Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)

File Number 333-168686

 

 

 

		Per Share				Total
Initial public offering price		$	9.7500			$	253,500,000
Underwriting discounts and commissions		$	0.6825			$	17,745,000
Proceeds, before expenses, to us		$	9.0675			$	235,755,000

Deutsche Bank Securities	Baird	RBC Capital Markets

KeyBanc Capital Markets	Morgan Keegan

 

 

 

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

 

This prospectus contains registered trademarks that are the exclusive property of their respective owners, which are companies other than us, including Marriott International, Inc., or Marriott, Hilton Worldwide, or Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, or IHG, Hyatt Corporation, or Hyatt, Choice Hotels International, Inc., or Choice, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Inc., and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or Starwood. None of the owners of the trademarks appearing in this prospectus, their parents, subsidiaries or affiliates or any of their respective officers, directors, members, managers, stockholders, owners, agents or employees, which we refer to collectively as the “trademark owners,” is an issuer or underwriter of the shares being offered hereby, plays (or will play) any role in the offer or sale of our shares or has any responsibility for the creation or contents of this prospectus. In addition, none of the trademark owners has or will have any liability or responsibility whatsoever arising out of or related to the sale or offer of the shares being offered hereby, including any liability or responsibility for any financial statements, projections or other financial information or other information contained in this prospectus or otherwise disseminated in connection with the offer or sale of the shares offered by this prospectus. You must understand that, if you purchase our common stock in this offering, your sole recourse for any alleged or actual impropriety relating to the offer and sale of the common stock and the operation of our business will be against us (and/or, as may be applicable, the seller of such shares) and in no event may you seek to impose liability arising from or related to such activity, directly or indirectly, upon any of the trademark owners.

 

WE WILL BE A PARTY TO A LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH THE SHERATON, LLC THAT WILL ENABLE A THIRD-PARTY HOTEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY ENGAGED BY US TO OPERATE A HOTEL USING THE SERVICE MARK “ALOFT ^sm.” NEITHER THE SHERATON, LLC NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OWNS SUCH HOTEL, IS A PARTICIPANT IN THIS OFFERING, OR HAS PROVIDED OR REVIEWED, OR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, ANY DISCLOSURES OR OTHER INFORMATION SET FORTH IN THIS PROSPECTUS.

 

We use market data and industry forecasts and projections throughout this prospectus, including data from publicly available information and industry publications. These sources generally state that the information they provide has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but that the accuracy and completeness of the information are not guaranteed. The forecasts and projections are based on industry surveys and the preparers’ experience in the industry and there can be no assurance that any of the projections will be achieved. We believe that the surveys and market research others have performed are reliable, but we have not independently verified this information.

 

Summary

		Month Ended												Year Ended												Three Months Ended
		January 31,								Percentage				December 31,								Percentage				December 31,								Percentage
		2011				2010				Change				2010				2009				Change				2010				2009				Change
Seasoned Hotels (46 hotels):
Occupancy			52.0	%			53.4	%			(2.6	)%			64.1	%			64.8	%			(1.1	)%			57.2	%			59.2	%			(3.4	)%
ADR		$	92.73			$	85.74				8.2	%		$	87.75			$	87.42				0.4	%		$	87.00			$	83.63				4.0	%
RevPAR		$	48.22			$	45.79				5.3	%		$	56.22			$	56.63				(0.7	)%		$	49.73			$	49.49				0.5	%
Unseasoned Hotels (19 hotels):
Occupancy			54.1	%			47.1	%			14.9	%			63.1	%			55.3	%			14.0	%			59.5	%			49.7	%			19.7	%
ADR		$	87.46			$	85.12				2.7	%		$	87.29			$	87.58				(0.3	)%		$	85.99			$	85.37				0.7	%
RevPAR		$	47.32			$	40.09				18.0	%		$	55.06			$	48.47				13.6	%		$	51.14			$	42.45				20.5	%
Aggregate Portfolio (65 hotels):
Occupancy			52.7	%			51.1	%			3.1	%			63.7	%			61.9	%			2.9	%			58.0	%			55.8	%			3.9	%
ADR		$	90.78			$	85.53				6.1	%		$	87.59			$	87.40				0.2	%		$	86.63			$	84.17				2.9	%
RevPAR		$	47.84			$	43.71				9.4	%		$	55.80			$	54.12				3.1	%		$	50.24			$	47.01				6.9	%

	§	Our business strategy depends significantly on achieving revenue and net income growth from anticipated increases in demand for hotel rooms—any delay or a weaker than anticipated economic recovery will adversely affect our future results of operations and our growth prospects.
	§	Our unseasoned hotels have limited operating history and may not achieve the operating performance we anticipate, and as a result, our overall returns may not improve as we expect or may decline.
	§	We have no operating history as a publicly traded REIT and may not be successful in operating as a publicly traded REIT, which may adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

	§	Our ability to pay our estimated initial annual distribution, which represents 100% of our estimated cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending September 30, 2011, depends upon our actual operating results and we may have to borrow funds to pay this distribution or reduce the distribution.
	§	Our success depends on key personnel whose continued service is not guaranteed.
	§	We may be unable to complete acquisitions that would grow our business, and even if they are completed, we may fail to successfully integrate and operate such acquired hotels.
	§	Upon completion of this offering and the formation transactions, the management of all of the hotels in our portfolio will be concentrated in one hotel management company, Interstate Management Company, LLC, or Interstate, and termination of our hotel management agreement with that company may cause us to pay substantial termination fees or experience significant disruptions at our hotels.
	§	Funds spent to maintain franchisor operating standards, the loss of a franchise license or a decline in the value of a franchise brand may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.
	§	We will rely on external sources of capital to fund future capital needs, and if we encounter difficulty in obtaining such capital we may not be able to make future acquisitions necessary to grow our business or meet maturing obligations.
	§	We have a significant amount of debt, and our organizational documents have no limitation on the amount of additional indebtedness that we may incur in the future. As a result, we may become highly leveraged in the future, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
	§	The agreements governing our indebtedness place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries, reducing operational flexibility and creating default risks.
	§	We may not be able to obtain a $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility on the indicative terms and conditions described in this prospectus or at all.
	§	Our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, and other members of our management team exercised significant influence with respect to the terms of the formation transactions, including transactions in which they determined the compensation they would receive.
	§	Competition from other upscale and midscale without food and beverage hotels in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
	§	Our operating results and ability to make distributions to our stockholders may be adversely affected by the markets in which we operate and risks inherent to the ownership of hotels.
	§	Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of hotels in which we may invest or to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions, and, therefore, may harm our financial condition.
	§	We may change the distribution policy with respect to our common stock in the future.
	§	The cash available for distribution may not be sufficient to make distributions at expected levels, and we cannot assure you of our ability to make distributions in the future. We may use borrowed funds or funds from other sources to make distributions, which may adversely impact our operations.
	§	We may use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement to make distributions to our stockholders, if necessary to permit us to satisfy the requirements for qualification as a REIT and eliminate federal income and excise taxes that otherwise would be imposed on us, which would, among other things, reduce our cash available for investing.
	§	If you purchase shares of common stock in this offering, you will experience immediate dilution.
	§	Failure to qualify as a REIT, or failure to remain qualified as a REIT, would cause us to be taxed as a regular corporation, which would substantially reduce funds available for distributions to our stockholders.

	§	RevPAR Growth. We believe our hotels will experience significant revenue growth as lodging industry fundamentals recover from the economic recession which caused industry-wide RevPAR to suffer a combined 18.4% decline in 2008 and 2009, according to Smith Travel Research. Industry conditions have shown improvement during 2010, with RevPAR growth across all segments of 5.5% as compared to 2009, according to Smith Travel Research. Our target segments have outperformed other segments in the past, and Colliers PKF Hospitality Research forecasts significant compound annual growth in RevPAR from 2010 to 2014 of 7.1% for the upscale segment and 8.2% for the midscale without food and beverage segment, among the largest for any segment in the industry.
	§	Consistently Strong and Growing Demand. Over the last twenty years, our market segments have demonstrated the strongest compounded growth in demand of all segments of the lodging industry, and strong demand growth is expected to continue.

	§	More Stable Cash Flow Potential. Our hotels can be operated with fewer employees than full-service hotels that offer more expansive food and beverage options, which we believe enables us to generate more consistent cash flows with less volatility resulting from reductions in RevPAR and less dependence on group travel.
	§	Broad Customer Base. Our target brands deliver consistently high-quality hotel accommodations with value-oriented pricing that we believe appeals to a wider range of customers, including both business and leisure travelers, than more expensive full-service hotels. We believe that our hotels are particularly popular with frequent business travelers who seek to stay in hotels operating under Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt or IHG brands, which offer strong loyalty rewards program points that can be redeemed for family travel.
	§	Enhanced Diversification. Premium-branded limited-service and select-service assets generally cost significantly less, on a per-key basis, than hotels in the midscale with food and beverage, upper upscale and luxury segments of the industry. As a result, we can diversify our ownership into a larger number of hotels than we could in other segments.

	§	have potential for strong risk-adjusted returns located in the top 50 MSAs, with a secondary focus on the next 100 markets;
	§	operate under leading franchise brands, which may include but are not limited to brands owned by Marriott, Hilton, IHG and Hyatt;
	§	are located in close proximity to multiple demand generators, including businesses and corporate headquarters, retail centers, airports, medical facilities, tourist attractions and convention centers, with a diverse source of potential guests, including corporate, government and leisure travelers;
	§	are located in markets exhibiting barriers to entry due to strong franchise areas of protection or other factors;
	§	can be acquired at a discount to replacement cost; and
	§	provide an opportunity to add value through operating efficiencies, repositioning, renovating or rebranding.

	§	We will sell 26,000,000 shares of our common stock in this offering.

	§	Concurrently with this offering, we will sell in a separate private placement to an affiliate of IHG 1,274,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $9.0675 per share. The closing of the concurrent private placement is contingent upon the completion of this offering; however, the closing of this offering is not contingent upon the closing of the concurrent private placement.

	§	We will contribute the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement to our operating partnership in exchange for OP units. We will continue to be, through a wholly owned subsidiary, the sole general partner of our operating partnership and will own an approximate 73.0% (75.5% if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) partnership interest in our operating partnership, including general and limited partnership interests, upon completion of the formation transactions, this offering and the concurrent private placement.

	§	Our predecessor will merge with and into our operating partnership, which will be the survivor of the merger. Pursuant to the merger, our predecessor’s members, including two of our executive officers and their affiliates as described below, will receive an aggregate of 9,993,992 OP units having an aggregate assumed value of approximately $97.4 million based on the IPO price. The total number of OP units to be issued to our predecessor’s members in the merger reflects our predecessor’s 100% ownership of 63 of our initial hotels prior to the merger and its ownership of a 49% Class A membership interest in Summit of Scottsdale, the owner of two Scottsdale, Arizona hotels prior to the merger. Of the 9,993,992 OP units to be issued in the merger, our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, and his affiliates, including The Summit Group, will receive an aggregate of 1,443,050 OP units having an aggregate assumed value of approximately $14.1 million based on the IPO price. On November 30, 2010, our predecessor’s members approved the merger. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including obtaining all required third-party consents and approvals and completion of this offering. The closing of the merger is not conditioned on the completion of the concurrent private placement. In addition to the OP units issued in the merger, our operating partnership will issue an aggregate of 106,008 OP units to The Summit Group and an unaffiliated third-party investor in the Summit of Scottsdale transaction described below. In aggregate, our operating partnership will issue 10,100,000 OP units in connection with the merger and the Summit of Scottsdale transaction described below.

	§	The Summit Group will contribute its 36% Class B membership interest in Summit of Scottsdale to our operating partnership in exchange for 74,829 OP units having an aggregate assumed value of approximately $729,600 based on the IPO price. An unaffiliated third-party investor will contribute its 15% Class C membership interest in Summit of Scottsdale to our operating partnership in exchange for 31,179 OP units having an aggregate assumed value of approximately $304,000 based on the IPO price. The contributions of the Class B and Class C membership interests in Summit of Scottsdale are subject to customary closing conditions, including obtaining all required third-party consents and approvals and completion of this offering. The closing of these contributions is not conditioned on the completion of the concurrent private placement.

	§	Upon completion of the merger and the contributions described above, our operating partnership and certain subsidiaries of our operating partnership will become the sole owners of our 65 initial hotels and will enter into new lease agreements with our TRS lessees with respect to the 65 hotels in our initial portfolio.
	§	The Summit Group will assign all of the hotel management agreements pursuant to which it managed the hotels owned by our predecessor to Interstate for consideration payable to The Summit Group of $12.75 million, and our TRS lessees will enter into a hotel management agreement with Interstate pursuant to which those hotels will be operated. Interstate has advised us that it expects to offer continued employment to nearly all of the employees of The Summit Group responsible for the day-to-day operations of our hotels prior to the formation transactions.
	§	Our operating partnership intends to use the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement as follows: (1) approximately $227.0 million to repay or extinguish existing indebtedness that we will assume following completion of the formation transactions, including estimated costs related to this debt repayment totaling approximately $3.2 million; (2) approximately $10.0 million to fund capital improvements at our initial hotels; and (3) the balance for general corporate and working capital purposes, including possible future acquisitions of hotels.

