be required to repay debt through re-financings and/or equity offerings. The amount of our existing indebtedness may adversely affect our ability to repay debt through re-financings. If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness on acceptable terms, or at all, we might be forced to dispose of one or more of our properties on disadvantageous terms, which might result in losses to us and which might adversely affect cash available for distributions. If prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates on refinancing, our interest expense would increase, which would adversely affect our operating results.

We also intend to incur additional debt in connection with future acquisitions of real estate. We may, in some instances, borrow under our revolving credit facility or borrow new funds to acquire properties. In addition, we may incur mortgage debt by obtaining loans secured by a portfolio of some or all of the real estate properties we

 

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acquire. If necessary or advisable, we may also borrow funds to satisfy the requirement that we distribute to stockholders at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income or to ensure otherwise that we maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. Federal income tax purposes.

Our working capital and liquidity reserves may not be adequate to cover all of our cash needs and we may have to obtain financing from either affiliated or unaffiliated sources. Sufficient financing may not be available or, if available, may not be available on reasonable terms. Additional borrowings for working capital purposes will increase our interest expense, and therefore may harm our financial condition and results of operations.

Our organizational documents do not limit the amount of indebtedness that we may incur. If we become highly leveraged, then the resulting increase in debt service would reduce cash available for distribution and could adversely affect our ability to make payments on our outstanding indebtedness and harm our financial condition.

An economic slowdown would adversely affect our results by causing declines in average daily room rates or occupancy.

The performance of the lodging industry has traditionally been closely linked with the general economy. In an economic downturn, upper upscale and luxury hotels may be more susceptible to a decrease in revenues, as compared to hotels in other categories that have lower room rates. In periods of weak demand, profitability is negatively affected by the relatively high fixed costs of operating upper upscale and luxury hotels, when compared to other classes of hotels. An economic slowdown could result in further declines in average daily room rates or occupancy, and thereby have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Rising operating expenses and costs of capital improvements could reduce our cash flow, EBITDA and funds available for future distributions.

Our properties are subject to operating risks common to the lodging industry in general. If a property’s occupancy or room rates drop to the point where its revenues are insufficient to cover its operating expenses, then we could be required to spend additional funds for that property’s operating expenses. In the future, our properties will be subject to increases in real estate and other tax rates, utility costs, operating expenses, insurance costs, repairs and maintenance and administrative expenses, which could reduce our cash flow, Earnings Before Interest Expense, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, or EBITDA, and funds available for future distributions.

Our hotel properties have an ongoing need for renovations and other capital improvements, including replacements, from time to time, of furniture, fixtures and equipment. Some of these capital improvements are mandated by health, safety or other regulations. These capital improvements may give rise to (i) a possible shortage of available cash to fund capital improvements, (ii) the possibility that financing for these capital improvements may not be available to us on affordable terms and (iii) uncertainties as to market demand or a loss of market demand after capital improvements have begun. The costs of these capital improvements could adversely affect our financial condition and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Our business and operating results depend in large part upon the performance of third-party hotel management companies that manage our hotels.

Our hotels are managed by third-party hotel management companies pursuant to management agreements or an operating lease in the case of the Marriott Hamburg. Therefore, our business and operating results depend in large part upon our hotel management companies’ performance under the management agreements.

Under the terms of these management agreements, the third-party hotel managers control the daily operations of our hotels. We do not have the authority to require any hotel to be operated in a particular manner or to govern any particular aspect of the daily operations of any hotel (for instance, setting room rates). Thus, even if we believe our hotels are being operated inefficiently or in a manner that does not result in satisfactory occupancy rates, net revenue per available room, or RevPAR, and average daily rates, we may not be able to force the management company to change its method of operation of our hotels. Additionally, in the event that we need to replace any of our management companies, we may be required by the terms of the management agreement to pay substantial termination fees and may experience disruptions at the affected hotels. The effectiveness of the hotel management companies in managing our hotels will, therefore, significantly affect the revenues, expenses and value of our hotels.

 

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Additionally, our hotel management companies and their affiliates own, operate or franchise properties other than our properties, including properties that directly compete with our properties. Therefore, a hotel management company may have different interests than our own with respect to short-term or long-term goals and objectives, including interests relating to the brands under which such hotel management companies operate. Such differences may be significant depending upon many factors, including the remaining term of the management agreement, trade area restrictions with respect to competition by the hotel management company or its affiliates or differing policies, procedures or practices. Any of these factors may adversely impact the operation and profitability of a hotel, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations.

