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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the Year Ended December 31, 2003   Commission file number 001-14625

 

HOST MARRIOTT CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

Maryland    53-0085950
(State of Incorporation)    (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 1500, Bethesda, Maryland    20817
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)    (Zip Code)

 

(240) 744-1000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class


  

Name of each exchange

on which registered


Common Stock, $.01 par value (324,303,016 shares outstanding as of February 15, 2004)

   New York Stock Exchange
Chicago Stock Exchange

Purchase share rights for Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, $.01 par value

   Pacific Stock Exchange
Philadelphia Stock Exchange

Class A Preferred Stock, $.01 par value (4,160,000 shares outstanding as of February 15, 2004)

   New York Stock Exchange

Class B Preferred Stock, $.01 par value (4,000,000 shares outstanding as of February 15, 2004)

    

Class C Preferred Stock, $.01 par value (5,980,000 shares outstanding as of February 15, 2004)

    

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (i) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (ii) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x    No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2). Yes x    No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

 

The aggregate market value of shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 20, 2003 (based on the closing sale price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on June 20, 2003) was approximately $2,126,064,000.

 

Documents Incorporated by Reference

 

Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement for the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2004 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K. We expect to file our proxy statement by April 14, 2004.

 



Items 1 & 2    Business and Properties

 

We are a Maryland corporation and we operate as a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust, or REIT. We own our properties and conduct our operations through Host Marriott, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership of which we are the sole general partner and in which we hold 93% of the partnership interest. In this report we use the terms “operating partnership” or “Host LP” to refer to Host Marriott, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and its consolidated subsidiaries. The terms “we” or “our” refer to Host Marriott and Host LP together, unless the context indicates otherwise.

 

As of February 15, 2004, our lodging portfolio consisted of 113 upper-upscale and luxury full-service hotels containing approximately 57,000 rooms. Our portfolio is geographically diverse with hotels in most of the major metropolitan areas in 28 states, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Calgary, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico. Our locations include central business districts of major cities, near airports and resort/convention locations.

 

The address of our principal executive office is 6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 1500, Bethesda, Maryland, 20817. Our phone number is 240-744-1000. Our Internet website address is www.hostmarriott.com.

 

We make available free of charge, on or through our Internet website, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed or furnished to the SEC, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

 

In addition, at the Investor Information section of our website, we have a Corporate Governance page that includes, among other things, copies of our Code of Business Conduct and Conflicts of Interest Policy for directors, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for employees, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters for each of our standing committees of our Board of Directors, which are: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Policy Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Copies of these charters and policies are also available in print to stockholders upon request.

 

The Lodging Industry

 

The lodging industry in the United States consists of both private and public entities which operate in an extremely diversified market under a variety of brand names. Competition in the industry is based primarily on the level of service, quality of accommodations, location and room rates. In order to cater to a wide variety of tastes and needs, the lodging industry is broadly divided into six groups: luxury, upper-upscale, upscale, midscale (with and without food and beverage service) and economy. Most of our hotels operate in urban markets either as luxury properties under such brand names as Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons or as upper-upscale properties under such brand names as Marriott, Hyatt, Westin and Hilton.

 

Supply and demand growth in the lodging industry and the markets in which we operate may be influenced by a number of factors, including growth of the economy, interest rates, unique local considerations and the relatively long lead time required to develop urban and resort/convention, upper-upscale and luxury hotels. Properties in the upper-upscale segment of the lodging industry benefited from a favorable imbalance between supply and demand during the early 1990’s, driven in part by low construction levels and high gross domestic product, or GDP growth. From 1998 through 2000, supply moderately outpaced demand, which caused slight declines in occupancy rates; however, the impact of the occupancy decline was more than offset by increases in the average daily rate during that period. In 2001, the weakening economy was significantly affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks leading to a significant decline in demand. Over the past two years demand growth has been slowed primarily due to the threat of additional terrorist acts, the war in Iraq and, in 2002, continued weakness in the economy. We expect the rate of supply growth, which has declined significantly since 2000, to continue to be relatively low for at least the next two years due to the limited availability of development financing for new construction. We believe that demand growth will begin to accelerate during the first half of 2004, as the economy continues to strengthen and business travel increases.

