Debt

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Mortgages

Mortgages payable at June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 consisted of the following:



	June 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Mortgage Indebtedness	$	334,262		$	334,897
Net Unamortized Premium	1,060			1,304
Net Unamortized Deferred Financing Costs	(2,189		)	(2,056		)
Mortgages Payable	$	333,133		$	334,145

Net Unamortized Deferred Financing Costs associated with entering into mortgage indebtedness are deferred and amortized over the life of the mortgages. Net Unamortized Premiums are also amortized over the remaining life of the loans.

Mortgage indebtedness balances are subject to fixed and variable interest rates, which ranged from 4.17% to 6.30% as of June 30, 2019. Aggregate interest expense incurred under the mortgage loans payable totaled $4,077 and $3,888, and $8,067 and $7,307, during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Our mortgage indebtedness contains various financial and non-financial covenants customarily found in secured, non-recourse financing arrangements. Our mortgage loans payable typically require that specified debt service coverage ratios be maintained with respect to the financed properties before we can exercise certain rights under the loan agreements relating to such properties. If the specified criteria are not satisfied, the lender may be able to escrow cash flow generated by the property securing the applicable mortgage loan. We have determined that all debt covenants contained in the loan agreements securing our consolidated hotel properties were met as of June 30, 2019.

As of June 30, 2019, the maturity dates for the outstanding mortgage loans ranged from November 2019 to September 2025. The Company expects to refinance loans maturing within a year of June 30, 2019 into new property-specific mortgage debt on or before the respective loan maturity dates.

Unsecured Notes Payable

We have two junior subordinated notes payable in the aggregate amount of $51,548 to the Hersha Statutory Trusts pursuant to indenture agreements which will mature on July 30, 2035, but may be redeemed at our option, in whole or in part, prior to maturity in accordance with the provisions of the indenture agreements. The $25,774 of notes issued to each of Hersha Statutory Trust I and Hersha Statutory Trust II bear interest at a variable rate of LIBOR plus 3% per annum. This rate resets 2 business days prior to each quarterly payment. The face value of the notes payable is offset by $838 and $864 as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, in net deferred financing costs incurred as a result of entering into these indentures. The deferred financing costs are amortized over the life of the notes payable. The weighted average interest rate on our two junior subordinated notes payable was 5.64% and 5.23%, and 5.66% and 4.93%, during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Interest expense on Unsecured Notes Payable in the amount of $734 and $674, and $1,466 and $1,288, was recorded for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Credit Facilities

We maintain three unsecured credit agreements which aggregate to $950,900 with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, Inc. and various other lenders. Our credit facility provides for a $457,000 senior unsecured credit facility (“Credit Facility”). The Credit Facility consists of a $250,000 senior unsecured revolving line of credit (“Line of Credit”) and a $207,000 senior unsecured term loan ("First Term Loan"). The Credit Facility expires on August 1, 2022, and, provided no event of default has occurred, we may request that the lenders renew the credit facility for an additional one- year period. The Credit Facility is also expandable to $857,000 at our request, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.

We maintain another credit agreement which provides for a $300,000 senior unsecured term loan agreement (“Second Term Loan”) and expires on August 10, 2020.

A separate credit agreement provides for a $193,900 senior unsecured term loan agreement (“Third Term Loan”) and expires on August 2, 2021.

The amount that we can borrow at any given time under our Line of Credit, and the individual term loans (each a “Term Loan” and together the “Term Loans”) is governed by certain operating metrics of designated unencumbered hotel properties known as borrowing base assets. As of June 30, 2019, the following hotel properties were borrowing base assets:



- Courtyard, Brookline, MA	- Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa, Groton, CT
- Holiday Inn Express, Cambridge, MA	- Hampton Inn, Washington, DC
- Envoy Hotel, Boston, MA	- Ritz Carlton, Washington, DC
- The Boxer, Boston, MA	- Hilton Garden Inn, M Street, Washington, DC
- Hampton Inn, Seaport, NY	- Residence Inn, Coconut Grove, FL
- The Duane Street Hotel, NY	- The Winter Haven, Miami, FL
- NU Hotel, Brooklyn, NY	- The Blue Moon, Miami, FL
- Holiday Inn Express, 29th Street, NY	- The Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club, Miami, FL
- The Gate JFK Airport, New York, NY	- The Parrot Key Hotel & Resort, Key West, FL
- Hilton Garden Inn, JFK Airport, New York, NY	- TownePlace Suites, Sunnyvale, CA
- Hyatt House White Plains, NY	- The Ambrose Hotel, Santa Monica, CA
- Sheraton, Wilmington South, DE	- Courtyard, San Diego, CA
- Hampton Inn, Philadelphia, PA	- The Pan Pacific Hotel, Seattle, WA
- The Rittenhouse, Philadelphia, PA	- The Westin, Philadelphia, PA