(1)		Amount includes 4,000 shares of our common stock to be issued to our independent directors pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan upon completion of this offering.
(2)		We expect to form another TRS to be the sole member of the TRS lessees that will lease the borrowing base properties securing the $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility that we expect to enter into after the closing of the formation transactions, this offering and the concurrent private placement.
(3)		Upon completion of the formation transactions, our operating partnership will own 25 of our 65 hotel properties and will lease these hotel properties to our TRS lessees.

	§	employment agreements that will provide for salary, bonus and other benefits, including severance benefits in the event of a termination of employment in certain circumstances (see “Management—Employment Agreements”);
	§	options to purchase an aggregate of 940,000 shares of our common stock, exercisable at the IPO price, will be granted to our named executive officers upon completion of this offering pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (see “Management—Compensation of Named Executive Officers”);
	§	agreements providing for indemnification by us for certain liabilities and expenses incurred as a result of actions brought, or threatened to be brought, against them as an officer and/or director of our company (see “Management—Indemnification Agreements” and “Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and of Our Charter and Bylaws”); and
	§	redemption and registration rights under our operating partnership’s partnership agreement with respect to OP units to be issued in the formation transactions (see “Description of the Partnership Agreement” and “Shares Eligible for Future Sale”).

	§	beneficially owning shares of our capital stock to the extent that such beneficial ownership would result in our being “closely held” within the meaning of Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of the taxable year);

	§	transferring shares of our capital stock to the extent that such transfer would result in shares of our capital stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons (determined under the principles of Section 856(a)(5) of the Code);
	§	beneficially or constructively owning shares of our capital stock to the extent such beneficial or constructive ownership would cause us to constructively own ten percent or more of the ownership interests in a tenant (other than a TRS) of our real property within the meaning of Section 856(d)(2)(B) of the Code; or
	§	beneficially or constructively owning or transferring shares of our capital stock if such beneficial or constructive ownership or transfer would otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT under the Code, including, but not limited to, as a result of any hotel management companies failing to qualify as an “eligible independent contractor” under the REIT rules.

Common stock offered by us in this offering		26,000,000 shares

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering and the concurrent private placement		27,278,000 shares(1)

Common stock and OP units to be outstanding after this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions		37,378,000 shares and OP units(2)

Use of proceeds		We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of 26,000,000 shares of our common stock in this offering and 1,274,000 shares of our common stock in the concurrent private placement will be approximately $240.0 million (or approximately $275.4 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), after deducting the underwriting discount on the shares sold in this offering of approximately $17.7 million (or approximately $20.4 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) and estimated expenses related to this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions of approximately $7.3 million payable by us. We will contribute the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement to our operating partnership. Our operating partnership intends to use the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement as follows: (1) approximately $227.0 million to repay or extinguish existing indebtedness that we will assume upon completion of the formation transactions, including estimated related costs totaling approximately $3.2 million; (2) approximately $10.0 million to fund capital improvements at our hotels; and (3) the balance for general corporate and working capital purposes, including potential future hotel acquisitions. See “Use of Proceeds” for additional information.

Ownership and transfer restrictions		In order to assist us in qualifying as a REIT, our charter provides that, subject to certain exceptions, no person may beneficially or constructively own more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our common stock and places certain other restrictions on ownership of our stock.
NYSE symbol		“INN”

(1)		Immediately prior to the closing of this offering and the concurrent private placement, we will have a total of 1,000 shares of common stock outstanding. We sold these shares to our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, in connection with our formation and initial capitalization for total consideration of $1,000. At the closing of this offering and the concurrent private placement, we will repurchase these shares from Mr. Boekelheide for $1,000. The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding immediately after the repurchase of these shares and the closing of this offering and the concurrent private placement includes: (i) 26,000,000 shares of common stock to be sold in this offering, (ii) 1,274,000 shares of common stock to be sold in the concurrent private placement to an affiliate of IHG and (iii) an aggregate of 4,000 shares of common stock to be issued to our independent directors pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan upon completion of this offering. The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding immediately after the closing of this offering and the concurrent private placement excludes: (i) up to 3,900,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option; (ii) an aggregate of 940,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options that we will grant to our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel P. Hansen, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Aniszewski, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Stuart J. Becker, and our Vice President of Acquisitions, Ryan A. Bertucci, pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan upon completion of this offering; (iii) the shares of common stock remaining available for future issuance under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan after the stock awards to our independent directors and the option grants to our named executive officers, each of which is described above, have been made; and (iv) up to 10,100,000 shares of common stock issuable upon redemption of the 10,100,000 OP units to be issued by our operating partnership in the formation transactions.

(2)		Includes all of the shares of common stock identified in the fourth sentence of footnote (1) above, and 10,100,000 OP units to be issued in the formation transactions to our predecessor’s former members and the former Class B and Class C members of Summit of Scottsdale in exchange for their membership interests in those entities. Pursuant to the limited partnership agreement of our operating partnership, limited partners, other than us, will have redemption rights which will enable them to cause our operating partnership to redeem their OP units in exchange for cash or, at our operating partnership’s option, shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis. The number of shares of common stock issuable upon redemption of OP units may be adjusted upon the occurrence of certain events described under “Description of the Partnership Agreement—Redemption Rights.”

	§	the sale of 26,000,000 shares of our common stock in this offering at the IPO price and the sale of 1,274,000 shares of our common stock in the concurrent private placement at a price of $9.0675 per share for approximately $240.0 million of estimated net proceeds, after the deduction of the estimated underwriting discount on the shares sold in this offering of approximately $17.7 million and the payment by us of approximately $7.3 million of estimated expenses related to this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions;
	§	the merger of our predecessor with and into our operating partnership, with our predecessor as the acquirer for accounting purposes, and the issuance by our operating partnership of an aggregate of 9,993,992 OP units to the Class A, Class A-1, Class B and Class C members of our predecessor in exchange for their membership interests in our predecessor;
	§	the contribution to our operating partnership of the Class B and Class C membership interests in Summit of Scottsdale held by The Summit Group and an unaffiliated third-party investor in exchange for an aggregate of 106,008 OP units;
	§	the contribution of the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement to our operating partnership in exchange for OP units that represent an approximate 73.0% partnership interest in our operating partnership, including the sole general partnership interest;
	§	the repayment or extinguishment of approximately $223.8 million of outstanding indebtedness and the payment of estimated costs of approximately $3.2 million and expenses due to the write-off of deferred costs of approximately $0.4 million in connection with the retirement of this indebtedness; and
	§	the grant upon completion of this offering of an aggregate of 4,000 shares of our common stock to our independent directors and options to purchase an aggregate of 940,000 shares of our common stock to Messrs. Boekelheide, Hansen, Aniszewski, Becker and Bertucci pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan.

		Pro Forma
		as of September 30, 2010
		(unaudited)
Cash and cash equivalents		$	16,038
Property and equipment, net		$	454,983
Total assets		$	514,375
Mortgages and notes payable		$	198,425
Total liabilities		$	212,357
Stockholders’ equity		$	236,462
Noncontrolling interest		$	65,556
Total liabilities and equity		$	514,375

		Pro Forma				Pro Forma
		Nine Months Ended				Year Ended
		September 30, 2010				December 31, 2009
		(unaudited)				(unaudited)
Statement of Operations Data:
Revenue
Room revenues		$	102,874			$	118,960
Other hotel operations revenues			1,939				2,240
Total Revenue			104,813				121,200
Expenses(1)
Hotel operating expenses:
Rooms			30,677				36,720
Other direct			13,068				18,048
Other indirect			28,392				33,540
Other			460				681
Total hotel operating expenses			72,597				88,989
Depreciation and amortization			20,094				23,088
Corporate general and administrative:
Salaries and other compensation			2,093				2,805
Equity-based compensation			562				737
Other			1,380				1,840
Hotel property acquisition costs			130				1,389
Loss on impairment of assets			—				7,506
Total expenses			96,856				126,354
Income (loss) from operations			7,957				(5,154	)
Other Income (expense):
Interest income			36				50
Interest expense			(7,770	)			(9,052	)
Loss on disposal of assets			(40	)			(4	)
Total other expense			(7,774	)			(9,006	)
Income (loss) from continuing operations			183				(14,160	)
Net income (loss) before income taxes			183				(14,160	)
Income tax expense			(770	)			(840	)
Net loss		$	(587	)		$	(15,000	)

		Pro Forma				Pro Forma
		Nine Months Ended				Year Ended
		September 30, 2010				December 31, 2009
		(unaudited)				(unaudited)
Net loss allocated to noncontrolling interests		$	(159	)		$	(4,050	)
Net loss allocated to common stockholders		$	(428	)		$	(10,950	)
Pro forma net income (loss) per common share:
Basic		$	(0.02	)		$	(0.40	)
Diluted		$	(0.02	)		$	(0.40	)
Pro forma weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic			27,278,000				27,278,000
Diluted			27,278,000				27,278,000
Other Data:
FFO(2)		$	19,507			$	8,088
EBITDA(3)		$	28,011			$	17,930

(1)		Historically, our predecessor segregated its operating expenses (direct hotel operations expense, other hotel operating expense, general, selling and administrative expense and repairs and maintenance) from its other operating expenses, such as depreciation and amortization and impairment losses. Following completion of this offering, we intend to reclassify our operating expenses into categories of hotel operating expenses (room expenses, other direct expenses, other indirect expenses and other expenses) and reclassify our predecessor’s historical items of hotel operating expense to increase the comparability of our hotel operating expenses and our hotel operating results with those of other publicly traded hospitality REITs. Accordingly, historical balances included in our predecessor’s:

	§	direct hotel operations expense related to (1) wages, payroll taxes and benefits, linens, cleaning and guestroom supplies and complimentary breakfast will be reclassified to rooms expense in our consolidated statements of operations and (2) franchise fees will be reclassified to other indirect expense in our consolidated statements of operations;
	§	other hotel operating expenses related to (1) utilities and telephone will be reclassified to other direct expenses in our consolidated statements of operations and (2) real and personal property taxes, insurance and cable will be reclassified to other indirect expenses in our consolidated statements of operations;
	§	general, selling and administrative expenses related to (1) office supplies, advertising, miscellaneous operating expenses and bad debt expense will be reclassified to other direct expenses in our consolidated statements of operations, (2) credit card/travel agent commissions, management company expenses, management company legal and accounting fees and franchise fees will be reclassified to other indirect expenses in our consolidated statements of operations, (3) hotel development and startup costs will be reclassified to hotel property acquisition costs in our consolidated statements of operations and (4) ground rent and other miscellaneous expenses will be reclassified to other expenses in our consolidated statements of operations; and
	§	repairs and maintenance will be reclassified to other direct expenses in our consolidated statements of operations.