 

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Business Strategy

 

Our primary business objective is to provide superior total returns to our shareholders through a combination of appreciation in net asset value per share, growth in earnings and dividends. In order to achieve this objective we seek to:

 

  ·   maximize the value of our existing portfolio through aggressive asset management which includes working with the managers of our hotels to continue to minimize operating costs and increase revenues and by completing selective capital improvements designed to increase profitability;

 

  ·   acquire upper-upscale and luxury hotels, including hotels operated by leading management companies;

 

  ·   maintain a capital structure and liquidity profile that has an appropriate balance of debt and equity and provides flexibility given the inherent volatility in the lodging industry, and improving, over the next lodging cycle, our EBITDA-to-interest coverage ratio to greater than 3.0x,; and

 

  ·   opportunistically dispose of non-core assets, such as older assets with significant capital needs, assets that are at a competitive risk given potential new supply or assets in slower-growth markets.

 

We believe we are well-qualified to pursue our business strategies. Our management team has extensive experience in acquiring and financing lodging properties. We believe that management’s industry knowledge, relationships and access to market information provide a competitive advantage with respect to identifying, evaluating, financing, acquiring and opportunistically disposing of lodging properties and that this competitive advantage carries over to the work we do to improve and maintain the quality of our assets. These efforts include maximizing the value of our existing portfolio by overseeing our managers in their efforts to reduce operating costs and to increase revenues at our hotels, monitoring property and brand performance, pursuing expansion and repositioning opportunities, overseeing capital expenditure budgets and forecasts, assessing return on capital expenditure opportunities and analyzing competitive supply conditions in each of our markets.

 

Our acquisition strategy focuses on hotels operating as upper-upscale and luxury hotels. We continue to believe there will be opportunities to acquire these hotels at attractive multiples of cash flow and at discounts to replacement cost. Our acquisition strategy continues to focus on:

 

  ·   properties with unique locations in markets with high barriers to entry for prospective competitors, including hotels located in urban and resort/convention locations;

 

  ·   properties operated under premium brand names, such as Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt and Westin;

 

  ·   larger hotels that are consistent with our portfolio objectives and may require significant investment, which narrows the competition for these acquisitions;

 

  ·   underperforming hotels whose operations can be enhanced by conversion to high quality brands and/or by upgrading or adding to the existing facilities; and

 

  ·   acquisitions through various structures, including transactions involving portfolios, single assets and through joint ventures.

 

From 1999 through mid-2003, our acquisitions were limited by the lack of suitable targets that complement our portfolio, inadequate returns and capital limitations due to weak investment markets. Consequently, our activity has been primarily focused on acquiring the interests of limited or joint venture partners, consolidating our ownership of assets already included in our portfolio, and as described in “Operating Structure,” purchasing the lessee interests, which were created as part our conversion to a REIT. We believe that as a result of the capital markets strengthening in 2003, suitable single asset and portfolio acquisition opportunities have become available; however, the number of competitive bidders for such opportunities has also correspondingly increased. We are interested in exploring acquisitions that can be accomplished, at least in part, through the issuance of operating partnership units of Host LP, particularly where such an acquisition would result in an overall improvement in our credit profile.

 

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We have not acquired hotels outside of the United States in recent years due to the difficulty in identifying opportunities that meet our return criteria. However, we intend to continue to evaluate acquisition opportunities in international locations, and will pursue these only when we believe they will offer satisfactory returns after adjustments for currency and country-related risks.

 

Operating Structure

 

Our operating structure is as follows:

 

LOGO

 

As a result of our conversion to a REIT, we became the sole general partner of Host LP. For each share of our common stock we issue, Host LP issues one unit of operating partnership interest, or OP unit, to us. When distinguishing between ourselves and Host LP, the primary difference is the approximate 7% of the partnership interests of Host LP not held by us as of February 15, 2004. Our conversion to a REIT in 1998 also created the opportunity for our shareholders to generally avoid double taxation on dividend distributions (as non-REIT corporations generally are taxed on earnings prior to distributing dividends to shareholders), provided we meet certain requirements, including the distribution of at least 90% of our taxable income. As a result, we believe this structure affords our shareholders with both a potential tax advantage, as well as the increased liquidity associated with being a publicly traded company.

