John Murray
Analyst · B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead
Thank you, Kristin and good morning. Our first quarter operating results reflect the continuing impact of the pandemic on the economy and especially on hotels and certain services retail businesses. As you know, we transitioned the branding and management of over 200 hotels to Sonesta during the past two quarters. The disruption driven by these transitions, coupled with normal seasonality and more restrictive government lockdowns through February had a negative impact on our hotel results that weighed on our overall results for the quarter. Despite current challenges, we are optimistic for a number of reasons lockdowns are easing in the growing number of states, more of the population is now vaccinated, and airlines are increasing flights this summer. So we see a light at the end of the tunnel for a return to a new normal. While we expect modest disruption to our second quarter results from recently transitioned hotels, we are encouraged by recent increases in demand and booking activity. Year-over-year comparisons look more favorable as occupancy levels exceeded prior year for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March and particularly each demand and drive to and resort markets has recovered meaningfully with properties like a Royal Sonesta San Juan, Sonesta Hilton and Sonesta Fort Lauderdale posting occupancy in excess of 80% in recent weeks. Business transit demand increases are likely to be more gradual not making a material contribution until 2022 and thereafter. In the near term at least group meetings will likely allow for a combination of in person and video attendance with proof of vaccination or negative COVID testing are requirement for attending. Our suburban extended stay hotels continue to outperform our urban full service and business focus select service hotels a trend we have seen throughout the pandemic. Our extended stay hotels continue to have a significant occupancy premium to non-extended stay hotels with our 165 extended stay hotels reporting occupancies of 54.5% during the quarter compared with occupancies of 31.2% to 28.7% respectively for our 94 select service and 51 full service hotels. We expect our diverse portfolio of suburban extended stay hotels will continue to outperform our hotels until business travel recovers. Importantly approximately 41% waiting rooms and extended stay hotels has positioned us well and helped to mitigate cash burn rates. The seasonally weak first quarter average occupancy for our comparable hotels was 40.1%, average daily rate was $87.19 and RevPar $34.96, each roughly flat with the fourth quarter as a result of the initially negative impact of the ADA transitions from Marion in February launch. However, results have trended upward on a monthly basis since year end with accuracy increases to 46.6% in March and 51% in April, compared to a low of 33.1% in December 2020. I think it will be helpful to update you on some aspects the operator, the largest number of our hotels. First of all, it is important to keep in mind the Sonesta and its capabilities are for different and improved today than they were when we first announced we will be taking back hotels last year. Back then, Sonesta was a small and independent hotel company that managed 53 hotels with 9600 rooms for us in the upscale extended stay and upscale and upper upscale full service segments. At that time, Sonesta employed approximately 800 people in its small corporate offices in Massachusetts. Sonesta currently manages 256 hotels with over 41,000 rooms for us in the extended stay, select service and full service segments, which range from midscale to upper upscale hotels. In addition, Sonesta recently acquired Red Lion hotels, which franchises approximately 900 hotels with over 100,000 rooms. Today Sonesta is one of the largest hotel management companies in the U.S., and it is the eighth largest hotel brand and franchise company in America. Sonesta currently operates 15 different brands and is close to 1300 hotels with over 140,000 rooms with the majority of them located in the U.S. With this massive increase in size Sonesta has also upgraded its management team with several recent management additions that have significant hotel industry experience. Today Sonesta employs approximately 6200 people and maintains his corporate offices in three locations spread across the U.S., New Massachusetts, Orlando, Florida and Denver, Colorado. Now I will provide more specific color on the hotels that we transition to Sonesta in the fourth quarter 2020, which included 112 hotels. Sonesta has now managed these hotels for a full quarter. And we are genuinely pleased with the progress to-date. Comparing the results of these hotels from March 2021 to results in October of 2020 the last stabilized months prior to the transitions Redbox with 102 former IHD hotels is slightly above the October levels at $43.61 despite lingering transition challenges. For the 97 Marriott Hotels, it's too soon to make relevant comparisons because most of those hotels were transferred in February-March. But early indications are showing the same trends we saw with the IHD transition. While the transition of hotels to a new manager is always just disruptive and it has been difficult to build Sonesta brand awareness during the pandemic we believe the worst of the transition disruption is behind us and Sonesta brand awareness is starting to grow. Nevertheless, even before hotel industry demand fully recovers Sonesta is starting to realize the benefits of its much larger scale. For example, Sonesta's increased sizes enabling it to significantly lower per transaction reservation costs to their own network as well as through the OTAs in the area is 15% to 20% savings versus last year. In short we believe that wants to transition management fully behind us and hotel industry demand improves further Sonesta will deliver solid results on both the top line and bottom line. In fact, we believe that this new largest Sonesta is positioned to perform as well as if not better than some of the larger more established hotel brand companies especially in the post-COVID world with less business travel and more competition for every marginal customer. SVC is also well positioned to participate in any upside realized by the creation of Sonesta as a major hotel brand and franchise company through its 34% ownership in the business. I also want to provide an update on our relationship with Hyatt. As you know, Hyatt sent SVC a termination letter in January, the effective date of which has been extended to May 22. We're attempting to negotiate mutually agreeable path forward for some or all of these hotels under this management agreement. And we are reasonably optimistic about how this is going. If we're unable to reach an agreement, these 22 hotels will transition to Sonesta by the end of the second quarter. For all of our recently transitioned hotels, we have entered short term management agreements with Sonesta through December 31, 2021 to allow for a thorough review of the highest and best use and renovation needs of each hotel. Turning to our net lease assets travel centers of America which represents about 27% of our total portfolio based on investment has continued to perform well for the pandemic and remain [courtyards] and its rent obligation choice, property level coverage [indiscernible] TA locations was 1.4 times this quarter. Rent collections from our net lease portfolio including TA were 93.1% during the first quarter and our service retail asset management team continues to work with our net lease attendants most affected by reopening and occupancy restrictions. Request for deferrals have slowed significantly and rent collections have stabilized. However, we continue to work with certain tenants in the hardest hit industries like movie theaters, as they reopen in accordance with easing lockdown restrictions. I believe we are past the worst of the COVID crisis. However, we continue to take steps to preserve capital and solidify our liquidity including drawing down the remainder of our revolving credit facility in January, maintaining nominal dividend, deferring non essential capital spending, working with our operators to control costs and completing selected assets sales. Supported by steady cash flow from TA and our net lease portfolio, we are well capitalized with ample liquidity and well-positioned with a diverse portfolio of assets to successfully navigate the gradual recovery [indiscernible]. We are confident that the early improving operating trends we're seeing in our hotel portfolio will continue to gain momentum as we finish out the second quarter and the balance of 2021. With that, I'll turn the call over to Todd to discuss our net lease portfolio in further detail as well as our recent transaction activity.