		On a pro forma basis, the reclassification reduces total hotel operating expenses (direct hotel operations expense, other hotel operating expense, general, selling and administrative expense and repairs and maintenance) by $130,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, which were reclassified to hotel operating costs. The reclassification does not impact amounts reported by our predecessor as total expenses (total hotel operating expenses, depreciation and amortization and loss on impairment of assets), income from operations, total other income, income (loss) from continuing operations, income (loss) from discontinued operations, net income (loss) before income taxes or net income (loss). See “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” for additional information.
(2)		As defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, funds from operations, or FFO, represents net income or loss (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of property, plus real estate depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs). We present FFO because we consider it an important supplemental measure of our operational performance and believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of REITs, many of which present FFO when reporting their results. FFO is intended to exclude GAAP historical cost depreciation and amortization of real estate and related assets, which assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes ratably over time. Historically, however, real estate values have risen or fallen with market conditions. Because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization unique to real estate, gains and losses from property dispositions and extraordinary items, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, reflects the impact to operations from trends in occupancy, room rates, operating costs, development activities and interest costs, providing perspective not immediately apparent from net income. We compute FFO in accordance with standards established by the Board of Governors of NAREIT in its March 1995 White Paper (as amended in November 1999 and April 2002), which may differ from the methodology for calculating FFO utilized by other equity REITs and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such other REITs. Further, FFO does not represent amounts available for management’s discretionary use because of needed capital replacement or expansion, debt service obligations, or other commitments and uncertainties. FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP) as an indicator of our liquidity, nor is it indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs, including our ability to pay dividends or make distributions.
		We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions of FFO may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, since not all companies calculate this non-GAAP measure in the same manner. FFO should not be considered as an alternative measure of our net income (loss) or operating performance. FFO may include funds that may not be available for our discretionary use due to functional requirements to conserve funds for capital expenditures and property acquisitions and other commitments and uncertainties. Although we believe that FFO can enhance your understanding of our financial condition and results of operations, this non-GAAP financial measure is not

		necessarily a better indicator of any trend as compared to a comparable GAAP measure such as net income (loss). Below, we include a quantitative reconciliation of pro forma FFO to the most directly comparable GAAP financial performance measure, which is pro forma net income (loss) (dollars in thousands):

		Pro Forma				Pro Forma
		Nine Months Ended				Year Ended
		September 30, 2010				December 31, 2009
Net loss		$	(587	)		$	(15,000	)
Depreciation and amortization			20,094				23,088
FFO		$	19,507			$	8,088

(3)		EBITDA represents net income or loss, excluding: (i) interest, (ii) income tax expense and (iii) depreciation and amortization. We believe EBITDA is useful to an investor in evaluating our operating performance because it provides investors with an indication of our ability to incur and service debt, to satisfy general operating expenses, to make capital expenditures and to fund other cash needs or reinvest cash into our business. We also believe it helps investors meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of our operations from period to period by removing the impact of our asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) from our operating results. Our management also uses EBITDA as one measure in determining the value of acquisitions and dispositions.
		We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions of EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, since not all companies calculate this non-GAAP measure in the same manner. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative measure of our net income (loss) or operating performance. EBITDA may include funds that may not be available for our discretionary use due to functional requirements to conserve funds for capital expenditures and property acquisitions and other commitments and uncertainties. Although we believe that EBITDA can enhance your understanding of our financial condition and results of operations, this non-GAAP financial measure is not necessarily a better indicator of any trend as compared to a comparable GAAP measure such as net income (loss). Below, we include a quantitative reconciliation of pro forma EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial performance measure, which is pro forma net income (loss) (dollars in thousands):

		Pro Forma				Pro Forma
		Nine Months Ended				Year Ended
		September 30, 2010				December 31, 2009
Net loss		$	(587	)		$	(15,000	)
Interest income			(36	)			(50	)
Interest expense			7,770				9,052
Income tax expense			770				840
Depreciation and amortization			20,094				23,088
EBITDA		$	28,011			$	17,930

 

An investment in our common stock involves risks. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the following risk factors, which address the material risks concerning our business and an investment in our common stock, together with the other information contained in this prospectus. If any of the risks discussed in this prospectus were to occur, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operation and our ability to service our debt and make distributions to our stockholders could be materially and adversely affected, the market price per share of our common stock could decline significantly and you could lose all or a part of your investment. Some statements in this prospectus, including statements in the following risk factors constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

Our business strategy depends significantly on achieving revenue and net income growth from anticipated increases in demand for hotel rooms—any delay or a weaker than anticipated economic recovery will adversely affect our future results of operations and our growth prospects.

 

Our hotel properties experienced declining operating performance across various U.S. markets during the recent economic recession. Our business strategy depends significantly on achieving revenue and net income growth from anticipated improvement in demand for hotel rooms as part of a future economic recovery. We, however, cannot provide any assurances that demand for hotel rooms will increase from current levels, or the time or extent of any demand growth that we do experience. If demand does not increase in the near future, or if demand weakens further, our operating results and growth prospects could be adversely affected. In particular, we already have reduced our operating expenses significantly in response to the recent economic recession and our ability to reduce operating expenses further to improve our operating performance is limited. As a result, any delay or a weaker than anticipated economic recovery will adversely affect our future results of operations and our growth prospects.

 

Our unseasoned hotels have limited, if any, operating history and may not achieve the operating performance we anticipate, and as a result, our overall returns may not improve as we expect or may decline.

 

Our unseasoned hotels have experienced extended stabilization periods as a result of the significant decline in general economic conditions. Consequently, many of these hotels continue to generate negative cash flow beyond our original expectations for them. Significant increases in anticipated hotel room supply or decreases in hotel room demand in the markets where any one or more of our unseasoned hotels are located could cause the operating performance of those hotels to be below our original plans for them. If macroeconomic conditions or conditions specific to their markets do not improve significantly or our anticipated improved results for these hotels do not otherwise materialize, our overall returns may not improve as we expect or may decline.

 

We have no operating history as a publicly traded REIT and may not be successful in operating as a publicly traded REIT, which may adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

We have no operating history as a publicly traded REIT. The REIT rules and regulations are highly technical and complex. We cannot assure you that our management team’s past experience will be sufficient to successfully operate our company as a publicly traded REIT, implement appropriate operating and investment policies and comply with Code or Treasury Regulations that are applicable to us. Failure to comply with the income, asset, and other requirements imposed by the REIT rules and regulations could prevent us from qualifying as a REIT, and could force us to pay unexpected taxes and penalties which may adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

Our success depends on key personnel whose continued service is not guaranteed.

 

We depend on the efforts and expertise of our management team to manage our day-to-day operations and strategic business direction. The loss of services from any of the members of our management team, particularly our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, and our President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel P. Hansen, and our inability to find suitable replacements on a timely basis could have an adverse effect on our operations.

We may be unable to complete acquisitions that would grow our business.

 

Our growth strategy includes the disciplined acquisition of hotels as opportunities arise. Our ability to acquire hotels on satisfactory terms or at all is subject to the following significant risks:

 

 

If we cannot complete hotel acquisitions on favorable terms or at all, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow, the market price per share of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and make distributions to our stockholders could be materially and adversely affected.

 

We may not be able to acquire the hotels we have under letter of intent.

 

We have not entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the 216-room hotel located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota that we have under a letter of intent. The letter of intent is non-binding and we cannot assure you that the seller will be willing to proceed with a transaction, that we will be able to negotiate and execute a satisfactory definitive purchase and sale agreement with the seller, that our due diligence will be satisfactory or that the conditions to closing will be satisfied.

 

We have not entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the 143-room hotel located in Duluth, Georgia and the 121-room hotel located in Glendale (Denver), Colorado that we have under a letter of intent. The letter of intent is non-binding and we cannot assure you that the seller will be willing to proceed with a transaction, that we will be able to negotiate and execute a satisfactory definitive purchase and sale agreement with the seller, that our due diligence will be satisfactory or that the conditions to closing will be satisfied.

 

We may fail to successfully integrate and operate newly acquired hotels.

 

Our ability to successfully integrate and operate newly acquired hotels is subject to the following risks:

 

 

If we cannot operate acquired hotels to meet our goals or expectations, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow, the market price per share of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and make distributions to our stockholders could be materially and adversely affected.

We may not succeed in managing our growth, in which case our financial results could be adversely affected.

 

Our ability to grow our business depends upon our management team’s business contacts and their ability to successfully hire, train, supervise and manage additional personnel. We may not be able to hire and train sufficient personnel or develop management, information and operating systems suitable for our expected growth. If we are unable to manage any future growth effectively, our operations and financial results could be adversely affected.

 

Upon completion of this offering and the formation transactions, the management of all of the hotels in our initial portfolio will be concentrated in one hotel management company.

 

Upon completion of this offering and the formation transactions, all of the hotels in our initial portfolio will be operated by Interstate. This significant concentration of credit and operational risk in one hotel management company makes us more vulnerable economically than if we entered into hotel management agreements with several hotel management companies. Any adverse developments in Interstate’s business and affairs, financial strength or ability to operate our hotels efficiently and effectively could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We cannot assure you that Interstate will have sufficient assets, income and access to financing and insurance coverage to enable it to satisfy its obligations to us or effectively and efficiently operate our initial hotel properties. The failure or inability of Interstate to satisfy its obligations to us or effectively and efficiently operate our initial hotel properties would materially reduce our revenues and net income, which could in turn reduce the amount of our distributable cash and cause the market price per share of our common stock to decline.

 

Termination of our hotel management agreement with Interstate may cause us to pay substantial termination fees or to experience significant disruptions at the affected hotels.

 

If we replace Interstate as the hotel manager of any of our hotels, we may be required to pay a substantial termination fee and we may experience significant disruptions at the affected hotel. If we experience disruptions at the affected hotel, our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Restrictive covenants and other provisions in hotel management and franchise agreements could preclude us from taking actions with respect to the sale, refinancing or rebranding of a hotel that would otherwise be in our best interest.

 

Hotel management and franchise agreements typically contain restrictive covenants and other provisions that do not provide us with flexibility to sell, refinance or rebrand a hotel without the consent of a manager or franchisor. For example, the terms of some of these agreements may restrict our ability to sell a hotel unless the purchaser is not a competitor of the hotel management company or franchisor, assumes the related agreement and meets specified other conditions. In addition, our franchise agreements restrict our ability to rebrand particular hotels without the consent of the franchisor, which could result in significant operational disruptions or possibly litigation if we do not obtain the consent. We could be forced to pay consent or possibly termination fees to hotel managers or franchisors under these agreements as a condition to changing management or franchise brands of our hotels, and these fees could deter us from taking actions that would otherwise be in our best interest or could cause us to incur substantial expense.

 

IHG is not obligated to refer acquisition opportunities to us and we may fail to realize any benefits from our sourcing agreement with IHG.

 

We consider IHG’s potential willingness to refer potential acquisition opportunities to us, in IHG’s sole discretion, to be an important component of our sourcing relationship with IHG. Under the terms of our agreement with it, however, IHG will not be obligated to refer any of these opportunities to us and there can be no assurance that the sourcing agreement will result in the completion of any transactions between us and IHG. As a result, we may not realize the benefits of this agreement in full or at all.

We may not be able to cause our hotel management companies to operate any of our hotels in a manner satisfactory to us, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders.

 

To qualify as a REIT, we cannot operate our hotels. We will lease our hotels to our TRS lessees, which will, in turn, enter into hotel management agreements with hotel management companies, such as Interstate, that qualify as “eligible independent contractors” to operate our hotels. As a result, our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to service debt and make distributions to stockholders are dependent on the ability of Interstate and any other hotel management companies that we may retain in the future to operate our hotels successfully. Any failure by our hotel management companies to provide quality services and amenities or maintain a quality brand name and reputation could have a negative impact on their ability to operate our hotels and could have a material and adverse affect our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders.

 

We cannot and will not control the hotel management companies that operate and are responsible for maintenance and other day-to-day management of our hotels, including, but not limited to, the implementation of significant operating decisions. We cannot assure you that our hotel management companies will manage our properties in a manner that is consistent with their obligations under the management agreement or our obligations under our hotel franchise agreements, that our hotel management companies will not be negligent in their performance or engage in other criminal or fraudulent activity, or that they will not otherwise default on their management obligations to us. If any of the foregoing occurs, our relationships with the franchisors may be damaged and we may then be in breach of the franchise agreements, and we could incur liabilities resulting from loss or injury to our property or to persons at our properties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition, as well as our ability to pay dividends to stockholders.

 

Even if we believe a hotel is being operated inefficiently or in a manner that does not result in satisfactory operating results, we will have limited ability to require the hotel management company to change its method of operation. We generally will attempt to resolve issues with our hotel management companies through discussions and negotiations. However, if we are unable to reach satisfactory results through discussions and negotiations, we may choose to litigate the dispute or submit the matter to third-party dispute resolution or arbitration. We would only be able to seek redress if a hotel management company violates the terms of the applicable hotel management agreement, and then only to the extent of the remedies provided for under the terms of the hotel management agreement. Our hotel managers or their affiliates manage, and in some cases own, have invested in, or provided credit support or operating guarantees to hotels that compete with our hotels, all of which may result in conflicts of interest. As a result, our hotel managers may in the future make decisions regarding competing lodging facilities that are not or would not be in our best interest.

 

Funds spent to maintain franchisor operating standards, the loss of a franchise license or a decline in the value of a franchise brand may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

 

Our hotels operate under franchise agreements, and the maintenance of franchise licenses for our hotels is subject to our franchisors’ operating standards and other terms and conditions. We expect that franchisors will periodically inspect our hotels to ensure that we, our TRS lessees and our hotel management companies maintain our franchisors’ standards. Failure by us, our TRS lessees or any of our hotel management companies to maintain these standards or other terms and conditions could result in a franchise license being canceled. If a franchise license terminates due to our failure to make required improvements or to otherwise comply with its terms, we could also be liable to the franchisor for a termination payment, which varies by franchisor and by hotel. As a condition of our continued holding of a franchise license, a franchisor could also require us to make capital improvements to our hotels, even if we do not believe the improvements are necessary or desirable or would result in an acceptable return on our investment. Nonetheless, we may risk losing a franchise license if we do not make franchisor-required capital improvements.

 

If a franchisor terminated a franchise license, we could try either to obtain a suitable replacement franchise or to operate the hotel without a franchise license. The loss of a franchise license could materially and adversely affect the operations or the underlying value of the hotel because of the loss of associated name recognition, marketing support and centralized reservation systems provided by the franchisor. A loss of a franchise license for one or more hotels, particularly if our hotels become concentrated in a limited number of franchise brands in the future, could materially and adversely affect our revenues. This loss of revenues could, therefore, also adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders.

