Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Restricted Cash—Under certain management and debt agreements for our hotel properties existing at March 31, 2022, escrow payments are required for insurance, real estate taxes, and debt service. In addition, for certain properties based on the terms of the underlying debt and management agreements, we escrow 4% to 6% of gross revenues for capital improvements. The Company is currently working with its property managers and lenders in order to utilize lender and manager held reserves to fund operating shortfalls.

Franchise Fees—Under franchise agreements for our hotel properties existing at March 31, 2022, we pay franchisor royalty fees between 3% and 6% of gross rooms revenue and, in some cases, 1% to 3% of food and beverage revenues. Additionally, we pay fees for marketing, reservations, and other related activities aggregating between 1% and 4% of gross rooms revenue and, in some cases, food and beverage revenues. These franchise agreements expire on varying dates between 2023 and 2047. When a franchise term expires, the franchisor has no obligation to renew the franchise. A franchise termination could have a material adverse effect on the operations or the underlying value of the affected hotel due to loss of associated name recognition, marketing support, and centralized reservation systems provided by the franchisor. A franchise termination could also have a material adverse effect on cash available for distribution to stockholders. In addition, if we breach the franchise agreement and the franchisor terminates a franchise prior to its expiration date, we may be liable for up to three times the average annual fees incurred for that property.

The table below summarizes the franchise fees incurred (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
Line Item	2022		2021
Other hotel expenses	$	11,612	$	5,738

Management Fees—Under hotel management agreements for our hotel properties existing at March 31, 2022, we pay monthly hotel management fees equal to the greater of approximately $15,000 per hotel (increased annually based on consumer price index adjustments) or 3% of gross revenues, or in some cases 2% to 7% of gross revenues, as well as annual incentive management fees, if applicable. These hotel management agreements expire from 2023 through 2038, with renewal options. If we terminate a hotel management agreement prior to its expiration, we may be liable for estimated management fees through the remaining term and liquidated damages or, in certain circumstances, we may substitute a new management agreement.

Income Taxes—We and our subsidiaries file income tax returns in the federal jurisdiction and various states. Tax years 2017 through 2021 remain subject to potential examination by certain federal and state taxing authorities.

Potential Pension Liabilities—Upon our 2006 acquisition of a hotel property, certain employees of such hotel were unionized and covered by a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan. At that time, no unfunded pension liabilities existed. Subsequent to our acquisition, a majority of employees, who are employees of the hotel manager, Remington Lodging, petitioned the employer to withdraw recognition of the union. As a result of the decertification petition, Remington Lodging withdrew recognition of the union. At the time of the withdrawal, the National Retirement Fund, the union’s pension fund, indicated unfunded pension liabilities existed. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) filed a complaint against Remington Lodging seeking, among other things, a ruling that Remington Lodging’s withdrawal of recognition was unlawful. The pension fund entered into a settlement agreement with Remington Lodging on November 1, 2011, providing that Remington Lodging will continue to make monthly pension fund payments pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement. As of March 31, 2022, Remington Lodging continues to comply with the settlement agreement by making the appropriate monthly pension fund payments. If Remington Lodging does not comply with the settlement agreement, we have agreed to indemnify Remington Lodging for the payment of the unfunded pension liability, if any, as set forth in the settlement agreement equal to $1.7 million minus the monthly pension payments made by Remington Lodging since the settlement agreement. To illustrate, if Remington Lodging - as of the date a final determination occurs - has made monthly pension payments equaling $100,000, Remington Lodging’s remaining withdrawal liability would be the unfunded pension liability of $1.7 million minus $100,000 (or $1.6 million). This remaining unfunded pension liability would be paid to the pension fund in annual installments of $84,000 (but may be made monthly or quarterly, at Remington Lodging’s election), which shall continue for the remainder of 20 years, which is capped, unless Remington Lodging elects to pay the unfunded pension liability amount earlier.