All revenues generated at our hotels, including credit card receivables, are deposited by the payors into accounts maintained and controlled by the relevant hotel management company, which pays operating and other expenses for the relevant hotel (including real and personal property taxes), pays itself management fees in accordance with the terms of the applicable management agreement and makes deposits into any reserve funds required by the applicable management agreement. In the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency involving a hotel management company, there is a risk that the payment of operating and other expenses for the relevant hotel and payment of revenues to us may be delayed or otherwise impaired. The bankruptcy or insolvency of a hotel management company may significantly impair its ability to provide services required under the management agreement.

The termination of or the continued reduction in our fee generated under our asset management agreement with SHC LLC will result in a loss of income that will negatively affect our reported results and may decrease the amount of distributions that we may be able to make to our stockholders.

Our asset management agreement with SHC LLC is terminable by SHC LLC at any time after June 29, 2006 upon 90 days’ notice. Additionally, the annual fee of $5.0 million payable to us under the asset management agreement is reduced after December 31, 2005 to the extent that SHC LLC sells any of its hotels covered by the asset management agreement. SHC LLC sold three properties in 2005 and three properties in 2006. As a result of these dispositions, the asset management fee was reduced by approximately $4.3 million annually. We anticipate that in the future SHC LLC will sell its last hotel subject to the asset management agreement, which would eliminate our asset management fee from SHC LLC. If the asset management agreement is terminated and as our fee continues to be reduced, we will experience a loss of income that will negatively affect our reported results and may decrease the amount of distributions that we may be able to make to our stockholders.

Our financial covenants may restrict our operating or acquisition activities.

Our revolving credit facility contains customary restrictions, requirements and other limitations on our ability to incur indebtedness, including customary financial covenants. Our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility is subject to compliance with these financial and other covenants. We may use borrowings under our revolving credit facility to finance acquisitions and redevelopment activities and for working capital. If we are unable to borrow under our revolving credit facility or to refinance existing indebtedness, we may be prevented from making acquisitions or funding our working capital needs and our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

We face competition for the acquisition of real estate properties.

We compete with institutional pension funds, private equity investors, other REITs, owner-operators of hotels and others who are engaged in real estate investment activities for the acquisition of hotels. These competitors may drive up the price we must pay for real property, other assets or other companies we seek to acquire or may succeed in acquiring those properties, assets or companies themselves. In addition, our potential acquisition targets may find our competitors to be more attractive suitors because they may have greater resources, may be willing to pay more, or may have a more compatible operating philosophy. In addition, the number of entities competing for suitable investment properties may increase in the future. This would result in increased demand for these assets and therefore increased prices paid for them. If we pay higher prices for properties, our profitability may be reduced. Also, future acquisitions of real property, other assets or other companies may not yield the returns we expect and, if financed using our equity, may result in stockholder dilution. We also may not be successful in identifying or consummating acquisitions and joint ventures on satisfactory terms. In addition, our profitability may suffer because of acquisition-related costs or amortization costs for intangible assets.

 

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We are prohibited from selling one of our properties in taxable transactions before specified dates in the future.

Unless the transaction will qualify as a tax deferred exchange, the terms of certain agreements prohibit us from selling the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel before the earlier of March 4, 2013 or the date three named individuals are deceased. Also, we agreed to maintain $60.0 million of indebtedness on the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel until such date. These limitations may prevent us from selling this property on a timely basis or at all.

Our management has a limited history operating a REIT and limited experience managing a public company.

We have a brief operating history. Until recently, our management team has historically operated our business as a privately-owned entity, has limited experience operating a REIT and limited experience managing a publicly-owned company. We continue to develop control systems and procedures adequate to support a public REIT company and this transition could place a significant strain on our management systems, infrastructure, overhead and other resources.

Investing through partnerships or joint ventures decreases our ability to manage risk.