Negative publicity related to one of the franchise brands or the general decline of a brand also may adversely affect the underlying value of our hotels or result in a reduction in business.

 

We will rely on external sources of capital to fund future capital needs, and if we encounter difficulty in obtaining such capital, we may not be able to make future acquisitions necessary to grow our business or meet maturing obligations.

 

In order to qualify as a REIT under the Code, we will be required, among other things, to distribute each year to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gain. Because of this distribution requirement, we may not be able to fund, from cash retained from operations, all of our future capital needs, including capital needed to make investments and to satisfy or refinance maturing obligations.

 

We expect to rely on external sources of capital, including debt and equity financing, to fund future capital needs. Part of our strategy involves the use of additional debt financing to supplement our equity capital. Our ability to effectively implement and accomplish our business strategy will be affected by our ability to obtain and utilize additional leverage in sufficient amounts and on favorable terms. However, the recent U.S. and global economic slowdown has resulted in a capital environment characterized by limited availability of both debt and equity financing, increasing costs, stringent credit terms and significant volatility. If we are unable to obtain needed capital on satisfactory terms or at all, we may not be able to make the investments needed to expand our business, or to meet our obligations and commitments as they mature. Our access to capital will depend upon a number of factors over which we have little or no control, including general market conditions, the market’s perception of our current and potential future earnings and cash distributions and the market price of the shares of our common stock. We may not be in a position to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities for growth if we are unable to access the capital markets on a timely basis on favorable terms.

 

We have a significant amount of debt, and our organizational documents have no limitation on the amount of additional indebtedness that we may incur in the future. As a result, we may become highly leveraged in the future, which could adversely affect our financial condition.

 

As of September 30, 2010, after giving pro forma effect to this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions, we would have had total outstanding indebtedness of approximately $198.4 million, all of which would have been secured indebtedness. After the closing of this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions, we anticipate entering into a $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility and, in the future, we may incur additional indebtedness to finance future hotel acquisitions and development activities and other corporate purposes. In addition, there are no restrictions in our charter or bylaws that limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness that we may incur nor restrict the form in which our indebtedness will be incurred (including recourse or non-recourse debt or cross-collateralized debt).

 

A substantial level of indebtedness could have adverse consequences for our business, results of operations and financial condition because it could, among other things:

 

 

The agreements governing our indebtedness place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries, reducing operational flexibility and creating default risks.

 

The agreements governing our anticipated $100.0 million secured revolving credit facility and other indebtedness that will remain outstanding following completion of this offering and the formation transactions contain covenants that place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. These covenants may restrict, among other activities, our and our subsidiaries’ ability to:

 

 

These covenants could impair our ability to grow our business, take advantage of attractive business opportunities or successfully compete. Our ability to comply with financial and other covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. A breach of any of these covenants or covenants under any other agreements governing our indebtedness could result in an event of default. Cross-default provisions in our debt agreements could cause an event of default under one debt agreement to trigger an event of default under our other debt agreements. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under any of our debt agreements, the lenders could elect to declare all outstanding debt under such agreements to be immediately due and payable. If we were unable to repay or refinance the accelerated debt, the lenders could proceed against any assets pledged to secure that debt, including foreclosing on or requiring the sale of our hotels, and the proceeds from the sale of these hotels may not be sufficient to repay such debt in full.

 

Mortgage debt obligations expose us to the possibility of foreclosure, which could result in the loss of our investment in any hotel subject to mortgage debt.

 

Borrowings under our anticipated $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility and approximately $198.4 million of our other debt that will remain outstanding after closing of this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions will be secured by mortgages on our hotel properties and related assets. Incurring mortgage and other secured debt obligations increases our risk of property losses because defaults on secured indebtedness may result in foreclosure actions initiated by lenders and ultimately our loss of the hotels securing any loans for which we are in default. If we are in default under a cross-defaulted mortgage loan, we could lose multiple hotels to foreclosure. For tax purposes, a foreclosure of any of our hotels would be treated as a sale of the hotel for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the hotel, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code. As we execute our business plan, we may assume or incur new mortgage indebtedness on the hotels in our portfolio or hotels that we acquire in the future. Any default under any one of our mortgage debt obligations may increase the risk of our default on our other indebtedness.

 

An increase in interest rates would increase our interest costs on our variable rate debt and could adversely impact our ability to refinance existing debt or sell assets.

 

We anticipate that approximately $104.3 million of the approximately $198.4 million of indebtedness that will remain outstanding after closing of this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions will bear interest at variable rates, as will all future borrowings under our anticipated $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility. An increase in interest rates would increase our interest payments and reduce our cash flow available for other corporate purposes, including capital improvements to our hotels or acquisitions of additional hotels. In addition, rising interest rates

could limit our ability to refinance existing debt when it matures and increase interest costs on any debt that is refinanced. Further, an increase in interest rates could increase the cost of financing, thereby decreasing the amount third parties are willing to pay for our hotels, which would limit our ability to dispose of hotels when necessary or desired. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Qualitative and Quantitative Effects of Market Risk.”

 

Although we have not entered into any hedging arrangements, we may, from time to time, enter into agreements such as interest rate swaps, caps, floors and other interest rate hedging contracts. However, these agreements reduce, but do not eliminate, the impact of rising interest rates, and they also expose us to the risk that other parties to the agreements will not perform or that the agreements will be unenforceable.

 

We may not be able to obtain a senior secured revolving credit facility on the indicative terms described in this prospectus or at all.

 

As described under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Our Anticipated Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility,” we intend to enter into a $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility following completion of this offering. We have negotiated indicative terms for the facility with the administrative agent, which is an affiliate of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., a managing underwriter of this offering, and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., in its capacity as lead arranger for the facility. We have obtained commitments for the full amount of the anticipated credit facility from affiliates of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., each of which is acting as an underwriter of this offering. However, our ability to obtain the credit facility remains subject to satisfaction of the lenders’ due diligence and other conditions. These efforts are ongoing, but we may not succeed in obtaining a senior secured revolving credit facility on the indicated terms or at all. Our failure to obtain this credit facility could adversely affect our ability to grow our business and meet our obligations as they come due.

 

Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by a lack of sole decision-making authority with respect to such investments.

 

In the future we may enter into strategic joint ventures with unaffiliated investors to acquire, develop, improve or dispose of hotels, thereby reducing the amount of capital required by us to make investments and diversifying our capital sources for growth. We may not have sole decision-making authority with respect to these investments, which may:

 

 

Joint venture investments could subject us to risks related to the financial condition of joint venture partners.

 

If a joint venture partner becomes bankrupt or otherwise defaults on its obligations under a joint venture agreement, we and any other remaining joint venture partners would generally remain liable for the joint venture liabilities. Furthermore, if a joint venture partner becomes bankrupt or otherwise defaults on its obligations under a joint venture agreement, we may be unable to continue the joint venture other than by purchasing such joint venture partner’s interests or the underlying assets at a premium to the market price. If any of the above risks are realized, it could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

We may have disputes with joint venture partners.

 

Disputes between us and our joint venture partners may result in litigation or arbitration which could increase our expenses and prevent our officers and directors from focusing their time and effort on our business and could result in subjecting the hotels owned by the applicable joint venture to additional risks.

Our tax protection agreements may require our operating partnership to maintain certain debt levels that otherwise would not be required to operate our business, which may impair our ability to generate cash available for distribution and otherwise not be in your best interests.

 

We anticipate that the Class C member of our predecessor, The Summit Group, which is wholly owned by our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, and certain Class B members of our predecessor, including our Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Aniszewski, may recognize a taxable deemed cash distribution in connection with the formation transactions unless affirmative measures are taken to cause special allocations of liabilities of our operating partnership to those members. Under the tax protection agreements, our operating partnership will provide those members with the opportunity to guarantee debt or enter into a deficit restoration obligation, both of which are intended to cause a special allocation of liabilities to those members to prevent them from recognizing a taxable deemed cash distribution. If our operating partnership fails to make those opportunities available, our operating partnership will be required to deliver to each such member a cash payment intended to approximate that member’s tax liability resulting from our operating partnership’s failure to make such opportunities available to them. See “Formation Transactions—Tax Protection Agreements.” Our operating partnership agreed to these provisions in order to assist those members in avoiding a taxable deemed cash distribution that may otherwise occur in connection with the formation transactions. These obligations may require our operating partnership to maintain more or different indebtedness than would otherwise have been required for our business, which could result in higher interest expense than we would prefer to incur, reducing cash available for distribution to stockholders.

 

Risks Related to the Lodging Industry

 

Recent economic conditions may continue to adversely affect the lodging industry.

 

The performance of the lodging industry has historically been closely linked to the performance of the general economy and, specifically, growth in U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP. The lodging industry is also sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending levels. Declines in corporate budgets and consumer demand due to adverse general economic conditions, risks affecting or reducing travel patterns, lower consumer confidence or adverse political conditions can lower the revenues and profitability of our assets and therefore the net operating profits of our investments. The recent economic downturn has led to a significant decline in demand for products and services provided by the lodging industry.

 

We anticipate that any recovery of demand for lodging services will lag an improvement in economic conditions. A further extended period of economic weakness could have an adverse impact on our revenues and negatively affect our profitability.

 

Competition from other upscale and midscale without food and beverage hotels in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

 

The lodging industry is highly competitive. Our hotels compete with other hotels for guests in each market in which our hotels operate based on a number of factors, including location, convenience, brand affiliation, room rates, range of services and guest amenities or accommodations offered and quality of customer service. Competition will often be specific to the individual markets in which our hotels are located and includes competition from existing and new hotels. Our competitors may have an operating model that enables them to offer rooms at lower rates than we can, which, particularly in the current economic recession, could result in our competitors increasing their occupancy at our expense. Competition could adversely affect our occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, and may require us to provide additional amenities or make capital improvements that we otherwise would not have to make, which could reduce our profitability and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Our investment opportunities and growth prospects may be affected by competition for investment opportunities.

 

We compete for investment opportunities with other entities, some of which have substantially greater financial resources than we do. This competition may generally limit the number of suitable investment opportunities offered to us, which may limit our ability to grow. This competition may also increase the bargaining power of the owners of assets seeking to sell to us, making it more difficult for us to acquire new hotels on attractive terms or at all.

Our operating results and ability to make distributions to our stockholders may be adversely affected by the markets in which we operate.

 

Our hotels will be subject to various operating risks within the markets in which we will operate. These risks include:

 

 

Our operating results and ability to make distributions to our stockholders may be adversely affected by the risks inherent to the ownership of hotels.

 

Hotels have different economic characteristics than many other real estate assets. A typical office property owner, for example, has long-term leases with third-party tenants, which provide a relatively stable long-term stream of revenue. By contrast, our hotels will be subject to various operating risks common to the lodging industry, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

 

 

We will have significant ongoing needs to make capital expenditures in our hotels, which will require us to devote funds to these purposes and could pose related risks that might impair our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

Our hotels will have an ongoing need for renovations and other capital improvements, including replacements, from time to time, of furniture, fixtures and equipment. Our franchisors also require periodic capital improvements as a condition of keeping the franchise licenses. In addition, lenders may require that we set aside annual amounts for capital improvements to our assets. These capital improvements and replacements may give rise to the following risks:

 

 

If any of the above risks were to be realized, it could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Hotel development is subject to timing, budgeting and other risks. To the extent we develop hotels or acquire hotels that are under development, these risks may adversely affect our operating results and liquidity position.

 

We may develop hotels or acquire hotels that are under development from time to time as suitable opportunities arise, taking into consideration general economic conditions. Hotel development involves a number of risks, including the following:

 

 

To the extent we develop hotels or acquire hotels under development, we cannot assure you that any development project will be completed on time or within budget. Our inability to complete a project on time or within budget may adversely affect our projected operating results and our liquidity position.

 

The increasing use of Internet travel intermediaries by consumers may adversely affect our profitability.

 

Our hotel rooms are likely to be booked through Internet travel intermediaries, including, but not limited to, Travelocity.com, Expedia.com and Priceline.com. As these Internet bookings increase, these intermediaries may be able to obtain higher commissions, reduced room rates or other significant contract concessions from us and our management companies. Moreover, some of these Internet travel intermediaries are attempting to offer hotel rooms as a commodity, by increasing the importance of price and general indicators of quality (such as “three-star downtown hotel”) at the expense of brand identification. These agencies hope that consumers will eventually develop brand loyalties to their reservations system rather than to the brands under which our hotels are franchised. If the amount of sales made through Internet intermediaries increases significantly, room revenues may flatten or decrease and our profitability may be adversely affected.

 

Uninsured and underinsured losses could adversely affect our operating results.

