Justin Knight
Analyst · KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead
Thank you, Kelly. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. Performance across our portfolio of hotels during the first quarter was steady and generally in line with our expectations. Comparable hotels RevPAR increased by 0.1% in the quarter, driven by 1.2% increase in average daily rate and adjusted EBITDA grew approximately 0.5% for the quarter. Our asset management and on-site management teams have done an exceptional job during this period of moderate topline growth to maximize profitability through strategic revenue management and effective cost control measures. That in mind, we are pleased to report a strong comparable hotels adjusted hotel EBITDA margin of 36% for the quarter. Our 2019 guidance was updated to reflect our performance to-date and adoption of a new lease accounting standard, which Bryan will discuss in greater detail. We continue to anticipate demand growth will remain healthy, new supply will continue to impact property level performance in several of our markets and there will be continued cost and wage pressures during the year. Given the size, quality, diversification and effective wage of our portfolio of rooms focused hotels and the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet, we remain confident, we are well positioned to maximize operating results and pursue opportunities in the marketplace as they arise. We are pleased to have completed the sale of nine hotels, totalling just over 1,000 guest rooms during the quarter for $95 million. We achieved a attractive pricing for the portfolio, and through the transactions, we reduced our exposure to certain lower RevPAR markets, which we believe will enhance the long-term strength and stability of our remaining hospitality platform. We acquired two hotels during the quarter, the existing Hampton Inn & Suites in St. Paul, Minnesota and the newly constructed Home2 Suites in Orlando, Florida, for a combined total of $52 million. Currently, we have five hotels under contract for acquisition, all of which are under development for an aggregate expected purchase price of $159 million. We have highlighted four of the hotels under contract on previous calls, and they include: the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House in Tempe, Arizona and the Hampton Inn Suites and Home2 Suites in Cape Canaveral, Florida. We anticipate construction of these four hotels will be completed in 2020. Most recently, we entered into a purchase contract for a Courtyard to be built in downtown Denver, Colorado with an expected completion date of 2021. The hotel is planned for the Union Station LoDo of neighborhood in downtown, Denver. Vibrant location with an abundance of demand drivers is within walking distance of the Union Station and Coors Field among many other attractions and businesses. We believe that through these transactions, we will be able to continue to enhance our market mix and the value of our overall portfolio. Although, the strength of the broader economy continues to drive demand for travel, new supply remains a headwind for our portfolio in many of our markets. At the end of the first quarter, approximately 66.2% of our properties had one or more upper mid-scale, upscale or upper upscale new construction projects within a five mile radius, which represents an uptick from what we reported at the end of the fourth quarter. As construction costs continue to rise, we remain optimistic that new supply will begin to peak over the next year, year-and-a-half and begin to represent less of a headwind for us. With the strength of our brands, our consistent reinvestment, our locations within markets and the quality of our on-site management teams, we are confident that our portfolio is uniquely positioned to remain competitive over the long term. Despite near term increased competition from newly opened hotels. Consistent reinvestment in our hotels enables us to maintain competitive positioning within our markets and helps to mitigate the impact of competing new supply. In addition to cyclical renovations at our hotels, we continually seek opportunities to implement environmental efficiency enhancements, including the equipment upgrades and replacements, the reduced energy and water consumption, and improve waste management. By investing in proven sustainability practices, we are able to enhance operating performance at our hotels, while reducing the negative impact of our business on the environment. Our team is also continually evaluating opportunities to enhance the competitive positioning of our properties and drive incremental return on our investments. During the first quarter, the Company invested approximately $19 million in renovations and we plan to spend an additional $60 million to $70 million during the remainder of 2019, which includes the beginning of the renovation at our full-service Marriott in Richmond, Virginia. Also of note, we have property improvement plans that will be completed in the second quarter for our recently purchased Atlanta and Memphis Hampton Inn & Suites. These hotels are well located and strong performers, and despite the short-term disruption will benefit from the reinvestment, as each of their markets continue to drive increased demand from demographic shifts and steady investments and amenities and attractions. Our portfolio of 234 hotels is broadly diversified across 87 US markets to reduce volatility and provide exposure to a variety of industries and demand generators. I will now hand the call over to Krissy to provide additional detail regarding performance across our markets during the first quarter of 2019.