 

All of our assets are owned through Host LP or its subsidiaries, all of which are general or limited partnerships or limited liability companies. The OP units owned by holders other than us are redeemable at the option of the holders, generally beginning one year after the date of issuance of the holder’s OP units. Upon redemption of an OP unit, a holder may receive cash from us in an amount equal to the market value of one share of our common stock. We have the right, however, to acquire any OP unit offered for redemption directly from the holder in exchange for one share of our common stock, instead of a cash redemption by us.

 

As a REIT, certain tax laws limit the amount of “non-qualifying” income we can earn, including income derived directly from the operation of hotels. As a result, we lease substantially all of our properties to a subsidiary of the operating partnership designated as a taxable REIT subsidiary for Federal income tax purposes

 

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or to third party lessees. The lessees enter into agreements with third party hotel operators to manage the operations of the hotels. Other assets that produce non-qualifying income may also be held in taxable REIT subsidiaries. Unlike other subsidiaries of a REIT, taxable income of a taxable REIT subsidiary is subject to Federal and state income taxes.

 

Lodging Properties Portfolio

 

Overview.    Our lodging portfolio consisted primarily of 113 upper-upscale and luxury hotels containing approximately 57,000 rooms as of February 15, 2004. It is geographically diverse, with hotels in most of the major metropolitan areas in 28 states, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Calgary, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico. Our locations include central business districts of major cities, near airports and resort/convention locations where further large-scale development opportunities are limited. These hotels, because of their locations, typically benefit from significant barriers to entry by competitors. Historically, our properties in urban and resort/convention locations have had higher RevPAR (as defined herein) results than similar properties in suburban locations. Our hotels have an average of approximately 504 rooms per hotel. Fifteen of our hotels have more than 750 rooms. Our hotels typically include meeting and banquet facilities, a variety of restaurants and lounges, swimming pools, gift shops and parking facilities, the combination of which enable them to serve business, leisure and group travelers. The average age of our properties is 19 years, although many of the properties have had substantial renovations or major additions.

 

The following chart details our portfolio by brand as of February 15, 2004:

 

Brand


   Number of
Hotels


   Rooms

Marriott

   89    46,793

Ritz-Carlton

   10    3,831

Hyatt

   6    3,521

Swissôtel

   2    1,127

Four Seasons

   2    608

Westin

   1    365

Hilton

   1    223

Other brands

   2    463
    
  
     113    56,931
    
  

 

Our properties are operated under premium brand names such as Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt and others, which we believe have consistently outperformed other brands in the industry. Consistent with our strategy of engaging the leading hotel management companies to operate our properties, we converted our 498-room Swissôtel Boston to the Boston Hyatt Regency on June 26, 2003 and we converted our 365-room Atlanta Swissôtel to the Westin Buckhead on January 7, 2004. We believe that the broader brand name recognition and resources of Hyatt and Starwood will help improve operations and drive increased profitability in the long term at these hotels.

 

To maintain the overall quality of our lodging properties we assess annually the need for refurbishments, replacements and capital improvements. Typically, room refurbishments occur at intervals of approximately seven years, based on an annual review of the condition of each property. However, the timing of refurbishments may vary based on the type of property and equipment being replaced and are generally divided into the following types: soft goods, hard goods and infrastructure. Soft goods include items such as carpeting, bed spreads, curtains and wall vinyl and may require more frequent updates to maintain brand quality standards. Hard goods include furniture such as dressers, desks, couches, restaurant chairs and tables and are generally not replaced as frequently. Infrastructure includes the physical plant of the hotel, including such items as the roof, elevators, façade, fire systems, etc., which are regularly maintained and then replaced at the end of their useful lives. The management agreements for the majority of our properties require us to escrow 5% of hotel sales for refurbishments, and on average, we spend approximately $180 million to $220 million on replacements and refurbishments of soft and hard goods. In addition to amounts escrowed under the management agreement, we

 