In addition to acquiring or developing hotels and resorts directly, we have from time to time invested, and expect to continue to invest, as a co-venturer. Joint venturers often have shared control over the operation of the joint venture assets. Therefore, joint venture investments may involve risks such as the possibility that the co-venturer in an investment might become bankrupt or not have the financial resources to meet its obligations, or have economic or business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, or be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions or requests or contrary to our policies or objectives. Consequently, actions by a co-venturer might subject hotels and resorts owned by the joint venture to additional risk. Although we generally seek to maintain sufficient control of any joint venture, we may be unable to take action without the approval of our joint venture partners. Alternatively, our joint venture partners could take actions binding on the joint venture without our consent. Additionally, should a joint venture partner become bankrupt, we could become liable for our partner’s share of joint venture liabilities.

Our entry into the hotel condominium and fractional ownership market exposes us to new risks.

We have recently announced plans to develop and market hotel condominium and fractional ownership interests at certain of our properties, which exposes us to new risks associated with entering a new line of business, including developing the knowledge of and experience in these markets, recruiting professionals to manage the new business lines and developing and capitalizing on new marketing relationships with experienced market participants. The marketing and sale of condominiums and fractional ownership interests are subject to extensive regulation by the federal government and the states in which the properties are located, and in the case of fractional ownership interests, in the states where the fractional ownership interests are marketed and sold. Changes in the legal requirements or a determination that we are not in compliance could adversely affect our hotel condominium and fractional ownership business.

The threat of terrorism has adversely affected the hotel industry generally and these adverse effects may continue or, particularly if there are further terrorist events, worsen.

Prior terrorist events caused a significant decrease in hotel occupancy and average daily rates due to disruptions in business and leisure travel patterns and concerns about travel safety. Hotels in major metropolitan areas and near airports were adversely affected due to concerns about air travel safety and a significant overall decrease in the amount of air travel, particularly transient business travel, which includes the corporate and premium business segments that generally pay the highest average room rates. Further terrorist acts, terrorism alerts or outbreaks of hostilities could have a negative effect on travel and on our business.

Risks Related to the Lodging and Real Estate Industries

A number of factors, many of which are common to the lodging industry and beyond our control, could affect our business, including those described elsewhere in this section as well as the following:

 

    increased competition from new supply or existing hotel properties in our markets, which adversely affects occupancy and revenues at our hotels;

 

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    dependence on business, commercial and leisure travelers and tourism;

 

    dependence on group and meeting/conference business;

 

    increases in energy costs, airline strikes or other factors that may affect travel patterns and reduce the number of business and commercial travelers and tourists; and

 

    risks generally associated with the ownership of hotel properties and real estate, as we discuss in more detail below.

These factors could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Uninsured and underinsured losses could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Various types of catastrophic losses, such as losses due to wars, terrorist acts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pollution or environmental matters, generally are either uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be subject to insurance coverage limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. Although our earthquake insurance coverage is limited, seven of our hotels are located in California, which has been historically at greater risk to certain acts of nature (such as floods and earthquakes) than other states. Our Four Seasons hotel in Mexico City is also in an area exposed to greater risk of earthquakes. Our Hyatt Regency New Orleans, InterContinental Miami and Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort are located in areas that are prone to hurricanes and/or floods and our Hyatt Regency New Orleans Property’s existing insurance coverage is lower than that of our other hotels. Further, our Hyatt Regency New Orleans Property has been substantially damaged by Hurricane Katrina that struck the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, and as a result, the hotel’s operations have substantially ceased.

In the event of a catastrophic loss, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover the full current market value or replacement cost of our 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 have invested in a property, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the property. In that event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the property. In the event of a significant loss that is covered by insurance, our deductible may be high and, as a consequence, it could materially adversely affect our financial condition. 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 in the damaged or destroyed property.

Certain events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 have made it more difficult and expensive to obtain property and casualty insurance, including coverage for windstorm, flood and earthquake damage. When our current insurance policies expire, we may encounter difficulty in obtaining or renewing property, including windstorm, flood and earthquake, or casualty insurance on our properties at the same levels of coverage, under similar terms and in a timely manner due to a lack of capacity in the insurance markets or a lack of availability of such insurance at commercially reasonable rates. Such insurance we are able to obtain may be more limited and for some catastrophic risks (e.g., earthquake, flood, windstorm and terrorism) may not be generally available to fully cover potential losses. Even if we are able to renew our policies or to obtain new policies at levels and with limitations consistent with our current policies, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain such insurance at premium rates that are commercially reasonable or that there will not be gaps in our coverage. If we were unable to obtain adequate insurance on our properties for certain risks or in a timely manner, it would expose us to uninsured losses and could cause us to be in default under specific covenants on certain of our indebtedness or other contractual commitments we have which require us to maintain adequate insurance on our properties to protect against the risk of loss. If this were to occur, or if we were unable to obtain adequate insurance and our properties experienced damages, which would otherwise have been covered by insurance, it could materially adversely affect our financial condition and the operations of our properties.