 

We intend to maintain comprehensive insurance on our hotels, including liability, fire and extended coverage, of the type and amount we believe are customarily obtained for or by owners of hotels similar to our hotels. Various types of catastrophic losses, like earthquakes and floods, may not be insurable or may not be economically insurable. In the event of a substantial loss, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover the full current market value or replacement cost of our lost investment. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occur, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we have invested in a hotel, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the hotel. In that event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the asset. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors might also keep us from using insurance proceeds to replace or renovate an asset after it has been damaged or destroyed. Under those circumstances, the insurance proceeds we receive might be inadequate to restore our economic position on the damaged or destroyed hotels.

 

Risks Related to the Real Estate Industry and Real Estate-Related Investments

 

Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of hotels in which we may invest or to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions, and, therefore, may harm our financial condition.

 

In the future, we may decide to sell hotels. Real estate investments are relatively illiquid. Our ability to promptly sell one or more hotels in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions may be limited.

We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any hotels for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of an asset. The real estate market is affected by many factors that are beyond our control, including:

 

 

Increases in our property taxes would adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

Our hotels are subject to real and personal property taxes. These taxes may increase as tax rates change and as our hotels are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. If property taxes increase, our operating results and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected.

 

We could incur significant costs related to government regulation and litigation over environmental, health and safety matters.

 

Our hotels and development parcels are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws that impose liability for contamination. Under these laws, governmental entities have the authority to require us, as the current owner of the property, to perform or pay for the clean up of contamination (including hazardous substances, waste or petroleum products) at, on, under or emanating from the property and to pay for natural resource damages arising from contamination. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator or other responsible party knew of, or caused the contamination, and the liability may be joint and several. Because these laws also impose liability on persons who owned a property at the time it became contaminated, we could incur cleanup costs or other environmental liabilities even after we sell properties. Contamination at, on, under or emanating from our properties also may expose us to liability to private parties for costs of remediation, personal injury and death and/or property damage. In addition, environmental liens may be created on contaminated sites in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs to address contamination. If contamination is discovered on our properties, 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 substantial expenditures. Moreover, environmental contamination can affect the value of a property and, therefore, an owner’s ability to borrow funds using the property as collateral or to sell the property on favorable terms or at all. Furthermore, persons who sent waste to a waste disposal facility, such as a landfill or an incinerator, may be liable for costs associated with cleanup of that facility.

 

In addition, our hotels (including our real property, operations and equipment) are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, health and safety regulatory requirements that address a wide variety of issues, including, but not limited to, the registration, maintenance and operation of our boilers and storage tanks, the supply of potable water to our guests, air emissions from emergency generators, storm water and wastewater discharges, protection of natural resources, asbestos, lead-based paint, mold and mildew, and waste management. Some of our hotels also routinely handle and use hazardous or regulated substances and wastes as part of their operations, which are subject to regulation (for example, swimming pool chemicals or biological waste). Our hotels incur costs to comply with these environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and if these regulatory requirements are not met or unforeseen events result in the discharge of dangerous or toxic substances at our hotels, we could be subject to fines and penalties for non-compliance with

applicable laws and material liability from third parties for harm to the environment, damage to real property or personal injury and death. We are aware of no past or present environmental liability for non-compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, assets or results of operations.

 

Certain hotels we currently own or those we acquire in the future contain, may contain, or may have contained, asbestos-containing material, or ACM. Environmental, health and safety laws require that ACM be properly managed and maintained, and include requirements to undertake special precautions, such as removal or abatement, if ACM would be disturbed during maintenance, renovation, or demolition of a building. These laws regarding ACM may impose fines and penalties on building owners, employers and operators for failure to comply with these requirements or expose us to third-party liability.

 

Our properties may contain or develop harmful mold, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediating the problem.

 

When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants above certain levels can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants from the affected property or increase indoor ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to material liability from third parties if property damage or personal injury occurs.

 

Compliance with the laws, regulations and covenants that are applicable to our hotels, including permit, license and zoning requirements, may adversely affect our ability to make future acquisitions or renovations, result in significant costs or delays and adversely affect our growth strategy.

 

Our hotels are subject to various covenants and local laws and regulatory requirements, including permitting and licensing requirements. Local regulations, including municipal or local ordinances, zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants imposed by community developers may restrict our use of our hotels and may require us to obtain approval from local officials or community standards organizations at any time with respect to our hotels, including prior to acquiring a hotel or when undertaking any renovations of any of our hotels. Among other things, these restrictions may relate to fire and safety, seismic, asbestos-cleanup or hazardous material abatement requirements. We cannot assure you that existing regulatory policies will not adversely affect us or the timing or cost of any future acquisitions or renovations, or that additional regulations will not be adopted that would increase such delays or result in additional costs. Our growth strategy may be materially and adversely affected by our ability to obtain permits, licenses and zoning approvals. Our failure to obtain such permits, licenses and zoning approvals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

In addition, federal and state laws and regulations, including laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or the ADA, impose further restrictions on our operations. Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Some of our hotels may currently be in non-compliance with the ADA. If one or more of the hotels in our portfolio is not in compliance with the ADA or any other regulatory requirements, we may be required to incur additional costs to bring the hotel into compliance and we might incur damages or governmental fines. In addition, existing requirements may change and future requirements may require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures that would adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow, the market price per share of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders.

If we default on ground leases for land on which four of our hotels are located, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Four of the 65 hotels in our initial portfolio are subject to ground leases. If we default under the terms of these ground leases and are unable to cure the default in a timely manner, we may be liable for damages and could lose our leasehold interest in the applicable property and interest in the hotel on the applicable property. If any of the events of default were to occur and are not timely cured, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow, the market price per share of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Risks Related to The Formation Transactions and Conflicts of Interest

 

Our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, and other members of our management team exercised significant influence with respect to the terms of the formation transactions, including transactions in which they determined the compensation they would receive.

 

The number of OP units issuable by our operating partnership in the formation transactions was determined by our management team based on its valuation of our predecessor and the hotels owned by our predecessor and Summit of Scottsdale. Our management team determined the value of our predecessor and these hotels by considering various valuation factors and methodologies, including an analysis of available third-party valuations on some of the hotels, market sales comparables, market capitalization rates and general market conditions for similar hotels. The numbers of OP units issuable in the formation transactions are fixed.

 

Both we and our predecessor have sought to structure the formation transactions so as to minimize potential conflicts of interest, including by appointing a special committee of our predecessor’s independent managers to review the terms of the proposed merger of our predecessor into our operating partnership. However, we did not conduct arm’s-length negotiations with our predecessor’s members or the members of Summit of Scottsdale with respect to the terms of the formation transactions, including the merger. Our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, and his affiliates, including The Summit Group, have substantial, pre-existing ownership interests in our predecessor and Summit of Scottsdale. In addition, Mr. Aniszewski, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has a pre-existing ownership interest in our predecessor. Both Mr. Boekelheide and Mr. Aniszewski sat on the board of managers of our predecessor that approved the terms of the formation transactions. In the course of structuring the formation transactions, Mr. Boekelheide and Mr. Aniszewski had the ability to influence the type and level of benefits they will receive from us. We did not obtain a fairness opinion with respect to the fairness of the merger consideration to us and we did not obtain recent third-party appraisals for all of the hotels to be acquired by us in the formation transactions. As a result, the consideration to be paid by us to the members of our predecessor in the merger for our predecessor’s 63 hotels and its 49% ownership interest in the two Scottsdale hotels may exceed the fair market value of the hotels and other assets being acquired by us in the formation transactions or the price that would have been paid in an arm’s-length transaction.

 

The value of the aggregate consideration to be issued in the formation transactions is based on the IPO price of our common stock, which was determined in consultation with the underwriters and does not necessarily bear any relationship to the book value or the fair market value of the hotels to be acquired by us in the formation transactions. As a result, the consideration being paid by us in exchange for the membership interests in our predecessor may exceed the aggregate fair market value of those assets.

 

We are assuming liabilities in connection with the formation transactions, including unknown liabilities, which, if significant, could adversely affect our business.

 

As part of the formation transactions, we will assume existing liabilities of our predecessor and its affiliates, including, but not limited to, liabilities in connection with our hotels, some of which may be unknown or unquantifiable at the time this offering is completed. Unknown liabilities might include liabilities for cleanup or remediation of undisclosed environmental

conditions, claims of hotel guests, vendors or other persons dealing with our predecessor, The Summit Group, and their affiliates prior to this offering, tax liabilities, employment-related issues and accrued but unpaid liabilities whether incurred in the ordinary course of business or otherwise. In addition, because the aggregate value of the OP units to be issued in the formation transactions is less than the value assumed in the fairness opinion, our predecessor and we will not benefit from the fairness opinion rendered to our predecessor. This could increase our exposure to claims, if brought, that the merger was not fair to our predecessor’s members. If the magnitude of such unknown liabilities is high, they could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow, the market price per share of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to make distributions.

 

Tax consequences to holders of OP units upon a sale or refinancing of our hotels may cause the interests of holders of OP units, including certain of our executive officers and directors, to differ from the interests of our other stockholders.

 

As a result of the unrealized built-in gain that may be attributable to one or more of our hotels, holders of OP units, including certain of our executive officers and directors, may experience more onerous tax consequences than holders of our common stock upon the sale or refinancing of these hotels, including disproportionately greater allocations of items of taxable income and gain upon the occurrence of such an event. The tax protection agreements that we will offer to enter into with certain former members of our predecessor, including The Summit Group, which is wholly owned by our Executive Chairman, Mr. Boekelheide, will not provide protection from those more onerous tax consequences. A holder of OP units that receives a disproportionately greater allocation of taxable income and gain will not receive a correspondingly greater distribution of cash proceeds with which to pay the income taxes on such income. Accordingly, they may have different objectives regarding the appropriate pricing, timing and other material terms of any sale or refinancing of such hotels and could exercise their influence over our affairs by attempting to delay, defer or prevent a transaction that might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

Our tax protection agreements may require us to maintain certain debt levels that otherwise would not be required to operate our business, which may impair our ability to generate cash available for distribution and otherwise not be in your best interests.

 

Our operating partnership will offer to enter into tax protection agreements with a limited number of the members of our predecessor, including The Summit Group, to protect those members from recognizing taxable gain in connection with the formation transactions. Under the tax protection agreements, our operating partnership will provide those former members of our predecessor with the opportunity to guarantee debt or enter into a deficit restoration obligation, both of which are intended to prevent the former members of our predecessor from recognizing a taxable deemed cash distribution. If our operating partnership fails to make those opportunities available, it will be required to deliver to each such former member a cash payment intended to approximate the former member’s tax liability resulting from its failure to make such opportunities available to them. These obligations may require us to maintain more or different indebtedness than would otherwise have been required for our business, which could result in higher interest expense than we would prefer to incur, reducing cash available for distribution to stockholders.

 

Our fiduciary duties as the general partner of our operating partnership could create conflicts of interest.

 

Upon completion of this offering and the formation transactions, we, through our wholly owned subsidiary that serves as the sole general partner of our operating partnership, will have fiduciary duties to our operating partnership’s limited partners, the discharge of which may conflict with the interests of our stockholders. The limited partners of our operating partnership have agreed for so long as we own a controlling interest in our operating partnership that, in the event of a conflict between the duties owed by our directors to our company and the duties that we owe, in our capacity as the sole general partner of our operating partnership, to the limited partners, our directors are under no obligation to give priority to the interests of the limited partners. In addition, those persons holding OP units will have the right to vote on certain amendments to the limited partnership agreement (which require approval by a majority in interest of the limited partners, including us) and individually to approve certain amendments that would adversely affect their rights, as well as the right to vote on mergers and consolidations of the general partner or us in certain limited circumstances. These voting rights may be exercised in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our stockholders. For example, we cannot adversely affect the

limited partners’ rights to receive distributions, as set forth in the limited partnership agreement, without their consent, even though modifying such rights might be in the best interest of our stockholders generally.

 

Certain key members of our senior management team will continue to be involved in other businesses, which may interfere with their ability to devote time and attention to our business and affairs.

 

We will rely on our senior management team, including Mr. Boekelheide, for the day-to-day operations of our business. Following completion of this offering, Mr. Boekelheide and other key members of our senior management team, including Messrs. Hansen and Aniszewski, will continue to serve as executive officers and directors of The Summit Group. The Summit Group will continue to manage one hotel that is not owned by us, a Comfort Suites located in Tucson, Arizona. Our employment agreement with Mr. Boekelheide requires him to devote a substantial portion of his business time and attention to our business and our employment agreements with our other executive officers require our executives to devote substantially all of their business time and attention to our business. In addition, Mr. Boekelheide, as well as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Becker, and our Vice President of Acquisitions, Mr. Bertucci, will continue to serve as officers of Summit Green Tiger Investments, LLC, or Summit Green Tiger. Summit Green Tiger co-manages two private investment funds, which own a total of six multi-family properties. We will not compete with these funds for investment opportunities. These outside business interests may reduce the amount of time that Messrs. Boekelheide, Hansen, Aniszewski, Becker and Bertucci are able to devote to our business. For more information, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Outside Business Interests.”

 

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

 

Provisions of our charter may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of us by authorizing our board of directors to issue additional securities.

