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BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Principles Of Consolidation And Presentation
Principles of Consolidation and Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with US GAAP and include all of our accounts as well as accounts of the Partnership, subsidiary partnerships and our wholly owned Taxable REIT Subsidiary Lessee (“TRS Lessee”), 44 New England Management Company. All significant inter-company amounts have been eliminated.
Consolidated properties are either wholly owned or owned less than 100% by the Partnership and are controlled by the Company as general partner of the Partnership. Properties owned in joint ventures are also consolidated if the determination is made that we are the primary beneficiary in a variable interest entity (“VIE”) or we maintain control of the asset through our voting interest in the entity.
Variable Interest Entities
Variable Interest Entities

We evaluate each of our investments and contractual relationships to determine whether they meet the guidelines for consolidation. To determine if we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE, we evaluate whether we have a controlling financial interest in that VIE. An enterprise is deemed to have a controlling financial interest if it has i) the power to direct the activities of a variable interest entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance, and ii) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE that could be significant to the VIE or the rights to receive benefits from the VIE that could be significant to the VIE. Control can also be demonstrated by the ability of a member to manage day-to-day operations, refinance debt and sell the assets of the partnerships without the consent of the other member and the inability of the members to replace the managing member.  Based on our examination, there have been no changes to the operating structure of our legal entities during the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and, therefore, there are no changes to our evaluation of VIE's as presented within our annual report presented on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Noncontrolling Interest Noncontrolling InterestWe classify the noncontrolling interests of our common units of limited partnership interest in HHLP (“Common Units”), and Long Term Incentive Plan Units (“LTIP Units”) as equity. LTIP Units are a separate class of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership that are convertible into Common Units under certain circumstances.
Investment in Hotel Properties
Investment in Hotel Properties

Investments in hotel properties are recorded at cost. Improvements and replacements are capitalized when they extend the useful life of the asset. Costs of repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of up to 40 years for buildings and improvements, two to seven years for furniture, fixtures and equipment. We are required to make subjective assessments as to the useful lives of our properties for purposes of determining the amount of depreciation to record on an annual basis with respect to our investments in hotel properties. These assessments have a direct impact on our net income because if we were to shorten the expected useful lives of our investments in hotel properties we would depreciate these investments over fewer years, resulting in more depreciation expense and lower net income on an annual basis.

Identifiable assets, liabilities, and noncontrolling interests related to hotel properties acquired are recorded at fair value. Estimating techniques and assumptions used in determining fair values involve significant estimates and judgments. These estimates and judgments have a direct impact on the carrying value of our assets and liabilities which can directly impact the amount of depreciation expense recorded on an annual basis and could have an impact on our assessment of potential impairment of our investment in hotel properties.

We consider a hotel to be held for sale when management and our independent trustees commit to a plan to sell the property, the property is available for sale, management engages in an active program to locate a buyer for the property and it is probable the sale will be completed within a year of the initiation of the plan to sell. We evaluate each disposition to determine whether we need to classify the disposition as discontinued operations. We generally include the operations of a hotel that was sold or a hotel that has been classified as held for sale in continuing operations unless the sale represents a strategic shift that will have a major impact on our future operations and financial results. We anticipate that most of our hotel dispositions will not be classified as discontinued operations as most will not fit this definition.
NOTE 1 - BASIS OF PRESENTATION (CONTINUED)

Based on the occurrence of certain events or changes in circumstances, we review the recoverability of the property’s carrying value. Such events or changes in circumstances include the following:

a significant decrease in the market price of a long-lived asset;
a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which a long-lived asset is being used or in its physical condition; 
a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the business climate that could affect the value of a long-lived asset, including an adverse action or assessment by a regulator;
an accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the acquisition or construction of a long-lived asset;
a current-period operating or cash flow loss combined with a history of operating or cash flow losses or a projection or forecast that demonstrates continuing losses associated with the use of a long-lived asset; and
a current expectation that, it is more likely than not that, a long-lived asset will be sold or otherwise disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life.
We review our portfolio on an ongoing basis to evaluate the existence of any of the aforementioned events or changes in circumstances that would require us to test for recoverability. In general, our review of recoverability is based on an estimate of the future undiscounted cash flows, excluding interest charges, expected to result from the property’s use and eventual disposition. These estimates consider factors such as expected future operating income, market and other applicable trends and residual value expected, as well as the effects of hotel demand, competition and other factors. Other assumptions used in the review of recoverability include the holding period and expected terminal capitalization rate. If impairment exists due to the inability to recover the carrying value of a property, an impairment loss is recorded to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value of the property. We are required to make subjective assessments as to whether there are impairments in the values of our investments in hotel properties.

As of June 30, 2021, based on our analysis, we have determined that the estimated future cash flow of each of the properties in our portfolio is sufficient to recover its respective carrying value, after recording an impairment charge prior to the disposition of the Duane Street hotel.
New Accounting Pronouncements
New Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU No. 2020-4, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting and in January 2021, the FASB issued 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), Scope, which further clarified the scope of the reference rate reform optional practical expedients and exceptions outlined in Topic 848. As a result of identified structural risks of interbank offered rates, in particular, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), reference rate reform is underway to identify alternative reference rates that are more observable or transaction based. The update provides guidance in accounting for changes in contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions as a result of this reference rate reform. The optional expedients and exceptions contained within these updates, in general, only apply to contract amendments and modifications entered into prior to January 1, 2023. The provisions of these updates that will most likely affect our financial reporting process related to modifications of contracts with lenders and the related hedging contracts associated with each respective modified borrowing contract. In general, the provisions of these updates would impact the Company by allowing, among other things, the following:

Allowing modifications of debt contracts with lenders that fall under the guidance of ASC Topic 470 to be accounted for as a non-substantial modification and not be considered a debt extinguishment.
Allowing a change to contractual terms of a hedging instrument in conjunction with reference rate reform to not require a dedesignation of the hedging relationship.
Allowing a change to the interest rate used for margining, discounting, or contract price alignment for a derivative that is a cash flow hedge to not be considered a change to the critical terms of the hedge and will not require a dedesignation of the hedging relationship.

We have not entered into any contract modifications yet, as it directly relates to reference rate reform but we anticipate having to undertake such modifications in the future as a majority of our contracts with lenders and hedging counterparties are indexed to LIBOR. While we anticipate the impact of this update to be to the benefit of the Company, we are still evaluating the overall impact to the Company.