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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

The accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and in conformity with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of operations, consolidated statements of equity, and consolidated statements of cash flows for the periods presented.

The consolidated financial statements include all of the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, hotel receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses, distributions payable and debt. Due to their relatively short maturities, the carrying values reported in the consolidated balance sheets for these financial instruments approximate fair value except for debt, the fair value of which is separately disclosed in Note 6.

Investment in Hotel Properties

The Company allocates the purchase prices of hotel properties acquired through a business combination based on the fair value of the acquired real estate, furniture, fixtures and equipment, identifiable intangible assets and assumed liabilities. In making estimates of fair value for purposes of allocating the purchase price, the Company utilizes a number of sources of information that are obtained in connection with the acquisition of a hotel property, including valuations performed by independent third parties and information obtained about each hotel property resulting from pre-acquisition due diligence. Hotel property acquisition costs, such as transfer taxes, title insurance, environmental and property condition reviews, and legal and accounting fees are expensed in the period incurred.

The Company’s investment in hotel properties are carried at cost and are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally 40 years for buildings, 20 years for land improvements, 15 years for building improvements and one to ten years for furniture, fixtures and equipment. Renovations and/or replacements at the hotel properties that improve or extend the life of the assets are capitalized and depreciated over their useful lives, while repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Upon the sale or retirement of property and equipment, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the Company’s accounts and any resulting gain or loss is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations.

The Company will periodically review its hotel properties for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the hotel properties may not be recoverable. Events or circumstances that may cause a review include, but are not limited to, adverse changes in the demand for lodging at the properties due to declining national or local economic conditions and/or new hotel construction in markets where the hotels are located. When such conditions exist, management will perform an analysis to determine if the estimated undiscounted future cash flows, without interest charges, from operations and the proceeds from the ultimate disposition of a hotel property exceed its carrying value. If the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount, an adjustment to reduce the carrying amount to the related hotel property's estimated fair market value is recorded and an impairment loss recognized. As of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, there were no hotel properties impaired.

For properties the Company considers held for sale, depreciation and amortization are no longer recorded and the value the properties is recorded at the lower of depreciated cost or fair value, less costs to sell. If circumstances arise that were previously considered unlikely, and, as a result, the Company decides not to sell a property previously classified as held for sale, the Company will reclassify such property as held and used. Such property is measured at the lower of its carrying amount (adjusted for any depreciation and amortization expense that would have been recognized had the property been continuously classified as held and used) or fair value at the date of the subsequent decision not to sell. The Company classifies properties as held for sale when all criteria within the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") guidance on the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets are met. As of December 31, 2015, the Company had no hotel properties held for sale.

Investment in Unconsolidated Real Estate Entities

If it is determined that the Company does not have a controlling interest in a joint venture, either through its financial interest in a variable investment entity ("VIE") or in a voting interest entity, but does have the ability to exercise significant influence the equity method of accounting is used. Under this method, the investment, originally recorded at cost, is adjusted to recognize the Company’s share of net earnings or losses of the affiliates as they occur rather than as dividends or other distributions are received, advances to and commitments for the investee.

Investment in unconsolidated real estate entities are accounted for under the equity method of accounting and the Company records its equity in earnings or losses under the hypothetical liquidation of book value (“HLBV”) method of accounting due to the structures and the preferences we receive on the distributions from our joint ventures pursuant to the respective joint venture agreements for those joint ventures. Under this method, the Company recognizes income and loss in each period based on the change in liquidation proceeds it would receive from a hypothetical liquidation of its investment based on depreciated book value. Therefore, income or loss may be allocated disproportionately as compared to the ownership percentages due to specified preferred return rate thresholds and may be more or less than actual cash distributions received and more or less than what the Company may receive in the event of an actual liquidation. In the event a basis difference is created between the carrying amount of the Company's share of partner's capital, the resulting amount is allocated based on the assets of the investee and, if assigned to depreciable or amortizable assets, then amortized as a component of income (loss) from unconsolidated real estate entities.

The Company periodically reviews the carrying value of its investment in unconsolidated joint ventures to determine if circumstances indicate impairment to the carrying value of the investment that is other than temporary. When an impairment indicator is present, the Company will estimate the fair value of the investment. The Company’s estimate of fair value takes into consideration factors such as expected future operating income, trends and prospects, as well as other factors. This determination requires significant estimates by management, including the expected cash flows to be generated by the assets owned and operated by the joint venture. To the extent impairment has occurred and is other than temporary, the loss will be measured as the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the Company’s investment in the unconsolidated joint venture.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand, demand deposits with financial institutions and short term liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less. Cash balances in individual banks may exceed federally insurable limits.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash represents purchase price deposits held in escrow for potential hotel acquisitions under contract and escrows for reserves such as reserves for capital expenditures, property taxes or insurance that are required pursuant to the Company’s loans or hotel management agreements.

Hotel Receivables

Hotel receivables consist of amounts owed by guests staying in the hotels and amounts due from business and group customers. An allowance for doubtful accounts is provided and maintained at a level believed to be adequate to absorb estimated probable losses.