 

Our board of directors may, without stockholder approval, amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of our shares or the number of shares of any class or series that we have the authority to issue and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock, and set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our board of directors may authorize the issuance of additional shares or establish a series of common or preferred stock that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company, including transactions at a premium over the market price of our shares, even if stockholders believe that a change in control is in their interest. These provisions, along with the restrictions on ownership and transfer contained in our charter and certain provisions of Maryland law described below, could discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or make it more difficult for a third party to gain control of us, which could adversely affect the market price of our securities. See “Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and of Our Charter and Bylaws.”

 

Provisions of Maryland law may limit the ability of a third party to acquire control of us by requiring our board of directors or stockholders to approve proposals to acquire our company or effect a change in control.

 

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law, or the MGCL, applicable to Maryland corporations may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change in control under circumstances that otherwise could provide our common stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including:

 

 

By resolution of our board of directors, we have opted out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL and provided that any business combination between us and any other person is exempt from the business combination provisions of the MGCL, provided that the business combination is first approved by our board of directors (including a majority of directors who are not affiliates or associates of such persons). In addition, pursuant to a provision in our bylaws, we have opted out of the control share provisions of the MGCL. However, our board of directors may by resolution elect to opt in to the business combination provisions of the MGCL and we may, by amendment to our bylaws, opt in to the control share provisions of the MGCL in the future.

 

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited, which could limit your recourse in the event of actions not in your best interests.

 

Under Maryland law, generally, a director will not be liable if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. In addition, our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

 

 

Our charter authorizes us to indemnify our directors and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. Our bylaws require us to indemnify each director and officer, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service to us. In addition, we may be obligated to advance the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist absent the current provisions in our charter and bylaws or that might exist with other companies.

 

Our charter contains provisions that make removal of our directors difficult, which could make it difficult for our stockholders to effect changes to our management.

 

Our charter provides that a director may be removed only for cause (as defined in our charter) and then only by the affirmative vote of holders of shares entitled to cast at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors. Our charter also provides that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if less than a quorum. These requirements prevent stockholders from removing directors except for cause and with a substantial affirmative vote and from replacing directors with their own nominees and may prevent a change in control of our company that is in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

The ability of our board of directors to change our major policies without the consent of stockholders may not be in your interest.

 

Our board of directors determines our major policies, including policies and guidelines relating to our acquisitions, leverage, financing, growth, operations and distributions to stockholders. Our board of directors may amend or revise these and other policies and guidelines from time to time without the vote or consent of our stockholders. Accordingly, our stockholders will have limited control over changes in our policies and those changes could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common stock and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

The ability of our board of directors to revoke our REIT qualification without stockholder approval may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

 

Our charter provides that our board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to be a REIT, we would become subject to federal income tax on our taxable income and would no longer be required to distribute most of our taxable income to our stockholders, which may have adverse consequences on the total return to our stockholders.

 

We are a holding company with no direct operations. As a result, we will rely on funds received from our operating partnership to pay liabilities and dividends, our stockholders’ claims will be structurally subordinated to all liabilities of our operating partnership and our stockholders will not have any voting rights with respect to our operating partnership activities, including the issuance of additional OP units.

 

We are a holding company and will conduct all of our operations through our operating partnership. We do not have, apart from our ownership of our operating partnership, any independent operations. As a result, we will rely on distributions from our operating partnership to pay any dividends we might declare on shares of our common stock. We will also rely on distributions from our operating partnership to meet any of our obligations, including tax liability on taxable income allocated to us from our operating partnership (which might make distributions to us that do not equal to the tax on such allocated taxable income).

 

In addition, because we are a holding company, stockholders’ claims will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future liabilities and obligations (whether or not for borrowed money) of our operating partnership and its subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, claims of our stockholders will be satisfied only after all of our and our operating partnership’s and its subsidiaries’ liabilities and obligations have been paid in full.

 

After giving effect to the formation transactions, this offering and the concurrent private placement, we will own an approximate 73.0% (75.5% if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) partnership interest in our operating partnership, including general and limited partnership interests. In addition, our operating partnership may issue additional OP units in the future. Such issuances could reduce our ownership percentage in our operating partnership. Because our common stockholders will not directly own any OP units, they will not have any voting rights with respect to any such issuances or other partnership level activities of our operating partnership.

 

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock and this Offering

 

There is currently no market for our common stock and a market for our common stock may not develop, which could adversely affect the liquidity and price of our common stock.

 

Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our common stock, and we cannot assure you that a regular trading market for the common stock offered hereby will develop or, if developed, that any such market will be sustained. In the absence of a public trading market, an investor may be unable to liquidate an investment in our common stock. The IPO price has been determined by us and the underwriters. We cannot assure you that the price at which the common stock will sell in the public market after the closing of the offering will not be lower than the price at which it is sold by the underwriters.

 

The NYSE or another nationally recognized exchange may not continue to list our securities, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

 

Our common stock has been approved for listing on the NYSE under the symbol “INN,” subject to official notice of issuance. In order to remain listed we will be required to meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE or, in the alternative, any other nationally recognized exchange to which we apply. We may be unable to satisfy those listing requirements, and there is no guarantee our securities will remain listed on a nationally recognized exchange. If our securities are delisted from the NYSE or another nationally recognized exchange, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

 

 

Our ability to pay our estimated initial annual distribution, which represents 100% of our estimated cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending September 30, 2011 as calculated under “Distribution Policy,” depends upon our actual operating results, and we may have to borrow funds to pay this distribution or reduce the distribution.

 

Effective upon the closing date of this offering, we expect to pay an initial cash distribution of $0.45 per share on an annualized basis, which represents 100% of our estimated cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending September 30, 2011 as calculated under “Distribution Policy.” To the extent our initial annual distribution exceeds 100% of our future cash available for distribution, we expect to use existing cash, which may include proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement, or borrow funds to fund any such shortfall. If these alternative funds are not available to us, we may need to reduce the amount of the distribution. If we need to borrow funds on a regular basis to meet our distribution requirements or if we reduce the amount of the distribution, our stock price may be adversely affected. Additionally, our current and future loan agreements may restrict our ability to borrow to fund distributions.

 

Failure of the hotel industry to continue to improve may adversely affect our ability to execute our business strategies, which, in turn, would adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

Our estimated annual distribution is based on continued improvements in hotel industry fundamentals generally and our operating results specifically. We cannot assure you that hotel industry fundamentals or operating results will continue to improve. Economic slowdown and world events outside our control, such as terrorism, have adversely affected the hotel industry in the recent past and if these events reoccur, may adversely affect the industry in the future. In the event conditions in the hotel industry do not continue to improve as we expect, our ability to execute our business strategies will be adversely affected, which, in turn, would adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

The cash available for distribution may not be sufficient to make distributions at expected levels, and we cannot assure you of our ability to make distributions in the future. We may use borrowed funds or funds from other sources to make distributions, which may adversely impact our operations.

 

We intend to make distributions to our common stockholders and holders of OP units. Distributions declared by us will be authorized by our board of directors in its sole discretion out of funds legally available for distribution and will depend upon a number of factors, including restrictions under applicable law and the capital requirements of our company. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, the requirements for qualification as a REIT, restrictions under applicable law and other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time. We may be required to fund distributions from working capital, borrowings under the secured revolving credit facility we anticipate obtaining following completion of this offering, proceeds of this offering or a sale of assets to the extent distributions exceed earnings or cash flows from operations. Funding distributions from working capital would restrict our operations. If we borrow from the secured revolving credit facility we anticipate obtaining following completion of this offering in order to pay distributions, we would be more limited in our ability to execute our strategy of using that secured revolving credit facility to fund acquisitions. Finally, selling assets may require us to dispose of assets at a time or in a manner that is not consistent with our disposition strategy. If we borrow to fund distributions, our leverage ratios and future interest costs would increase, thereby reducing our earnings and cash available for distribution from what they otherwise would have been. We may not be able to make distributions in the future. In addition, some of our distributions may be considered a return of capital for income tax purposes. If we decide to make distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, such distributions would generally be considered a return of capital for federal income tax purposes to the extent of the holder’s adjusted tax basis in their shares. A return of capital is not taxable, but it has the effect of reducing the holder’s adjusted tax basis in its investment.

If distributions exceed the adjusted tax basis of a holder’s shares, they will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such stock.

 

We may change the distribution policy for our common stock in the future.

 

The decision to declare and make distributions on our common stock in the future, as well as the timing, amount and composition of any such future distributions, will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our earnings, funds from operations, liquidity, financial condition, capital requirements or contractual prohibitions, the annual distribution requirements under the REIT provisions of the Code, state law and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. While the statements under “Distribution Policy” reflect our current intentions, the actual distribution payable will be determined by our board of directors based upon the circumstances at the time of declaration and the actual distribution payable may vary from such expected amounts. Any change in our distribution policy could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

 

We may use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement to make distributions to our stockholders, if necessary to permit us to satisfy the requirements for qualification as a REIT and eliminate federal income and excise taxes that otherwise would be imposed on us, which would, among other things, reduce our cash available for investing.

 

We may fund our distributions to our stockholders, if necessary to permit us to satisfy the requirements for qualification as a REIT and eliminate federal income and excise taxes that otherwise would be imposed on us, out of the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement, which would reduce the amount of cash we have available for investing and other purposes. The use of the net proceeds to fund distributions could be dilutive to our financial results. In addition, funding distributions from the net proceeds may constitute a return of capital to our investors, which would have the effect of reducing each stockholder’s basis in its shares of our common stock.

 

The market price of our common stock may be volatile due to numerous circumstances beyond our control.

 

The trading prices of equity securities issued by REITs and other real estate companies historically have been affected by changes in market interest rates. One of the factors that may influence the price of our common stock is the annual yield from distributions on our common stock as compared to yields on other financial instruments. An increase in market interest rates, or a decrease in our distributions to stockholders, may lead prospective purchasers of our common stock to demand a higher annual yield, which could reduce the market price of our common stock.

 

Other factors that could affect the market price of our common stock include the following:

 

 

The market’s perception of our growth potential and our current and potential future cash distributions, whether from operations, sales or refinancings, as well as the real estate market value of the underlying assets, may cause our common stock to trade at prices that differ from our net asset value per share. If we retain operating cash flow for investment purposes,

working capital reserves or other purposes, these retained funds, while increasing the value of our underlying assets, may not correspondingly increase the market price of our common stock. Our failure to meet the market’s expectations with regard to future earnings and distributions likely would adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts who do cover us downgrades our stock or our industry, or the stock of any of our competitors, the price of our common stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company, we could lose attention in the market, which in turn could cause the price of our common stock to decline.

 

The offering price per share of common stock offered under this prospectus may not accurately reflect the value of your investment.

 

Prior to this offering there has been no market for our common stock. The offering price of the common stock offered by this prospectus was negotiated between us and the representatives of the underwriters of this offering. Factors considered in determining the price of our common stock include:

 

 

The offering price may not accurately reflect the value of the common stock and may not be realized upon any subsequent disposition of the shares.

 

If you purchase shares of common stock in this offering, you will experience immediate dilution.

 

The IPO price of our common stock is higher than the book value per share of our outstanding common stock following completion of this offering and the application of the net proceeds. If you purchase shares of common stock in this offering, you will experience immediate dilution. This means that the investors who purchase shares of common stock in this offering will pay a price per share that exceeds the book value of our assets after subtracting our liabilities. See “Dilution.”

 

The number of shares of our common stock available for future sale could adversely affect the market price per share of our common stock, and future sales by us of shares of our common stock or issuances by our operating partnership of OP units may be dilutive to existing stockholders.

 

Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock in the public market, or upon exchange of OP units or exercise of any equity awards, or the perception that such sales might occur could adversely affect the market price per share of our common stock. The exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, the exchange of OP units for common stock, the vesting of any equity-based awards granted to certain directors, executive officers and other employees under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, the issuance of our common stock or OP units in connection with hotel, portfolio or business acquisitions and other issuances of our common stock or OP units could have an adverse effect on the market price of the shares of our common stock.

 

Holders of OP units, which are redeemable for cash or, at our operating partnership’s option, shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis, and the affiliate of IHG purchasing shares of our common stock in the concurrent private placement, have registration rights with respect to a substantial amount of our common stock. These registration rights, which require us to prepare, file and have declared effective a resale registration statement permitting the public resale of any shares issued upon redemption of the 10,100,000 OP units to be issued in the formation transactions and shares purchased in the concurrent private placement, could result in a significant amount of sales of our common stock in a short period of time or the perception that a substantial amount of sales may occur, either or both of which could depress

the market price per share of our common stock. The existence of these OP units, as well as additional OP units that may be issued in the future, and shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and any related resales may adversely affect the market price per share of our common stock and the terms upon which we may be able to obtain additional capital through the sale of equity securities. In addition, future sales by us of shares of our common stock may be dilutive to existing stockholders.