 

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The illiquidity of real estate investments and the lack of alternative uses of hotel properties could significantly limit our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties and harm our financial condition.

Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, our ability to promptly sell one or more of our properties in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions is limited. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a property.

In addition, hotel properties may not readily be converted to alternative uses if they were to become unprofitable due to competition, age of improvements, decreased demand or other factors. The conversion of a hotel to alternative uses would also generally require substantial capital expenditures.

We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We may not have funds available to correct those defects or to make those improvements and as a result our ability to sell the property would be limited. These factors and any others that would impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties could significantly harm our financial condition and results of operations.

We derive revenues from outside the United States, which subjects us to different legal, monetary and political risks, as well as currency exchange risks, and may cause unpredictability in a source of our cash flows.

Our business plan assumes that a portion of our investments will continue to be in hotel properties located outside the United States. International investments and operations generally are subject to various political and other risks that are different from and in addition to those for U.S. investments and operations, including:

 

    enactment of laws prohibiting or restricting the foreign ownership of property;

 

    laws restricting us from removing profits earned from activities within the country to the United States, including the payment of distributions, i.e., nationalization of assets located within a country;

 

    changes in laws, regulations and policies, including land use, zoning and environmental laws as well as real estate and other tax rates;

 

    exchange rate fluctuations;

 

    change in the availability, cost and terms of mortgage funds resulting from varying national economic policies or changes in interest rates;

 

    high administrative costs; and

 

    terrorism, war or civil unrest.

Unfavorable legal, regulatory, economic or political changes such as those described above could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Seasonal variations in revenue at our hotels can be expected to cause quarterly fluctuations in our revenues.

Revenues for hotels in tourist areas generally are substantially greater during tourist season than other times of the year. To the extent that cash flows from operations are insufficient during any quarter, due to seasonal fluctuations in revenues, we may have to enter into short-term borrowings to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

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Environmental and other governmental laws and regulations could increase our compliance costs and liabilities and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our hotel properties are subject to various U.S. Federal, state and local environmental laws. Under these laws, courts and government agencies have the authority to require us, as owner of a contaminated property, to clean up the property, even if we did not know of or were not responsible for the contamination. These laws also apply to persons who owned a property at the time it became contaminated. In addition to the costs of clean-up, environmental contamination can affect the value of a property and, therefore, an owner’s ability to borrow funds using the property as collateral or to sell the property. These laws can also impose liability on parties that arrange for the disposal of wastes at an offsite property that becomes contaminated.

In addition, some of these environmental laws can restrict the use of a property and place conditions on various activities. An example would be laws that require a business using hazardous substances on a property (such as swimming pool and lawn care chemicals) to manage them carefully and to notify local officials that the chemicals are being used. Failure to comply with these laws could result in fines and penalties or expose us to third-party liability.

From time to time, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, designates certain sites affected by hazardous substances as “Superfund” sites. Superfund sites can cover large areas, affecting many different parcels of land. The EPA may choose to pursue parties regardless of their actual contribution to the contamination. The Hilton Burbank Airport and Convention Center is located within a Federal Superfund site. The area was designated as a Superfund site because groundwater underneath the area is contaminated. We have not been named, and do not expect to be named, as a party responsible for the clean-up of the groundwater contamination. There can be no assurance regarding potential future developments concerning this site, however.

The presence of any environmental conditions at our properties could result in remediation and other costs and liabilities and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have reviewed environmental reports prepared by our consultants and consultants retained by our lenders at various times, which disclose certain conditions on our properties and the use of hazardous substances in operation and maintenance activities that could pose a risk of environmental contamination or liability. At some facilities these include on-site dry cleaning operations, petroleum storage in underground storage tanks, past tank removals and the known or suspected presence of asbestos, mold or thorium.