Deferred Costs

Deferred costs consist of franchise agreement fees for the Company’s hotels, loan costs related to the Company’s senior unsecured revolving credit facility and mortgage loans and costs related to the Company’s share offerings or share plans.

Deferred costs consisted of the following at December 31, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands):



	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014

Loan costs	$	8,447		$	10,717
Franchise fees	3,474			2,969
	11,921			13,686
Less accumulated amortization	(3,887		)	(6,172		)
Deferred costs, net	$	8,034		$	7,514

Loan costs are recorded at cost and amortized over the term of the loan applying the effective interest rate method. Franchise fees are recorded at cost and amortized over a straight-line basis over the term of the franchise agreements. Other deferred costs relate to potential share offerings and are recorded as a reduction in additional paid-in capital as shares are sold.

Prepaid Expenses And Other Policy

Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets

The Company’s prepaid expenses and other assets consist of prepaid insurance, prepaid property taxes, deposits and hotel supplies inventory.

Distributions and losses in Excess of Investments in Unconsolidated Real Estate Entities

Distributions and Losses in Excess of Investments in Unconsolidated Real Estate Entities

At times, certain of the Company’s investments in unconsolidated entities share of cumulative allocated losses and cash distributions received exceeds its cumulative allocated share of income and equity contributions. Although the Company typically does not make any guarantees of its investments in unconsolidated real estate entities other than certain customary non-recourse carve-out provisions, due to potential penalties along with potential upside financial returns, the Company generally intends to make any required capital contributions to maintain its ownership percentage and as such will record its share of cumulative allocated losses and cash distributions below zero. As a result, the carrying value of certain investments in unconsolidated entities is negative. Unconsolidated entities with negative carrying values are included in cash distributions and losses in excess of investments in unconsolidated entities in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue from hotel operations is recognized when rooms are occupied and when services are provided. Revenue consists of amounts derived from hotel operations, including sales from room, meeting room, gift shop, in-room movie and other ancillary amenities. Sales, use, occupancy, and similar taxes are collected and presented on a net basis (excluded from revenue) in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company measures compensation expense for the restricted share awards based upon the fair market value of its common shares at the date of grant. The Company measures compensation expense for the LTIP and Class A Performance units based upon the Monte Carlo approach using volatility, dividend yield and a risk free interest rate in the valuation. Compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period and is included in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations. The Company pays dividends on vested and non-vested restricted shares, except for performance-based shares, for which dividends on unvested shares are not paid until those shares are vested. The Company has also issued Class A Performance LTIP units from time to time as part of its compensation practices. Prior to vesting, holders of Class A Performance LTIP Units will not be entitled to vote their Class A Performance LTIP units. In addition, under the terms of the Class A Performance LTIP units, a holder of a Class A Performance LTIP unit will generally (i) be entitled to receive 10% of the distributions made on a common unit of the Operating Partnership during the period prior to vesting of such Class A Performance LTIP unit (the “Pre-Vesting Distributions”), (ii) be entitled, upon the vesting of such Class A Performance LTIP unit, to receive a special one-time “catch-up” distribution equal to the aggregate amount of distributions that were paid on a common unit during the period prior to vesting of such Class A Performance LTIP unit minus the aggregate amount of Pre-Vesting Distributions paid on such Class A Performance LTIP unit, and (iii) be entitled, following the vesting of such Class A Performance LTIP unit, to receive the same amount of distributions paid on a common unit of the Operating Partnership.

Earnings Per Share

A two class method is used to determine earnings per share. Basic earnings per share ("EPS") is computed by dividing net income (loss) available for common shareholders, adjusted for dividends on unvested share grants, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS is computed by dividing net income (loss) available for common shareholders, adjusted for dividends or distributions, on unvested share grants and LTIP units, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus potentially dilutive securities such as share grants or shares issuable in the event of conversion of common units. No adjustment is made for shares that are anti-dilutive during the period. The Company’s restricted share awards and LTIP units that are subject solely to time-based vesting conditions are entitled to receive dividends or distributions on the Company's common shares or the Operating Partnership's common units, respectively, if declared. In addition, dividends on the Class A Performance LTIP units are paid the equivalent of 10% of the declared dividends on the Company's common shares. The rights to these dividends or distributions declared are non-forfeitable. As a result, the unvested restricted shares and LTIP units that are subject solely to time-based vesting conditions, as well as 10% of the unvested Class A Performance LTIP units, qualify as participating securities requiring the allocation of earnings under the two-class method to calculate EPS. The percentage of earnings allocated to these participating securities is based on the proportion of the weighted average of these outstanding participating securities to the sum of the basic weighted average common shares outstanding and the weighted average of these outstanding participating securities. Basic EPS is then computed by dividing income less earnings allocable to these participating securities by the basic weighted average number of shares outstanding. Diluted EPS is computed similar to basic EPS, except the weighted average number of shares outstanding is increased to include the effect of potentially dilutive securities.