 

Future offerings of debt securities, which would be senior to our common stock upon liquidation, and/or issuances of equity securities (including OP units), which may be dilutive to our existing stockholders and be senior to our common stock for purposes of dividend distributions or upon liquidation, may materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

In the future we may offer debt securities and/or issue equity securities, including OP units or preferred shares that may be senior to our common stock for purposes of dividend distributions or upon liquidation. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and our preferred shares will receive distributions of our available assets prior to the holders of our common stock. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights or other protections against us offering senior debt or equity securities. Therefore, additional common share issuances, directly or through convertible or exchangeable securities (including OP units), warrants or options, will dilute the holdings of our existing common stockholders and such issuances or the perception of such issuances may reduce the market price of our common stock. In addition, our preferred shares, if issued, could have a preference on liquidating distributions and a preference on dividend payments that could limit our ability to pay a dividend or make another distribution to the holders of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their interest in us.

 

The consolidated financial statements of our predecessor and our unaudited pro forma financial statements may not be indicative of our future results or an investment in our common stock.

 

The consolidated financial statements of our predecessor and our unaudited pro forma financial statements that are included in this prospectus do not necessarily reflect what our results of operations, financial position or cash flows would have been had we been an independent entity during the periods presented. Furthermore, this financial information is not necessarily indicative of what our results of operations, financial position or cash flows will be in the future. It is impossible for us to accurately estimate all adjustments reflecting all the significant changes that will occur in our cost structure, funding and operations as a result of our being a publicly traded REIT. For additional information, see “Selected Financial Data” and the consolidated financial statements of our predecessor and our unaudited pro forma financial statements, as well as “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Risks Related to Our Status as a REIT

 

Failure to qualify as a REIT, or failure to remain qualified as a REIT, would cause us to be taxed as a regular corporation, which would substantially reduce funds available for distributions to our stockholders.

 

We believe that our organization and proposed method of operation will enable us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT commencing with our short taxable year ending December 31, 2011. However, we cannot assure you that we will qualify and remain qualified as a REIT. In connection with this offering, we will receive an opinion from Hunton & Williams LLP that, commencing with our short taxable year ending December 31, 2011, we will be organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the federal income tax laws and our proposed method of operations will enable us to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the federal income tax laws for our short taxable year ending December 31, 2011 and subsequent taxable years. Investors should be aware that Hunton & Williams LLP’s opinion is based upon customary assumptions, will be conditioned upon certain representations made by us as to factual matters, including representations regarding the nature of our assets and the conduct of our business, is not binding upon the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, or any court and speaks as of the date issued. In addition, Hunton & Williams LLP’s opinion will be based on existing federal income tax law governing qualification as a REIT, which is subject to change either prospectively or retroactively. Moreover, our qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon our ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual annual operating results, certain qualification tests set forth in the federal tax laws. Hunton & Williams LLP will not review our compliance with

those tests on a continuing basis. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that our actual results of operations for any particular taxable year will satisfy such requirements.

 

If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we will face serious tax consequences that will substantially reduce the funds available for distributions to our stockholders because:

 

 

In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will no longer be required to make distributions. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and it would adversely affect the value of our common stock. See “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a discussion of material federal income tax consequences relating to us and our common stock.

 

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flows.

 

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted as a result of a foreclosure, and state or local income, property and transfer taxes. In addition, our TRSs will be subject to regular corporate federal, state and local taxes. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distributions to stockholders.

 

Failure to make required distributions would subject us to federal corporate income tax.

 

We intend to operate in a manner so as to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. In order to qualify as a REIT, we generally are required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gain, each year to our stockholders. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under the Code.

 

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our liquidity and may force us to borrow funds or sell assets during unfavorable market conditions.

 

In order to satisfy our qualification as a REIT and to meet the REIT distribution requirements, we may need to borrow funds on a short-term basis or sell assets, even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings or sales. Our cash flows from operations may be insufficient to fund required distributions as a result of differences in timing between the actual receipt of income and the recognition of income for federal income tax purposes, or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required debt service or amortization payments. For example, we may be required to accrue income from mortgage loans and other types of debt instruments that we may acquire before we receive any payments of interest or principal on such assets. We may also acquire distressed debt investments that are subsequently modified or foreclosed upon, which could result in significant taxable income without any corresponding cash payment. See “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations.” The insufficiency of our cash flows to cover our distribution requirements could have an adverse impact on our ability to raise short- and long-term debt or sell equity securities in order to fund distributions required to maintain our qualification as a REIT. Also, although the IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2010-12 sanctioning certain issuances of taxable stock dividends by REITs under certain circumstances for taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2011, no assurance can be given that the IRS will extend this treatment or that we will otherwise be able to pay taxable stock dividends to meet our REIT distribution requirements.

The formation of Summit TRS and our TRS lessees increases our overall tax liability.

 

Summit TRS and any other of our domestic TRSs will be subject to federal, state and local income tax on their taxable income, which will consist of the revenues from the hotels leased by our TRS lessees, net of the operating expenses for such hotels and rent payments to us. Accordingly, although our ownership of our TRS lessees will allow us to participate in the operating income from our hotels in addition to receiving rent, that operating income will be fully subject to income tax. The after-tax net income of our TRS lessees is available for distribution to us. If we have any non-U.S. TRSs, then they may be subject to tax in jurisdictions where they operate.

 

Our TRS lessee structure subjects us to the risk of increased hotel operating expenses that could adversely affect our operating results and our ability to make distributions to stockholders.

 

Our leases with our TRS lessees will require our TRS lessees to pay us rent based in part on revenues from our hotels. Our operating risks include decreases in hotel revenues and increases in hotel operating expenses, including but not limited to the increases in wage and benefit costs, repair and maintenance expenses, energy costs, property taxes, insurance costs and other operating expenses, which would adversely affect our TRS lessees’ ability to pay us rent due under the leases.

 

Increases in these operating expenses can have a significant adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

Our ownership of our TRSs will be subject to limitations and our transactions with our TRSs will cause us to be subject to a 100% penalty tax on certain income or deductions if those transactions are not conducted on arm’s-length terms.

 

Overall, no more than 25% of the value of a REIT’s assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. In addition, the Code limits the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT to assure that the TRS is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. The Code also imposes a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. The 100% tax would apply, for example, to the extent that we were found to have charged our TRS lessees rent in excess of an arm’s-length rent. Furthermore, we will monitor the value of our respective investments in our TRSs for the purpose of ensuring compliance with TRS ownership limitations and will structure our transactions with our TRSs on terms that we believe are arm’s length to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to comply with the 25% TRS limitation or to avoid application of the 100% excise tax.

 

If the leases of our hotels to the TRS lessees are not respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, we will fail to qualify as a REIT.

 

To qualify as a REIT, we must annually satisfy two gross income tests, under which specified percentages of our gross income must be derived from certain sources, such as “rents from real property.” Rents paid to our operating partnership by TRS lessees pursuant to the leases of our hotels will constitute substantially all of our gross income. In order for such rent to qualify as “rents from real property” for purposes of the gross income tests, the leases must be respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes and not be treated as service contracts, financing arrangements, joint ventures or some other type of arrangement. If our leases are not respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, we will fail to qualify as a REIT.

 

If our operating partnership is treated as a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, we will cease to qualify as a REIT.

 

Although Hunton & Williams LLP, our tax counsel, is of the opinion that our operating partnership will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, no assurance can be given that the IRS will not successfully challenge that position. If the IRS were to successfully contend that our operating partnership should be treated as a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation, we would fail to meet the 75% gross income test and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs and, unless we qualified for certain statutory relief provisions, we would cease to qualify as a REIT. Also, our operating partnership would become subject to federal, state and local income tax, which would reduce significantly the amount of cash available for debt service and for distribution to us.

If Interstate or any other hotel management companies that we may engage in the future do not qualify as “eligible independent contractors,” or if our hotels are not “qualified lodging facilities,” we will fail to qualify as a REIT.

 

Rent paid by a lessee that is a “related party tenant” of ours will not be qualifying income for purposes of the two gross income tests applicable to REITs. An exception is provided, however, for leases of “qualified lodging facilities” to a TRS so long as the hotels are managed by an “eligible independent contractor” and certain other requirements are satisfied. We expect to lease all or substantially all of our hotels to TRS lessees and to engage Interstate and, in the future, other hotel management companies that are expected to qualify as “eligible independent contractors.” Among other requirements, in order to qualify as an eligible independent contractor, the hotel manager must not own, directly or through its stockholders, more than 35% of our outstanding shares, and no person or group of persons can own more than 35% of our outstanding shares and the shares (or ownership interest) of the hotel manager, taking into account certain ownership attribution rules. The ownership attribution rules that apply for purposes of these 35% thresholds are complex, and monitoring actual and constructive ownership of our shares by our hotel managers and their owners may not be practical. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that these ownership levels will not be exceeded.

 

In addition, for a hotel management company to qualify as an eligible independent contractor, such company or a related person must be actively engaged in the trade or business of operating “qualified lodging facilities” (as defined below) for one or more persons not related to the REIT or its TRSs at each time that such company enters into a hotel management contract with a TRS or its TRS lessee. As of the date hereof, we believe Interstate operates qualified lodging facilities for certain persons who are not related to us or our TRSs. However, no assurances can be provided that Interstate or any other hotel managers that we may engage in the future will in fact comply with this requirement. Failure to comply with this requirement would require us to find other managers for future contracts, and, if we hired a management company without knowledge of the failure, it could jeopardize our status as a REIT.

 

Finally, each property with respect to which our TRS lessees pay rent must be a “qualified lodging facility.” A “qualified lodging facility” is a hotel, motel or other establishment more than one-half of the dwelling units in which are used on a transient basis, including customary amenities and facilities, provided that no wagering activities are conducted at or in connection with such facility by any person who is engaged in the business of accepting wagers and who is legally authorized to engage in such business at or in connection with such facility. As of the date hereof, we believe that the properties that will be leased to our TRS lessees will be qualified lodging facilities. Although we intend to monitor future acquisitions and improvements of properties, REIT provisions of the Code provide only limited guidance for making determinations under the requirements for qualified lodging facilities, and there can be no assurance that these requirements will be satisfied.

 

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could reduce the market price of our common stock.

 

At any time, the federal income tax laws governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws may be amended. We cannot predict when or if any new federal income tax law, regulation, or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective and any such law, regulation, or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our stockholders could be adversely affected by any such change in, or any new, federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation.

 

You may be restricted from acquiring or transferring certain amounts of our common stock.

 

The stock ownership restrictions of the Code for REITs and the 9.8% stock ownership limit in our charter may inhibit market activity in our capital stock and restrict our business combination opportunities.

 

In order to qualify as a REIT for each taxable year after 2011, five or fewer individuals, as defined in the Code, may not own, beneficially or constructively, more than 50% in value of our issued and outstanding stock at any time during the last half of a taxable year. Attribution rules in the Code determine if any individual or entity beneficially or constructively owns our capital stock under this requirement. Additionally, at least 100 persons must beneficially own our capital stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year for each taxable year after 2011. To help insure that we meet these tests, our charter restricts the acquisition and ownership of shares of our capital stock.

Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by our board of directors, our charter prohibits any person from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock. Our board of directors may not grant an exemption from these restrictions to any proposed transferee whose ownership in excess of 9.8% of the value of our outstanding shares would result in our failing to qualify as a REIT. These restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply, however, if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT.

 

Under recently issued IRS guidance, we may pay taxable dividends of our common stock and cash, in which case stockholders may sell shares of our common stock to pay tax on such dividends, placing downward pressure on the market price of our common stock.

 

Under recently issued IRS guidance, we may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in cash and common stock at the election of each stockholder. Under Revenue Procedure 2010-12, up to 90% of any such taxable dividend paid with respect to our 2011 taxable year could be payable in shares of our common stock. Taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for federal income tax purposes. As a result, stockholders may be required to pay income tax with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the common stock that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold federal income tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common stock. If we utilize Revenue Procedure 2010-12 and a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. We do not currently intend to utilize Revenue Procedure 2010-12.

 

We make forward-looking statements in this prospectus that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, cash flow and plans and objectives. When we use the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may” or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, may be forward-looking:

 

 

The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. Some of these factors are described in this prospectus under the headings “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Our Business and Properties.” If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to, and do not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of 26,000,000 shares of our common stock in this offering and 1,274,000 shares of our common stock in the concurrent private placement will be approximately $240.0 million (or approximately $275.4 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), after deducting the underwriting discount on the shares sold in this offering of approximately $17.7 million (or approximately $20.4 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) and estimated expenses related to this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions of approximately $7.3 million payable by us.