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will fund infrastructure improvements and, on average, spend approximately $20 million to $30 million annually. In addition to capital spending for replacement and refurbishment of the properties, we fund projects where we believe our return on investment will exceed our targeted corporate return on capital. For example, in 2001, we completed a $25 million, 50,000 square foot spa facility for The Ritz-Carlton, Naples. All capital expenditure decisions, however, are based on the economic environment and our cash requirements, and as a result, we will occasionally spend less than these amounts. For example, in 2002 and 2003, we reduced our capital expenditures based on our assessment of the operating environment and to preserve capital. During this period, our capital expenditures were focused on property maintenance and improvements designed to maintain appropriate levels of quality. As a result of the commitment we have historically made to maintaining our assets, we believe that the reductions in capital expenditures during the last two years have not adversely affected the long-term value of our portfolio. As the industry recovers, we plan to return to our strategy of pursuing capital expenditure projects designed to enhance the value of our hotels.

 

Development Projects.    During 2003, we began construction on a project to expand the Memphis Marriott by 200 rooms and to connect the property to the adjacent convention center. We expect to spend approximately $15 million on the expansion which will be completed in 2004. In January 2002, we opened The Ritz-Carlton, Naples Golf Resort, which is located approximately three miles from our Ritz-Carlton, Naples beachfront hotel. The Golf Resort had a development cost of approximately $75 million and includes 15,000 square feet of meeting space, four food and beverage outlets and full access to the Tiburon Golf Club, a 36-hole Greg Norman designed golf complex bordering the hotel. We own a 49% limited partner interest in the partnership that owns Tiburon Golf Club, and invested $3 million in 2002 to complete the 36-hole golf club.

 

Foreign Operations.    We currently own four Canadian properties and one Mexican property containing a total of 1,952 rooms. During each of 2003, 2002 and 2001, approximately 3%, or $120 million, of our revenues were attributed to foreign operations, while the remaining 97% were attributed to our domestic properties.

 

Competition.    The lodging industry is highly competitive, and over the past decade there has been a proliferation of the number of brands in the lodging industry. Competition is often specific to individual markets and is based on a number of factors, including location, brand, price, guest amenities and service, as well as property condition. Our competition includes hotels operated under brands in the upper-upscale and luxury full-service segments, as well as hotels operated under upscale or other lower tier brands in many locations. Many management contracts do not have restrictions on the ability of management companies to convert, franchise or develop other hotel properties in our markets. As a result, our hotels in a given market often compete with hotels which our managers may own, invest in, manage or franchise.

 

We believe that our properties enjoy competitive advantages associated with their operations under the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hyatt, Westin and Hilton hotel brand systems. The national marketing programs and reservation systems of these brands, combined with the strong management systems and expertise they provide, should enable our properties to perform favorably in terms of both occupancy and room rates. Each of our managers maintains national reservation systems. Our website permits users to connect to the reservation systems for each of these brands to reserve rooms at our hotels. In addition, repeat guest business is enhanced by guest rewards programs offered by most of these brands.

 

Seasonality.    Our hotel sales have traditionally experienced moderate seasonality, which varies based on the individual hotel property and the region. Additionally, hotel revenues in the fourth quarter reflect sixteen or seventeen weeks of results compared to twelve weeks for each of the first three quarters of the fiscal year. Hotel sales by quarter for the years 2001 through 2003 for our lodging properties are as follows:

 

Year


   First
Quarter


    Second
Quarter


    Third
Quarter


    Fourth
Quarter


 

2001

   23 %   26 %   23 %   28 %

2002

   22     26     23     29  

2003

   23     25     23     29  
    

 

 

 

Average

   23 %   26 %   23 %   28 %
    

 

 

 

 

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Hotel Properties.    The following table sets forth the location and number of rooms of our 113 full-service hotels as of February 15, 2004. Each hotel is operated as a Marriott brand hotel unless otherwise indicated by its name.