The interest rate for borrowings under the Line of Credit and Term Loans are based on a pricing grid with a range of one month U.S. LIBOR plus a spread. The following table summarizes the balances outstanding and interest rate spread for each borrowing:



		Outstanding Balance
Borrowing	Spread	June 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Line of Credit	1.50% to 2.25%	$	37,000		$	10,000
Unsecured Term Loan:
First Term Loan	1.45% to 2.20%	$	207,000		$	207,000
Second Term Loan	1.50% to 2.25%	300,000			300,000
Third Term Loan	1.45% to 2.20%	193,900			193,900
Deferred Loan Costs		(2,341		)	(2,698		)
Total Unsecured Term Loan		$	698,559		$	698,202

The Credit Facility and the Term Loans include certain financial covenants and require that we maintain: (1) a minimum tangible net worth (calculated as total assets, plus accumulated depreciation, less total liabilities, intangibles and other defined adjustments) of $1,075,000, plus an amount equal to 75% of the net cash proceeds of all issuances and primary sales of equity interests of the parent guarantor or any of its subsidiaries consummated following the closing date; (2) annual distributions not to exceed 95% of adjusted funds from operations; and (3) certain financial ratios, including the following:
- a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.50 to 1.00;
- a maximum leverage ratio of not more than 60%; and
- a maximum secured debt leverage ratio of 45%.

The Company is in compliance with all of the covenants as of June 30, 2019.

The Company recorded interest expense of $8,903 and $7,661, and $17,539 and $14,773 related to borrowings drawn on the Credit Facility and Term Loans for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The weighted average interest rate, inclusive of the effect of derivative instruments, on the Credit Facility and Term Loans was 4.17% and 3.73%, and 4.15% and 3.69%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Capitalized Interest

We utilize cash, mortgage debt and our Line of Credit to finance on-going capital improvement projects at our hotels. Interest incurred on mortgages and the Line of Credit that relates to our capital improvement projects is capitalized through the date when the assets are placed in service. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, we capitalized $37 and $206, and $74 and $304, of interest expense to ongoing capital improvement projects, respectively.

Deferred Financing Costs

As noted above, costs associated with entering into mortgages, notes payable and our credit facilities are deferred and amortized over the life of the debt instruments. The deferred costs related to mortgages and term loans and unsecured notes payable are presented as reductions in the respective debt balances. Amortization of deferred costs for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 was $560 and $443, and $1,134 and $872, respectively.

New Debt/Refinance

On June 7, 2019, we refinanced the outstanding mortgage debt with an original principal balance of $56,000 secured by the Hyatt Union Square, New York, NY. The loan was due to mature on June 9, 2019, but will now mature on June 7, 2023. Also on June 7, 2019, we entered into an interest rate swap that matures June 7, 2023. See "Note 8 - Fair Value Measurements and Derivative Instruments" for more information on the interest rate swap.

On April 13, 2018, we entered into a mortgage debt with a principal balance of $28,000 secured by the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel, Annapolis, MD. The loan bears interest at a variable rate of one month U.S. dollar LIBOR plus 2.65% and matures in April 2024. Concurrently, we entered into an interest rate cap which effectively caps LIBOR at 3.35%, limiting the interest rate to not exceed 6.00% per annum until May 2021.

On January 31, 2018, we refinanced the outstanding mortgage debt with an original principal balance of $25,000 secured by the Capitol Hill Hotel, Washington, D.C. The loan was due to mature on January 31, 2018, but will now mature on January 31, 2021.

Subsequent Event

On July 25, 2019, we refinanced the outstanding mortgage debt with an original principal balance of $45,000 secured by the Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca, New York, NY. The loan was due to mature on November 13, 2019, but will now mature on July 25, 2024. Contemporaneous with the mortgage refinance, we entered into an interest rate swap that matures July 25, 2024 that fixes the interest rate at 4.02% until maturity.