 

We will contribute the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement to our operating partnership in exchange for OP units. Our operating partnership intends to use the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement as follows: (1) approximately $227.0 million to repay or extinguish existing indebtedness that we will assume upon completion of the formation transactions, including the payment of accrued interest and exit fees related to our repayment of the Fortress Credit Corp. indebtedness described below and the payment of an extinguishment premium and other transaction costs related to the extinguishment of the Lehman Brothers Bank indebtedness described below; (2) approximately $10.0 million to fund capital improvements at our hotels; and (3) the balance for general corporate and working capital purposes, including potential future hotel acquisitions.

 

Pending the use of the net proceeds as described above, we intend to invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing, short-term investment-grade securities, money-market accounts or other investments that are consistent with our intention to elect and qualify to be taxed as a REIT.

 

The following table sets forth information, as of September 30, 2010, with respect to the indebtedness that we intend to repay in full with a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement:

 

 

 

The following table presents:

 

 

You should read the following capitalization table in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” “Selected Financial and Operating Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the more detailed information contained in our predecessor’s consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

 

 

At September 30, 2010, our pro forma net tangible book value, after giving effect to the formation transactions and the payment by our predecessor of approximately $8.3 million of priority distributions, but before this offering and the concurrent private placement, was approximately $62.7 million, or $6.21 per share. Pro forma net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our pro forma net tangible book value (tangible assets less liabilities) by the pro forma total number of shares of our common stock outstanding upon completion of the formation transactions, but before this offering and the concurrent private placement, assuming all the OP units to be issued in the formation transactions are redeemed for shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis.

 

Our pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30, 2010 would have been $299.2 million, or $8.00 per share, after giving effect to (i) the sale by us of 26,000,000 shares of our common stock in this offering at the IPO price; (ii) the deduction of the underwriting discount; (iii) the sale by us of 1,274,000 shares of common stock in the concurrent private placement to an affiliate of IHG at a price of $9.0675 per share; (iv) the payment of approximately $7.3 million of estimated expenses of the formation transactions, this offering and the concurrent private placement; and (v) the formation transactions and payment by our predecessor of approximately $8.3 million of priority distributions. This represents an immediate accretion in pro forma net tangible book value of $1.79 per share to the members of our predecessor and the Class B and Class C members of Summit of Scottsdale receiving OP units in the formation transactions and an immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value of $1.75 per share to new investors in this offering. The following table illustrates this per-share dilution:

 

 

 

The table below summarizes, as of September 30, 2010, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the formation transactions, this offering and the concurrent private placement, the differences between:

 

 

 

 

 

We intend to make regular quarterly cash distributions to our stockholders, as more fully described below. To qualify as a REIT, we must distribute annually to our stockholders an amount at least equal to 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain. We will be subject to income tax on our taxable income that is not distributed and to an excise tax to the extent that certain percentages of our taxable income are not distributed by specified dates. See “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations.” Income as computed for purposes of the foregoing tax rules will not necessarily correspond to our income as determined for financial reporting purposes.

 

The amount, timing and frequency of distributions will be authorized by our board of directors based upon a variety of factors, including:

 

 

Distributions to stockholders generally will be taxable to our stockholders as ordinary income, although a portion of such distributions may be designated by us as long-term capital gain or may constitute a return of capital. We will furnish annually to each of our stockholders a statement setting forth distributions paid during the preceding year and their federal income tax status. For a discussion of the federal income tax treatment of our distributions, see “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

 

We intend to make regular quarterly cash distributions to our stockholders. We expect to pay a pro rata initial distribution with respect to the period commencing on the date of completion of this offering and ending March 31, 2011 based on a rate of $0.1125 per share for a full quarter. On an annualized basis, the full quarterly rate would equal $0.45 per share, or an annual distribution rate of approximately 4.6% based on the IPO price. We estimate that our initial annual distribution will represent 100% of our estimated cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities) for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2011 as described in the table below. We may need to reduce the amount of the distribution if we are unable to obtain cash provided by financing activities as described in the table below. If we need to borrow funds on a regular basis to meet our distribution requirements or if we reduce the amount of the distribution, our stock price may be adversely affected. Additionally, our current and future loan agreements may restrict our ability to borrow to fund distributions.

 

Our estimate of cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities) does not include the effect of any changes in our working capital resulting from changes in our working capital accounts or attempt to project the effect on our results of operations of any changes in the U.S. economy, the lodging industry generally or the market segments in which we operate, in particular. Our estimate reflects the amount of cash estimated to be used for investing activities and the amount of cash estimated to be used for financing activities. Any acquisitions or other investing activities and financing activities other than as described in the table below may have a material effect on our estimate of cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities). Because we have made the assumptions set forth below in estimating cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities), we do not intend this estimate to be a projection or forecast of our actual results of operations or our liquidity, and have estimated cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities) for the sole purpose of determining our initial annual distribution. Our estimate of cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities) should not be considered as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities (computed in accordance with GAAP) or as an indicator of our liquidity or our ability to make distributions. In addition, the methodology upon which we made the adjustments described below is not necessarily intended to be a basis for determining future distributions.

Distributions made by us will be authorized and determined by our board of directors in its sole discretion out of funds legally available therefor and will be dependent upon a number of factors, including maintaining our status as a REIT, restrictions under applicable law and our loan agreements and other factors described below. We believe that our estimate of cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities) as calculated below constitutes a reasonable basis for setting the initial distribution rate as most of the hotel properties in our initial portfolio have been in operation for a significant period of time, and is conservative in that it does not give effect to the internal growth we expect to generate, particularly in our unseasoned portfolio, if the lodging industry continues to recover. However, we cannot assure you that our estimated cash available for distribution (after estimated cash provided by financing activities) or our expectations regarding our internal growth or the impact of any hotel acquisitions or dispositions we may make during 2011 will prove accurate, and actual distributions may therefore be significantly different from the expected distributions. Actual results of operations, economic conditions or other factors may differ materially from the assumptions used in the estimate. Our actual results of operations will be affected by a number of factors, including the revenue received from our hotels, performance of our hotel manager, our operating expenses, interest expense (including the effect of variable rate debt), the impact of hotel acquisitions or dispositions, renovations and other planned and unanticipated capital expenditures. We may, from time to time, be required, or elect, to borrow funds under our anticipated $100.0 million secured revolving credit facility or otherwise, sell assets or issue capital stock to pay distributions. Additionally, we may pay future distributions from the proceeds from this offering or other securities offerings.

 

We anticipate that, at least initially, our distributions will exceed our then-current and then-accumulated earnings and profits as determined for federal income tax purposes due to the write-off of prepayment fees that we expect to pay in respect of the debt we will be retiring from the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement and non-cash expenses, primarily depreciation and amortization charges that we expect to incur. Therefore, a portion of these distributions may represent a return of capital for federal income tax purposes. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will not be taxable to a stockholder under current federal income tax law to the extent those distributions do not exceed the stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in his or her common stock. Instead, these distributions will reduce the adjusted tax basis of the common stock. In that case, the gain (or loss) recognized on the sale of that common stock or upon our liquidation will be increased (or decreased) accordingly. To the extent those distributions exceed a stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in his or her common stock, they will be treated as a gain from the sale or exchange of the stock. We expect to pay our first distribution in April 2011, which will include a payment with respect to the period commencing on the date of completion of this offering and ending March 31, 2011. We expect that approximately 0%-25% of our estimated initial distribution will represent a return of capital for the tax period ending December 31, 2011. The percentage of our stockholder distributions (if any) that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits may vary substantially from year to year. For a more complete discussion of the tax treatment of distributions to holders of our common stock, see “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

 

We currently expect to maintain our initial distribution rate for the 12-month period following completion of this offering and the formation transactions. However, our board of directors will monitor and adjust this rate as it deems appropriate to reflect our actual results of operations, economic conditions, capital expenditure requirements, debt service requirements, including limits on distributions that may be contained in our financing agreements, including those of our anticipated $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility, from time to time, and other factors that could cause actual distributions to differ materially from our current expectations. Even if lodging industry fundamentals and our results of operations continue to improve, we do not expect to pay in the near term quarterly distributions at a rate in excess of approximately $0.1125 per share, reflecting an annual distribution rate of approximately 4.6% based on the IPO price. Our actual results of operations will be affected by a number of factors, including the revenue we receive from our hotel properties, our operating expenses, interest expense and unanticipated expenditures. For more information regarding risk factors that could materially adversely affect our actual results of operations and our ability to make distributions, please see “Risk Factors.” To the extent that our cash available for distribution is less than the amount required to be distributed under the REIT provisions of the Code, we may consider various funding sources to cover any shortfall, including borrowing under our anticipated $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility, selling certain of our assets or using a portion of the net proceeds we receive in this offering and the concurrent private placement or future offerings. In addition, our charter allows us to issue preferred stock that could have a preference over our common stock as to distributions. We currently have no intention to issue any preferred stock, but if we do, the distribution preference on the preferred stock could limit our ability to make distributions to the holders of our common stock. We also may elect to pay

all or a portion of any distribution in the form of a taxable distribution of our common stock or distribution of debt securities.

 

The following table sets forth calculations relating to the intended initial distribution based on our pro forma financial data, and we cannot assure you that the intended initial distribution will be made or sustained. The calculations are being made solely for the purpose of illustrating the initial distribution and are not necessarily intended to be a basis for determining future distributions. The calculations include the following material assumptions:

 

 

These calculations do not assume any changes to our operations or any acquisitions or dispositions, which would affect our operating results and cash flows, or changes in our outstanding common stock. We cannot assure you that our actual results will be as indicated in the calculations below. All dollar amounts, other than per-share amounts, are in thousands.

 

 

 

 

You should read the following selected historical and pro forma financial and operating data in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements and our predecessor’s consolidated financial statements, including the related notes, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

We have not presented historical financial information for Summit Hotel Properties, Inc., because we have not had any corporate activity since our formation other than the issuance of 1,000 shares of common stock to our Executive Chairman in connection with the formation and initial capitalization of our company and because we believe that a presentation of the results of Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. would not be meaningful.

 

We consider Summit Hotel Properties, LLC our predecessor for accounting purposes. Our predecessor’s historical consolidated balance sheet information as of December 31, 2009 and 2008 and our predecessor’s historical consolidated statements of operations information for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 have been derived from our predecessor’s historical audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Our predecessor’s historical consolidated balance sheet information as of September 30, 2010 and our predecessor’s historical consolidated statements of operations information for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009 have been derived from the historical unaudited consolidated financial statements, respectively, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In the opinion of our management, the unaudited interim financial information includes the adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the unaudited interim financial information. Our predecessor’s historical consolidated balance sheet information as of December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 and our predecessor’s historical consolidated statements of operations information for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005 have been derived from our predecessor’s historical audited consolidated financial statements.

 

Our selected unaudited pro forma balance sheet data and statements of operation and other operating data is presented to reflect: (1) the sale of 26,000,000 shares of our common stock in this offering at $9.75 per share and the sale of 1,274,000 shares of our common stock in the concurrent private placement at a price of $9.0675 per share for approximately $240.0 million of estimated net proceeds, after the deduction of the underwriting discount on the shares sold in this offering and the payment by us of approximately $7.3 million of expenses related to this offering, the concurrent private placement and the formation transactions; (2) the merger of our predecessor with and into our operating partnership, with our predecessor as the acquirer for accounting purposes, and the issuance by our operating partnership of an aggregate of 9,993,992 OP units to the Class A, Class A-1, Class B and Class C members of our predecessor in exchange for their membership interests in our predecessor; (3) the contribution to our operating partnership of the Class B and Class C membership interests in Summit of Scottsdale held by The Summit Group and an unaffiliated third-party investor in exchange for an aggregate of 106,008 OP units; (4) the contribution of the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement to our operating partnership in exchange for OP units that represent an approximate 73.0% partnership interest in our operating partnership, including the sole general partnership interest; (5) the repayment or extinguishment of approximately $223.8 million of outstanding indebtedness and the payment of estimated costs and expenses of approximately $3.2 million in connection with the retirement of this indebtedness; and (6) the grant upon completion of this offering of an aggregate of 4,000 shares of common stock to our independent directors and options to purchase an aggregate of 940,000 shares of common stock to Messrs. Boekelheide, Hansen, Aniszewski, Becker and Bertucci pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan upon completion of this offering.

 

Following completion of the merger, the historical consolidated financial statements of our predecessor will become our historical consolidated financial statements, and our assets and liabilities will be recorded at their respective historical carrying values as of the date of completion of the merger.

 

The unaudited pro forma balance sheet data appearing below assumes that each of these transactions occurred on September 30, 2010. The unaudited pro forma statements of operations and other operating data assume that each of these transactions occurred on January 1, 2009.

 

In the opinion of our management, all material adjustments to reflect the effects of the preceding transactions have been made. The unaudited pro forma balance sheet data is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of what our actual financial position would have been had the transactions referred to above occurred on September 30, 2010, nor does it purport to represent our future financial position. The unaudited pro forma condensed statements of operations data and operating data are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily

indicative of what our actual results of operations would have been had the transactions referred to above occurred on January 1, 2009, nor does it purport to represent our future results of operations.