Related Person Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Person Transactions

Related Person Transactions

We have relationships and historical and continuing transactions with RMR, RMR Inc. and others related to them, including other companies to which RMR or its subsidiaries provide management services and some of which have trustees, directors or officers who are also our Trustees or officers. RMR is a majority owned subsidiary of RMR Inc. The Chair of our Board of Trustees and one of our Managing Trustees, Adam Portnoy, is the sole trustee, an officer and the controlling shareholder of ABP Trust, which is the controlling shareholder of RMR Inc., the chair of the board of directors, a managing director, the president and chief executive officer of RMR Inc. and an officer and employee of RMR. Jennifer Clark, our other Managing Trustee, is a managing director and the executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of RMR Inc., an officer and employee of RMR and an officer of ABP Trust. Each of our officers is also an officer and employee of RMR. Some of our Independent Trustees also serve as independent trustees of other public companies to which RMR or its subsidiaries provide management services. Mr. Portnoy serves as chair of the boards and as a managing trustee of these public companies. Other officers of RMR, including Ms. Clark, serve as managing trustees or officers of certain of these companies.

Our Manager, RMR. We have two agreements with RMR to provide management services to us. RMR also provides management services to our unconsolidated joint venture. See Note 6 for more information regarding our and our unconsolidated joint venture’s management agreements with RMR.

Leases with RMR. We lease office space to RMR in certain of our properties for RMR’s property management offices. Pursuant to our lease agreements with RMR, we recognized rental income from RMR for leased office space of $807 and $851 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our office space leases with RMR are terminable by RMR if our management agreements with RMR are terminated.

Share Awards to RMR Employees. As described further in Note 11, we award shares to our officers and other employees of RMR annually. Generally, one fifth of these awards vest on the grant date and one fifth vests on each of the next four anniversaries of the grant dates. In certain instances, we may accelerate the vesting of an award, such as in connection with the award holder’s retirement as an officer of us or an officer or employee of RMR. These awards to RMR employees are in addition to the share awards to our Managing Trustees, as Trustee compensation, and the fees we paid to RMR. See Note 11 for more information regarding our share awards and activity as well as certain share purchases we made in connection with share award recipients satisfying tax withholding obligations on the vesting of share awards.

Sonesta. Prior to January 1, 2025, we leased 240,000 rentable square feet of a mixed-use property in Washington, D.C. pursuant to a lease with a subsidiary of Sonesta, or the Sonesta Lease. We terminated the Sonesta Lease, effective January 1, 2025. The Sonesta Lease commenced in August 2023 and was amended in September 2024 to expand the premises by 5,900 rentable square feet. Pursuant to the amended Sonesta Lease, Sonesta was required to pay us annual base rent of approximately $6,724 beginning February 2025, and the annual base rent would have increased by 10% every five years throughout the term. Sonesta was also obligated to pay its pro rata share of the operating costs for the property. We recognized rental income of $12,428 in 2024 under the Sonesta Lease. As of December 31, 2024, we had paid approximately $76,834 of tenant improvement costs for the build out of the hotel space pursuant to the Sonesta Lease.

Effective January 1, 2025, we entered into a management agreement with Sonesta, or the Sonesta Management Agreement, to replace the Sonesta Lease. The Sonesta Management Agreement expires on December 31, 2040, and includes two 10-year renewal options. The Sonesta Management Agreement provides that we are paid an annual owner’s priority return if gross revenues of the hotels, after payment of hotel operating expenses and management and related fees (other than Sonesta’s incentive fee, if applicable), are sufficient to do so. The Sonesta Management Agreement further provides that we are paid an additional return of the operating profits, as defined therein, after paying the owner’s priority return, reimbursing owner or manager advances, funding furniture, fixtures and equipment, or FF&E, reserves and paying Sonesta’s incentive fee, if applicable. We do not have any security deposits or guarantees for this Sonesta hotel. The stated annual owner’s priority return is initially $7,500 and increases by 8.0% of our out-of-pocket capital expenditures and will increase annually to 102% of our prior year’s annual owner’s priority return. We are responsible for any capital expenditures in excess of available funds in the FF&E reserve. The Sonesta Management Agreement requires that 1.0% of gross revenues for 2025, 3.0% of gross revenues for 2026 and 4.0% of gross revenues for each calendar year thereafter be escrowed for future capital expenditures as FF&E reserves.

Pursuant to the Sonesta Management Agreement, we are required to pay Sonesta, after payment of hotel operating expenses, a base management fee equal to 1.5% of gross revenues, as defined in the Sonesta Management Agreement, for 2025 and 3.0% of gross revenues each calendar year thereafter. Additionally, we are required to pay (i) an incentive fee equal to 20% of net operating profit, as defined in the Sonesta Management Agreement, in excess of the annual owner’s priority; (ii) a brand promotion fee of 1.75% of gross revenues for 2025 and 3.5% of gross revenues for each calendar year thereafter; and (iii) a loyalty fee of the greater of 1.0% of room revenues or 4.5% of qualified room revenues from guests participating in certain loyalty programs. Sonesta’s incentive management fee, but not its other fees, is earned only after our annual owner’s priority return is paid. The Sonesta Management Agreement also provides that the pro rata costs Sonesta incurs for advertising, marketing, promotional and public relations programs and campaigns, including its Rewards Program, for the benefit of this hotel are subject to reimbursement by us or are otherwise treated as hotel operating expenses. We are required to maintain working capital under the Sonesta Management Agreement and have advanced a fixed amount based on the number of rooms in the hotel to meet the cash needs for hotel operations.

The Sonesta Management Agreement also provides that, prior to August 2, 2026, our approval is required for Sonesta to operate another Royal Sonesta Hotel in Washington D.C., other than the Royal Sonesta Washington Dupont Circle located at 2121 P Street, N.W., Washington D.C. In general, we and Sonesta may terminate the Sonesta Management Agreement for events of default and casualty and condemnation events. We also have the right to terminate the Sonesta Management Agreement if minimum performance thresholds are not met starting in 2027 for any two consecutive calendar years. Pursuant to the Sonesta Management Agreement, we or Sonesta may be obligated to pay the other party damages if the terminating party terminates the Sonesta Management Agreement due to the other party’s event of default.

Mr. Portnoy is a director and controlling shareholder of Sonesta, and Ms. Clark is a director of Sonesta. Another officer and employee of RMR is a director and president and chief executive officer of Sonesta.