We have detected the presence of mold at a few of our hotels and generally we remediate the conditions as part of on-going routine maintenance. Many of the costs associated with remediation of mold may be excluded from coverage under our property and general liability policies, in which event we would be required to use our own funds to remediate. Further, in the event moisture infiltration and resulting mold is pervasive, we may not be able to rent rooms at that hotel, which could result in a loss of revenue. We can make no assurance that liabilities resulting from moisture infiltration and the presence of or exposure to mold will not have a future material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Furthermore, various court decisions have established that third parties may recover damages for injury caused by property contamination or exposure to hazardous substances such as asbestos, lead paint or black mold. In recent years, concern about indoor exposure to mold has been increasing as such exposure has been alleged to have a variety of adverse effects on health. As a result, there has been an increasing number of lawsuits against owners and managers of real property relating to the presence of mold. Damages related to the presence of mold are generally excluded from our insurance coverage. Should an uninsured loss arise against us, we would be required to use our own funds to resolve the issue, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations and ability to make distributions to stockholders.

The costs to clean up a contaminated property, to defend against a claim, or to comply with environmental laws could be material and could adversely affect the funds available for distribution to our stockholders. Future laws or regulations may impose material environmental liabilities on us, the current environmental condition of our hotel properties may be affected by the condition of the properties in the vicinity of our hotel properties (such as the presence of leaking underground storage tanks) or by third parties unrelated to us and currently unknown environmental liabilities related to our hotel properties may be identified.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or the ADA, all public accommodations must meet various Federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Compliance with the ADA’s

 

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requirements could require removal of access barriers, and non-compliance could result in the U.S. government imposing fines or in private litigants winning damages. If we are required to make substantial modifications to our hotels, whether to comply with the ADA or other changes in governmental rules and regulations, our financial condition, results of operations and ability to make distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected.

We consider acquisition and disposition opportunities in the ordinary course of our business, we face competition in the acquisition of properties and properties that we acquire may not perform as anticipated.

In the ordinary course of our business, we consider strategic acquisitions and dispositions. The acquisition of properties involves risks, including the risk that the acquired property will not perform as anticipated and the risk that any actual costs for rehabilitating, repositioning, renovating and improving identified in the pre-acquisition process will exceed estimates. There is, and it is expected that there will continue to be, significant competition for acquisitions that meet our investment criteria as well as risks associated with obtaining financing for acquisition activities.

The increasing use of Internet travel intermediaries by consumers may adversely affect our profitability as a result of increased commissions or lower room rates.

Some of our hotel rooms are booked through Internet travel intermediaries such as Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Hotels.com and Priceline.com. As these Internet bookings increase, these intermediaries may be able to obtain higher commissions, reduced room rates or other significant contract concessions from our management companies. If the amount of sales made through Internet intermediaries increases significantly and our hotel operators fail to appropriately price room inventory in a manner that maximizes yields, room revenues may flatten or decrease and our profitability may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Provisions of our organizational documents may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of our company and may depress our stock price.

In order for us to maintain our status as a REIT, no more than 50% of the value of outstanding shares of our stock may be owned, actually or constructively, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of each taxable year. To make sure that we will not fail to qualify as a REIT under this test, subject to some exceptions, our charter prohibits any stockholder from owning actually or constructively more than 9.8% of the value of outstanding shares of our stock or more than 9.8% of the value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our common stock. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our capital stock in excess of the ownership limit without the consent of our board of directors will be void, and could result in the shares being automatically transferred to a charitable trust. This ownership limitation may prevent an acquisition of control of our company by a third party without our board of directors’ grant of an exemption from the ownership limitation, even if our stockholders believe the change of control is in their interest.

Our charter authorizes our board of directors to cause us to issue up to 150,000,000 shares of common stock and up to 150,000,000 shares of preferred stock, to amend our charter without stockholder approval to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of any class or series of our stock that we have authority to issue, to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and to set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. Issuances of additional shares of stock 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 stock, even if stockholders believe that a change of control is in their interest.

Our charter permits the removal of a director only upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors and provides that vacancies may only be filled by a majority of the remaining directors. Our bylaws require advance notice of a stockholder’s intention to nominate directors or present business for consideration by stockholders at an annual meeting of our stockholders. These provisions may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or change in control that involves a premium price for our common stock or that for other reasons may be desired by our stockholders.