Litigation—Palm Beach Florida Hotel and Office Building Limited Partnership, et al. v. Nantucket Enterprises, Inc. This litigation involves a landlord tenant dispute from 2008. This litigation was resolved in 2017 with the determination and reimbursement of attorney’s fees being the only remaining dispute. On July 26, 2018, we paid $544,000 as part of a settlement on certain legal fees. The negotiations relating to the potential payment of the remaining attorneys’ fees are still ongoing, pending the appeal of a contempt order against the Maraist Law Firm for failing to produce their fee records. As of March 31, 2022, we have accrued approximately $504,000 in legal fees, which represents the Company’s estimate of the amount of potential remaining legal fees that could be owed.

On December 4, 2015, Pedro Membrives filed a class action lawsuit against HHC TRS FP Portfolio LLC, Remington Lodging & Hospitality, LLC, Remington Holdings LLC, Mark A. Sharkey, Archie Bennett, Jr., Monty J. Bennett, Christopher Peckham, and any other related entities in the Supreme Court of New York, Nassau County, Commercial Division. On August 30, 2016, the complaint was amended to add Michele Spero as a Plaintiff and Remington Long Island Employers, LLC as a defendant. The lawsuit is captioned Pedro Membrives and Michele Spero, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. HHC TRS FP Portfolio LLC, Remington Lodging & Hospitality, LLC, Remington Holdings LLC, Remington Long Island Employers, LLC, et al., Index No. 607828/2015 (Sup. Ct. Nassau Cty.). The plaintiffs allege that the owner and management company of the Hyatt Regency Long Island hotel violated New York law by improperly retaining service charges rather than distributing them to employees. In 2017, the class was certified. On July 24, 2018, the trial court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on liability. The defendants appealed the summary judgment to the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department (the “Second Department”). The Second Department heard oral arguments in this matter on April 20, 2021, and on July 14, 2021, affirmed in part, and modified in part, the trial court’s summary judgement in favor of the plaintiffs. Based on the Second Department’s holding, all information produced during discovery, and the continuing cost and risk, to both sides, a settlement was reached in principle and signed by the parties, but remains subject to Court approval. The settlement requires the Company to establish a settlement fund. As a result, the Company has recorded an accrual of approximately $4.2 million as of March 31, 2022.

On December 20, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against one of the Company’s hotel management companies in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Contra Costa alleging violations of certain California employment laws, which class action affects nine hotels owned by subsidiaries of the Company. The court has entered an order granting class certification with respect to: (1) a statewide class of non-exempt employees of our manager who were allegedly deprived of rest breaks as a result of our manager’s previous written policy requiring its employees to stay on premises during rest breaks; and (2) a derivative class of non-exempt former employees of our manager who were not paid for allegedly missed breaks upon separation from employment. Notices to potential class members were sent out on February 2, 2021. Potential class members had until April 4, 2021 to opt out of the class, however, the total number of employees in the class has not been definitively determined and is the subject of continuing discovery. While we believe it is reasonably possible that we may incur a loss associated with this litigation, because there remains uncertainty under California law with respect to a significant legal issue, discovery relating to class members continues, and the trial judge retains discretion to award lower penalties than set forth in the applicable California employment laws, we do not believe that any potential loss to the Company is reasonably estimable at this time. As of March 31, 2022, no amounts have been accrued.

We are also engaged in other legal proceedings that have arisen but have not been fully adjudicated. To the extent the claims giving rise to these legal proceedings are not covered by insurance, they relate to the following general types of claims: employment matters, tax matters and matters relating to compliance with applicable law (for example, the Americans with Disability Act and similar state laws). The likelihood of loss from these legal proceedings is based on the definitions within contingency accounting literature. We recognize a loss when we believe the loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. Based on the information available to us relating to these legal proceedings and/or our experience in similar legal proceedings, we do not believe the ultimate resolution of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flow. However, our assessment may change depending upon the development of these legal proceedings, and the final results of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. If we do not prevail in one or more of these legal matters, and the associated realized losses exceed our current estimates of the range of potential losses, our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially adversely affected in future periods.