DALLAS, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford
Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) today announced that the
Company, along with its joint venture partner, has entered into a
series of Agreements with the City of
Nashville and Davidson
County relating to the 673-room Renaissance Nashville Hotel
that include converting the joint venture's leasehold interest in
the hotel to fee simple ownership and a new, 30-year lease for
approximately 80,000 square feet of additional meeting and
pre-function space. The hotel is part of the Company's
Highland Hospitality Portfolio of which Ashford has a 71.74%
ownership interest.
The Agreements include converting the joint venture's leasehold
interest in the hotel, which was set to expire in 2087, to fee
simple ownership, extending the current lease term of some adjacent
facilities to 2112, and entering into a new, 30-year lease for
80,000 square feet of meeting space and pre-function space located
at the existing Nashville
Convention Center, which is adjacent to the hotel, all at no cost
to the joint venture. By entering into the lease for the
additional meeting space, the hotel will now be able to offer over
110,000 square feet of self-contained meeting and pre-function
space to accommodate larger groups. Previously, the hotel
offered 30,000 square feet of self-contained meeting space and had
access to the newly leased space on an "as available" basis and
paid additional rent for the use of that space.
Commenting on the announcement, Monty J.
Bennett, Ashford's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
said, "We are very excited to complete this transaction with the
City of Nashville and Davidson County given all the development
currently taking place in downtown Nashville, including the highly anticipated
new 1.2 million square foot Music City Center just two blocks from
the Renaissance and scheduled to open the middle of this
year. We expect the Renaissance Hotel to play a big part as
Nashville becomes an even more
attractive destination for groups and transient travelers
alike. These Agreements also highlight the capabilities of
our asset management team as we seek to maximize the value of our
assets for our shareholders."
The hotel is currently undergoing a value-added renovation for a
total expenditure of approximately $20
million and will soon undertake an additional renovation of
the newly leased meeting space that will be funded from existing
capital reserves.
The Renaissance Hotel is located in Downtown Nashville.
The property includes approximately 110,000 square feet of meeting
and pre-function space, with two grand ballrooms, over 50 private
access club floor rooms, a full service restaurant, two lounges, an
indoor pool, gift shop, fitness room and business center. The
Renaissance Hotel is conveniently within walking distance of the
Bridgestone Arena, Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Ryman
Auditorium.
Ashford is a self-administered real estate investment trust
focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all
segments and at all levels of the capital structure.
Additional information can be found on the Company's website at
www.ahtreit.com.
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release
contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are
being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result,"
"may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe,"
"intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, the timing for closing, the impact
of the transaction on our business and future financial condition,
our business and investment strategy, our understanding of our
competition and current market trends and opportunities and
projected capital expenditures. Such statements are subject
to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are
outside Ashford's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without
limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the
market price of our common stock; changes in our business or
investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital;
availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and
the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general
economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These
and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EBITDA
is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization. EBITDA yield is defined as trailing twelve
month EBITDA divided by the purchase price. A capitalization
rate is determined by dividing the property's annual net operating
income by the purchase price. Net operating income is the
property's funds from operations minus a capital expense reserve of
either 4% or 5% of gross revenues. Funds from operations
("FFO"), as defined by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board
of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment
Trusts ("NAREIT") in April 2002,
represents net income (loss) computed in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or
losses) from sales of properties and extraordinary items as defined
by GAAP, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets,
and net of adjustments for the portion of these items related to
unconsolidated entities and joint ventures.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or circumstances, changes in
expectations or otherwise.
SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.