 

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Provisions of Maryland law may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of our company.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law, or the MGCL, 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 the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then prevailing market price of such shares, including:

 

    “business combination” provisions that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations between us and an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our shares or an affiliate thereof) for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, and thereafter imposes special super majority stockholder voting requirements on these combinations;

 

    “control share” provisions that provide that “control shares” of our company (defined as shares which, when aggregated with other shares controlled by the stockholder, entitle the stockholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of “control shares”) have no voting rights except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested shares; and

 

    “unsolicited takeover” provisions of Maryland law permit our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to implement a classified board as well as impose other restrictions on the ability of a third party to acquire control.

We have opted out of the control share provisions of the MGCL pursuant to a provision in our bylaws. However, we may, by amendment to our bylaws, become subject to the control share provisions of the MGCL in the future.

You have limited control as a stockholder regarding any changes we make to our policies.

Our board of directors determines our major policies, including our investment objectives, financing, growth and distributions. Our board may amend or revise these and other policies without a vote of our stockholders. This means that our stockholders will have limited control over changes in our policies.

Tax Risks

If we fail to maintain our status as a REIT, our distributions will not be deductible by us, and our income will be subject to U.S. Federal taxation, reducing our earnings available for distribution.

We currently qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The requirements for this qualification, however, are complex. If we fail to meet these requirements in the future, our distributions will not be deductible by us and we will have to pay a corporate U.S. Federal level tax on our income. This would substantially reduce our cash available to pay distributions on your investment in our stock. In addition, such a tax liability might cause us to borrow funds, liquidate some of our investments or take other steps, which could negatively affect our results of operations. Moreover, if our REIT status is terminated because of our failure to meet a technical REIT requirement or if we voluntarily revoke our election, we would generally be disqualified from electing treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year in which REIT status is lost.

Even if we maintain our status as a REIT, we may become subject to U.S. Federal, state, local or foreign taxes on our income or property reducing our earnings available for distribution.

Even if we maintain our status as a REIT, we may become subject to U.S. Federal income taxes and related state taxes. For example, if we have net income from a “prohibited transaction,” that income will be subject to a 100% tax. A “prohibited transaction” is, in general, the sale or other disposition of inventory or property, other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We may not be able to make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs. We may also decide to retain income we earn from the sale or other disposition of our property and pay U.S. Federal income tax directly on that income. In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax on it directly. However,

 

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stockholders that are tax-exempt, such as charities or qualified pension plans, would have no benefit from their deemed payment of that tax liability. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to satisfy the REIT requirements, or that it will be in our best interests to continue to do so.

We may also be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, either directly or at the level of our operating partnerships or at the level of the other companies through which we indirectly own our assets.

Foreign countries impose taxes on our hotels and our operations within their jurisdictions. We may not fully benefit from a foreign tax credit against our U.S. income tax liability for the foreign taxes we pay. As a result, our foreign taxes will reduce our income and available cash flow from our foreign hotels, which, in turn, could reduce our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

If the leases of our hotels to our taxable REIT subsidiaries are not respected as true leases for Federal income tax purposes, we would fail to maintain our status as a REIT.

To continue to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy two gross income tests, under which specified percentages of our gross income must be passive income, such as rent. The rent paid pursuant to the leases of our hotels to our taxable REIT subsidiaries will only qualify for purposes of the gross income tests if the leases are respected as true leases for U.S. Federal income tax purposes and are not treated as service contracts, joint ventures or some other type of arrangement. If the leases are not respected as true leases for U.S. Federal income tax purposes, we would fail to qualify as a REIT.

Our taxable REIT subsidiaries are subject to special rules that may result in increased taxes.

The REIT has to pay a 100% penalty tax on some payments that it receives if the economic arrangements between the REIT and the taxable REIT subsidiary are not comparable to similar arrangements between unrelated parties. The IRS may successfully assert that the economic arrangements of any of our inter-company transactions, including the hotel leases, are not comparable to similar arrangements between unrelated parties.

We may be required to pay a penalty tax upon the sale of a hotel.

The U.S. Federal income tax provisions applicable to REITs provide that any gain realized by a REIT on the sale of property held as inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business is treated as income from a “prohibited transaction” that is subject to a 100% penalty tax. Under current laws, unless a sale of real property qualifies for a safe harbor, the question of whether the sale of a hotel (or other property) constitutes the sale of property held primarily for sale to customers is generally a question of the facts and circumstances regarding a particular transaction. We may make sales that do not satisfy the requirements of the safe harbors or the IRS may successfully assert that one or more of our sales are prohibited transactions, and therefore we may be required to pay a penalty tax.

 

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