Income Taxes

The Company elected to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. In order to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the Company must meet certain organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement to distribute at least 90% of its annual REIT taxable income to its shareholders (which is computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction or net capital gain and which does not necessarily equal net income as calculated in accordance with GAAP). As a REIT, the Company generally will not be subject to federal income tax to the extent the Company distributes its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. If the Company fails to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, the Company will be subject to federal income tax on its REIT taxable income at regular corporate income tax rates and generally will not be permitted to qualify for treatment as a REIT for federal income tax purposes for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification is lost unless the IRS grants the Company relief under certain statutory provisions.

The Company leases its wholly owned hotels to TRS Lessees, which are wholly owned by the Company’s taxable REIT subsidiaries (each, a “TRS”) which, in turn are wholly owned by the Operating Partnership. Additionally, the Company indirectly (i) owns its interest in the hotels owned by the NewINK JV (47 hotels) and the Inland JV (48 hotels) and (ii) owned its interest in the Torrance JV, which was sold on December 30, 2015, through the Operating Partnership. All of the NewINK JV hotels and Inland JV hotels are, and the Torrance JV hotel was leased to TRS Lessees in which the Company indirectly owns, or owned, as applicable, noncontrolling interests through one of its TRS holding companies. Each TRS is subject to federal and state income taxes and the Company accounts for taxes, where applicable, in accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 740 using the asset and liability method which recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for future tax consequences arising from differences between financial statement carrying amounts and income tax bases.

As of December 31, 2015, the Company is no longer subject to U.S federal income tax examinations for years before 2013 and with few exceptions to state examinations before 2013. The Company evaluates whether a tax position of the Company is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits of the position. For tax positions meeting the more likely than not threshold, the tax amount recognized in the financial statements is reduced by the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the relevant taxing authority. The Company has reviewed its tax positions for open tax years and has concluded no provisions for income taxes is required in the Company's consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax benefits, if any, in the future will be recognized as operating expense.

During the first quarter of 2015, management was notified that one of the Company's TRS's was going to be examined by the State of Florida Department of Revenue for the tax years ended December 31, 2009 through 2013. The examination remains open. The Company believes that it does not need to record a liability related to all matters contained in the tax periods open to examination. However, should the Company experience an unfavorable outcome in the State of Florida matter, such an outcome could have a material impact on its results of operations, financial position, and cash flows. Although the timing of the income tax audit resolutions and negotiations with taxing authorities is highly uncertain, the Company does not anticipate a significant change to the total amount of unrecognized income tax benefits within the next 12 months.

Organizational and Offering Costs

The Company expensed organizational costs as incurred. Offering costs, which include selling commissions, are recorded as a reduction in additional paid-in capital in shareholders’ equity as shares are sold. For offering costs incurred prior to potential share offerings, these costs are initially recorded in deferred costs on the balance sheet and then recorded as a reduction to additional paid-in capital as shares are sold through the subsequent share offering.

Segment Information

Management evaluates the Company's hotels as a single industry segment because all of the hotels have similar economic characteristics and provide similar services to similar types of customers.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

On May 28, 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. Early application is not permitted. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its financial statements.

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entities Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, which requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entities ability to continue within one year of the date the financial statements are issued and provides guidance on determining when and how to disclose going concern uncertainties in the financial statements. Certain disclosures will be required if conditions give rise to substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern. This guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017 and will not have an impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02 Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis, which requires amendments to both the VIE and voting models. The amendments (i) rescind the indefinite deferral of certain aspects of accounting standards relating to consolidations and provide a permanent scope exception for registered money market funds and similar unregistered money market funds, (ii) modify the identification of variable interests (fees paid to a decision maker or service provider), the VIE characteristics for a limited partnership or similar entity and primary beneficiary determination under the VIE model, and (iii) eliminate the presumption within the current voting model that a general partner controls a limited partnership or similar entity. The new guidance is effective for annual reporting periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2015 with early adoption permitted. The amendments may be applied using either a modified retrospective or full retrospective approach. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2016 and will not have a material impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

On April 7, 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, which requires debt issuance costs to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying value of the debt liability. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 with early adoption permitted and will be applied on a retrospective basis. Supplemental to ASU 2015-03, on August 16, 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-15, Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of-Credit Arrangements -Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to Staff Announcement at June 18, 2015 EITF Meeting, which clarifies that debt issuance costs attributable to line-of-credit arrangements can be presented as an asset and amortized ratably over the life of the revolving debt arrangement, regardless of whether there is an outstanding balance thereunder. This methodology is consistent with the Company’s historical treatment of such costs. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2016 and will not have a material impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In September 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-16, Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments, which eliminates the requirement to restate prior period financial statements for measurement period adjustments. The new guidance requires an entity to recognize the adjustments to provisional amounts identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustments are determined. In addition, the adjustments must be disclosed by income statement line item either on the face of the income statement or in the footnotes as if the adjustment to the provisional amounts had been recorded as of the acquisition date. The amendment is effective prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted for financial statements that have not been issued. We do not expect the new standard will have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.