 

Location


   Rooms

  

Location


   Rooms

Arizona

       

Georgia (continued)

    

Mountain Shadows Resort

   337   

Atlanta Midtown Suites(1)

   254

Scottsdale Suites

   251   

Atlanta Norcross

   222

The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix

   281   

Atlanta Perimeter(1)

   400

California

       

Four Seasons, Atlanta

   244

Coronado Island Resort(1)

   300   

Grand Hyatt, Atlanta

   438

Costa Mesa Suites

   253   

JW Marriott Hotel at Lenox(1)

   371

Desert Springs Resort and Spa

   884   

Westin Buckhead

   365

Fullerton(1)

   224   

The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta

   444

Hyatt Regency, Burlingame

   793   

The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead

   553

Manhattan Beach(1)

   385   

Hawaii

    

Marina Beach(1)

   370   

Hyatt Regency, Maui

   806

Newport Beach

   586   

Illinois

    

Newport Beach Suites

   254   

Chicago/Deerfield Suites

   248

Sacramento Host Airport

   89   

Chicago/Downers Grove Suites

   254

San Diego Hotel and Marina(1)(2)

   1,358   

Chicago/Downtown Courtyard

   337

San Diego Mission Valley(2)

   350   

Chicago O’Hare

   681

San Francisco Airport

   685   

Chicago O’Hare Suites(1)

   256

San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf

   285   

Swissôtel, Chicago

   632

San Francisco Moscone Center(1)

   1,498   

Indiana

    

San Ramon(1)

   368   

South Bend(1)

   298

Santa Clara(1)

   755   

Louisiana

    

The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey(1)

   304   

New Orleans

   1,290

The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco

   336   

Maryland

    

Torrance

   487   

Bethesda(1)

   407

Colorado

       

Gaithersburg/Washingtonian Center

   284

Denver Southeast(1)

   590   

Massachusetts

    

Denver Tech Center

   628   

Boston/Newton

   430

Denver West(1)

   305   

Boston Copley Place

   1,139

Connecticut

       

Hyatt Regency, Boston

   498

Hartford/Farmington

   381   

Hyatt Regency, Cambridge

   469

Hartford/Rocky Hill(1)

   251   

Michigan

    

Florida

       

The Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn

   308

Fort Lauderdale Marina

   579   

Detroit Livonia

   224

Harbor Beach Resort(1)(2)

   637   

Minnesota

    

Miami Airport(1)

   772   

Minneapolis City Center

   583

Miami Biscayne Bay(1)

   601   

Minneapolis Southwest(2)

   321

Orlando World Center Resort

   2,000   

Missouri

    

Singer Island Hilton

   223   

Kansas City Airport(1)

   382

Tampa Airport(1)

   296   

New Hampshire

    

Tampa Waterside

   717   

Nashua

   245

Tampa Westshore(1)

   310   

New Jersey

    

The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island

   449   

Hanover

   353

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples

   463   

Newark Airport(1)

   591

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples Golf Resort

   295   

Park Ridge(1)

   289

Georgia

       

New Mexico

    

Atlanta Marquis

   1,675   

Albuquerque(1)

   411

 

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Location


   Rooms

New York

    

Albany(2)

   359

New York Financial Center

   504

New York Marquis(1)

   1,944

Swissôtel, The Drake

   495

North Carolina

    

Charlotte Executive Park

   297

Greensboro/Highpoint(1)

   299

Raleigh Crabtree Valley

   375

Research Triangle Park

   225

Ohio

    

Dayton

   399

Oregon

    

Portland

   503

Pennsylvania

    

Four Seasons, Philadelphia

   364

Philadelphia Convention Center (2)

   1,408

Philadelphia Airport(1)

   419

Tennessee

    

Memphis

   393

Texas

    

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport

   491

Dallas Quorum(1)

   548

Houston Airport(1)

   565

Houston Medical Center(1)

   386
      

JW Marriott Houston

   514

San Antonio Rivercenter(1)

   1,001
      

Location


   Rooms

Texas (continued)

    

San Antonio Riverwalk(1)

   512

Utah

    

Salt Lake City(1)

   510

Virginia

    

Dulles Airport(1)

   368

Fairview Park

   395

Hyatt Regency, Reston

   517

Key Bridge(1)

   583

Pentagon City Residence Inn

   299

The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner(1)

   398

Washington Dulles Suites

   253

Westfields

   336

Washington

    

Seattle SeaTac Airport

   459

Washington, D.C.

