Stock Incentive Plans

We are authorized to issue up to 6,082,664 shares of our common stock under our 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the "2016 Plan"), of which we have issued or committed to issue 846,517 shares as of September 30, 2018. In addition to these shares, additional shares of common stock could be issued in connection with the performance stock unit awards as further described below. The 2016 Plan replaced the 2004 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, as amended (the "2004 Plan"). We no longer make share grants and issuances under the 2004 Plan, although awards previously made under the 2004 Plan that are outstanding will remain in effect in accordance with the terms of that plan and the applicable award agreements.

Restricted Stock Awards

Restricted stock awards issued to our officers and employees generally vest over a three-year period from the date of the grant based on continued employment. We measure compensation expense for the restricted stock awards based upon the fair market value of our common stock at the date of grant. Compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period and is included in corporate expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. A summary of our restricted stock awards from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018 is as follows:



	Number of Shares		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested balance at January 1, 2018	630,962		$	10.66
Granted	349,091		10.19
Vested	(287,148	)	11.02
Forfeited	(51,061	)	10.44
Unvested balance at September 30, 2018	641,844		$	10.25

The remaining share awards are expected to vest as follows: 310,117 shares during 2019, 215,368 shares during 2020, and 116,359 during 2021. As of September 30, 2018, the unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock awards was $4.8 million and the weighted-average period over which the unrecognized compensation expense will be recorded is approximately 23 months. We recorded $0.2 million and $0.8 million of compensation expense related to restricted stock awards for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. We recorded $2.3 million of compensation expense related to restricted stock awards for each of the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017.

In the first quarter of 2018, we recorded $0.6 million of compensation expense related to the accelerated vesting of awards in connection with the departure of our former Chief Financial Officer. In the third quarter of 2018, we entered into a settlement agreement with our former Chief Financial Officer, in which he forfeited certain of his equity awards. Accordingly, in the third quarter of 2018 we reversed $0.5 million of compensation expense previously recorded in the first quarter of 2018.

Performance Stock Units

Performance stock units (“PSUs”) are restricted stock units that vest three years from the date of grant. Each executive officer is granted a target number of PSUs (the “PSU Target Award”). For the PSUs issued in 2015 and vesting in 2018, the actual number of shares of common stock issued to each executive officer is subject to the achievement of certain levels of total stockholder return relative to the total stockholder return of a peer group of publicly traded lodging REITs over a three-year performance period. There will be no payout of shares of our common stock if our total stockholder return falls below the 30th percentile of the total stockholder returns of the peer group. The maximum number of shares of common stock issued to an executive officer is equal to 150% of the PSU Target Award and is earned if our total stockholder return is equal to or greater than the 75th percentile of the total stockholder returns of the peer group. For the PSUs issued in 2016 and vesting in 2019, the calculation of total stockholder return relative to the total stockholder return of a peer group over a three-year performance period remained in effect for 75% of the number of PSUs to be earned in the performance period. The remaining 25% is determined based on achieving improvement in market share for each of our hotels over the three-year performance period based on a report prepared for each hotel by STR Global, a well-recognized and universally accepted benchmarking service for the hospitality industry. For the PSUs issued in 2017 and 2018 and vesting in 2020 and 2021, respectively, the calculation of total stockholder return relative to the total stockholder return of a peer group over a three-year performance period applies to 50% of the number of PSUs to be earned in the performance period. The remaining 50% is determined based on achieving improvement in market share for each of our hotels over the three-year performance period.

We measure compensation expense for the PSUs based upon the fair market value of the award at the grant date. Compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the three-year performance period and is included in corporate expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. The grant date fair value of the portion of the PSUs based on our relative total stockholder return is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation performed by a third-party valuation firm. The grant date fair value of the portion of the PSUs based on improvement in market share for each of our hotels is the closing price of our common stock on the grant date.

On March 2, 2018, our board of directors granted 264,509 PSUs to our executive officers. The grant date fair value of the portion of the PSUs based on our relative total stockholder return was $9.52 using the assumptions of volatility of 26.9% and a risk-free rate of 2.40%. The grant date fair value of the portion of the PSUs based on hotel market share was $10.18, the closing stock price of our common stock on such date. On April 2, 2018, our board of directors granted 28,602 PSUs to our new Chief Financial Officer. The grant date fair value of the portion of the PSUs based on our relative total stockholder return was $9.00 using the assumptions of volatility of 26.9% and a risk-free rate of 2.37%. The grant date fair value of the portion of the PSUs based on hotel market share was $10.32, the closing stock price of our common stock on such date.

A summary of our PSUs from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018 is as follows:



	Number of Target Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested balance at January 1, 2018	785,797		$	10.42
Granted	293,111		9.82
Additional units from dividends	26,068		11.13
Vested (1)	(218,514	)	11.98
Forfeited	(113,668	)	9.86
Unvested balance at September 30, 2018	772,794		$	11.18

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(1)	The number of shares of common stock earned for the PSUs vested in 2018 was equal to 51.75% of the PSU Target Award.

The remaining target units are expected to vest as follows: 245,055 units during 2019, 228,521 units during 2020 and 299,218 units during 2021. The number of shares earned upon vesting is subject to the attainment of the performance goals described above. As of September 30, 2018, the unrecognized compensation cost related to the PSUs was $3.7 million and is expected to be recognized on a straight-line basis over a weighted average period of 24 months.

We recorded a net $0.4 million reversal of compensation expense related to the PSUs for the three months ended September 30, 2018, due primarily to a reversal of $1.0 million of previously recorded compensation expense related to the forfeiture of PSU awards of our former Chief Financial Officer. We recorded $0.6 million of compensation expense related to the PSUs for the three months ended September 30, 2017. We recorded $1.3 million and $1.8 million, respectively, of compensation expense related to the PSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. The compensation expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 includes a net reversal of $0.4 million of compensation expense due to the forfeiture of our former Chief Financial Officer's PSUs.