    

JW Marriott, Washington, D.C.

   772

Washington Metro Center

   456

Canada

    

Calgary

   384

Toronto Airport(2)

   424

Toronto Eaton Center(1)

   459

Toronto Delta Meadowvale

   374

Mexico

    

JW Marriott, Mexico City(2)

   311
      
    

Total

   56,931
    

(1)   The land on which this hotel is built is leased under one or more long-term lease agreements.
(2)   This property is not wholly owned by us.

 

Other Real Estate Investments

 

In addition to our 113 full-service hotels, we maintain investments, which are not consolidated in our financial statements, in a joint venture and partnerships that in the aggregate own four full-service hotels, 120 limited-service hotels, the Tiburon Golf Club, and other investments. Typically, we manage these investments and conduct business through a combination of general and limited partnership and limited liability company interests. As of December 31, 2003, the combined balance sheets of these investments included approximately $1.2 billion in assets and $0.9 billion in debt, principally first mortgages on hotel properties, senior notes secured by the ownership interests in the partnership and mezzanine debt. All of the debt of these entities is non-recourse to us and our subsidiaries.

 

We also have a leasehold interest in 53 Courtyard by Marriott properties and 18 Residence Inns, which, in a series of related transactions, were sold to Hospitality Properties Trust and leased back prior to 1997. As part of our conversion to a REIT, these properties were subleased to Barceló Crestline Corporation, formerly Crestline Capital Corporation (“Crestline”). The initial term of these leases expire between 2010 and 2012 and are renewable at our option.

 

For a more detailed discussion of our other real estate investments, including a summary of the outstanding debt balances of our affiliates, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition—Investments in Affiliates” and Notes 3 and 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements—”Investments in Affiliates” and “Leases.”

 

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Environmental and Regulatory Matters

 

Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances on, under or in such property. These laws may impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. In addition, certain environmental laws and common law principles could be used to impose liability for release of asbestos-containing materials, and third parties may seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury associated with exposure to released asbestos-containing materials. Environmental laws also may impose restrictions on the manner in which property may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require corrective or other expenditures. In connection with our current or prior ownership or operation of hotels, we may be potentially liable for various environmental costs or liabilities. Although we are currently not aware of any material environmental claims pending or threatened against us, we can offer no assurance that a material environmental claim will not be asserted against us in the future.

 

Material Agreements

 

Substantially all of our hotels are managed and operated by third parties pursuant to management agreements with our lessee subsidiaries. The initial term of our management agreements is generally 15 to 20 years with one or more renewal terms. Our management agreements with our operators typically include the terms described below.

 

  ·   General.    Under each management agreement, the manager provides comprehensive management services to the applicable lessee.

 

  ·   Operational services.    The managers generally have sole responsibility and exclusive authority for all activities necessary for the day-to-day operation of the hotels, including establishing all room rates, processing reservations, procuring inventories, supplies and services, providing periodic inspection and consultation visits to the hotels by the managers’ technical and operational experts and promoting and publicizing of the hotels. The manager receives compensation in the form of a base management fee, typically 3% and calculated as a percentage of gross revenues, and an incentive management fee, typically calculated as a percentage (10% to 50%) of operating profit, up to certain limits (typically 20% of cumulative operating profit), after the owner has received a priority return on its investment in the hotel.

 

  ·   Executive supervision and management services.    The managers provide all managerial and other employees for the hotels, review the operation and maintenance of the hotels, prepare reports, budgets and projections, provide other administrative and accounting support services to the hotel, such as planning and policy services, financial planning, divisional financial services, risk management services, product planning and development, employee staffing and training, corporate executive management, legislative and governmental representation and certain in-house legal services, and protect trademarks, trade-names and service marks.

 

  ·   Chain services.    The management agreements require the manager to furnish chain services that are generally furnished on a centralized basis. Such services include: (1) the development and operation of certain computer systems and reservation services, (2) regional management and administrative services, regional marketing and sales services, regional training services, manpower development and relocation of regional personnel and (3) such additional central or regional services as may from time to time be more efficiently performed on a regional or group basis rather than at an individual hotel. Costs and expenses incurred in providing these services are generally allocated among all hotels managed by the manager or its affiliates.

 

  ·  

Working capital and fixed asset supplies.    Our management agreements typically require us to maintain working capital for each hotel and to fund the cost of certain fixed asset supplies (for example, linen,

 

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china, glassware, silver and uniforms). We are also responsible for providing funds to meet the cash needs for hotel operations if at any time the funds available from hotel operations are insufficient to meet the financial requirements of the hotels.

 

  ·   Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment replacements.    Under the agreements, we are required to provide to the manager all necessary furniture, fixtures and equipment for the operation of the hotels (including funding any required furniture, fixtures and equipment replacements). The management agreements generally provide that, on an annual basis, the manager will prepare a list of furniture, fixtures and equipment to be acquired and certain routine repairs and maintenance to be performed in the next year and an estimate of the funds that are necessary, which is subject to our review or approval. For purposes of funding the furniture, fixtures and equipment replacements, a specified percentage (typically 5%) of the gross revenues of the hotel is deposited by the manager in an escrow account. However, for 78 of our hotels, we have entered into an agreement with Marriott International to allow us to fund such expenditures directly as incurred from one account which we control, subject to maintaining a minimum balance of the greater of $29 million, or 30% of total annual specified contributions, rather than escrowing funds at accounts at each hotel.

 

  ·   Building alterations, improvements and renewals.    The management agreements require the manager to prepare an annual estimate of the expenditures necessary for major repairs, alterations, improvements, renewals and replacements to the structural, mechanical, electrical, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, plumbing and vertical transportation elements of each hotel which we are required to review and approve based on their recommendations and our judgment. In addition to the foregoing, the management agreements generally provide that the manager may propose such changes, alterations and improvements to the hotel as are required, in the manager’s reasonable judgment, to keep the hotel in a competitive, efficient and economical operating condition consistent with the manager’s brand standards, over which we also have approval authority.

 

  ·   Sale of the hotel.    Most of the management agreements limit our ability to sell, lease or otherwise transfer the hotels by requiring that the transferee assume the related management agreements and meet specified other conditions, including the condition that the transferee not be a competitor of the manager.

 

  ·   Service marks.    During the term of the management agreements, the service mark, symbols and logos used by the manager may be used in the operation of the hotel. Any right to use the service marks, logo and symbols and related trademarks at a hotel will terminate with respect to that hotel upon termination of the management agreement with respect to such hotel.

 

  ·   Termination fee.    While most of our management agreements are not terminable prior to their full term in connection with casualties, condemnations or the sale of the related hotels, we have negotiated rights to terminate management agreements in connection with the sale of Marriott-branded hotels within certain limitations, including a pool of 46 hotels, 75% of which (as measured by EBITDA) may be sold free and clear of their existing management agreements over a ten year period.

 

  ·   Performance Termination.    Many of the management agreements provide for termination rights in the case of a manager’s failure to meet certain financial performance criteria. Similarly, certain of the management agreements condition the manager’s right to extend the term upon satisfaction of certain financial performance criteria.

 

Employees

 

On February 15, 2004, we had 182 employees, including approximately 27 employees at the Sacramento Airport Host hotel. Fourteen of our employees at the Sacramento Airport Host hotel are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that is subject to review and renewal on a regular basis. Employees at our other hotels are employed by our management companies.

 

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Certain of our third-party managed hotels also are covered by collective bargaining agreements that are subject to review and renewal on a regular basis. We believe that we and our managers generally have good relations with labor unions at our hotels. We and our managers have not experienced any material business interruptions as a result of labor disputes.

 

Certain Policies

 

The following is a discussion of our policies with respect to investments, financing, lending and certain other activities. Our policies with respect to these activities are determined by our Board of Directors and may be amended or revised from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

 

Investment Policies

 

Investments in Real Estate or Interests in Real Estate.    We are required to conduct all of our investment activities through Host LP. Our investment objectives are to:

 

  ·   achieve long-term sustainable growth in Funds From Operations per diluted share and cash flow;

 

  ·   maximize the va