Related Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	9. Related Party Transactions Chesapeake Hospitality. As of December 31, 2015, the members of Chesapeake Hospitality (a company that is majority-owned and controlled by the Company’s chief executive officer, its former chief financial officer, a member of its Board of Directors and a former member of its Board of Directors) owned 1,329,314 shares, approximately 9.2%, of the Company’s outstanding common stock as well as 1,292,958 Operating Partnership units. The following is a summary of the transactions between Chesapeake Hospitality and us: Accounts Receivable – At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we were due $0 and $50,838, respectively, from Chesapeake Hospitality. Shell Island Sublease – We had a sublease arrangement with Chesapeake Hospitality on our expired leasehold interests in the property at Shell Island. For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, we earned $0, $350,000 and $350,000, respectively, in leasehold revenue. The underlying leases at Shell Island expired on December 31, 2011. Strategic Alliance Agreement – On December 21, 2004, we entered into a ten-year strategic alliance agreement with Chesapeake Hospitality that provides in part for the referral of acquisition opportunities to the Company and the management of its hotels by Chesapeake Hospitality. The agreement expired on December 15, 2014, in conjunction with the execution of the new management agreement, Management Agreements – Each of the hotels that we wholly-owned at December 31, 2015 and 2014, are operated by Chesapeake Hospitality under various management agreements that were to expire between December 2014 and March 2019. Under those now terminated agreements, Chesapeake Hospitality received a base management fee of 2.0% of gross revenues for the first full fiscal year and partial fiscal year from the commencement date through December 31 of that year, 2.5% of gross revenues the second full fiscal year, and 3.0% of gross revenues for every year thereafter. The agreements also provided for an incentive management fee due annually in arrears within 90 days of the end of the fiscal year equal to 10.0% of the amount by which the gross operating profit of the hotels, on an aggregate basis for eight hotels and on an individual basis for two other hotels, for a given year exceeds the gross operating profit for the same hotel(s), for the prior year. The incentive management fee may not exceed 0.25% of gross revenues of all of the hotel(s) included in the incentive fee calculation. The management agreement for the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown did not provide for any incentive management fee. Additionally, the management agreement for the Georgian Terrace provided for an administrative fee of $30,000 per year for as long as the adjacent parking garage is managed by a third party. On December 15, 2014, we entered into a new master agreement and a series of individual hotel management agreements that became effective on January 1, 2015. The master agreement has a five-year term, but may be extended for such additional periods as long as an individual management agreement remains in effect. The base management fee for the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown and the Georgian Terrace will remain at 2.00% through 2015, increases to 2.25% in 2016 and increases to 2.50% thereafter. The base management fees for the remaining properties in the current portfolio will be 2.65% through 2017 and decreases to 2.50% thereafter. For new individual hotel management agreements, Chesapeake Hospitality will receive a base management fee of 2.00% of gross revenues for the first full year from the commencement date through the anniversary date, 2.25% of gross revenues the second full year, and 2.50% of gross revenues for every year thereafter. Base management fees earned by Chesapeake Hospitality totaled $3,371,668, $3,342,782 and $2,652,070 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively. In addition, incentive management fees of $79,555, $97,025 and $67,502 were accrued for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively. Employee Medical Benefits – We purchase employee medical benefits through Maryland Hospitality, Inc. (d/b/a MHI Health), an affiliate of Chesapeake Hospitality for our employees as well as those employees that are employed by Chesapeake Hospitality that work exclusively for our hotel properties. Gross premiums for employee medical benefits paid by the Company (before offset of employee co-payments) were $4,541,546, $3,748,587 and $2,592,115 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively. Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort. As of December 31, 2015, we own 100% of the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort, which is no longer considered a related party and has a new management agreement as of July 31, 2015. However, through July 30, 2015 we owned a 25.0% indirect interest in (i) the entity that owns the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort and (ii) the entity that leases the hotel and has engaged Chesapeake Hospitality to operate the hotel under a management contract. The following is a summary of the transactions between Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort and us: Accounts Receivable – At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we were due $0 and $146,836, respectively, from Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort. Management Agreement – Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort was operated by Chesapeake Hospitality under a management agreement that was set to expire August 2017. Under this agreement Chesapeake Hospitality received a base management fee of 3.0% of gross revenues. Base management fees earned by Chesapeake Hospitality totaled $401,954, $592,119 and $560,847 for the period ended July 31, 2015 and the years ended December 31, 2014, and 2013, respectively. Asset Management Fee – Also, under an asset management agreement that terminated on July 31, 2015, MHI Hospitality TRS II, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of the Company, receives a fee of 1.50% of total revenue which is due on a quarterly basis for services rendered. Asset management fees for the period ended July 31, 2015 and the years ended December 31, 2014, and 2013 were $200,976, $300,607 and $280,274, respectively. Unpaid asset management fees included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities at December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 totaled $0, $73,278 and $74,464, respectively Redemption of Units in Operating Partnership – During 2014, we redeemed a total of 3,300 units in its Operating Partnership held by a trust controlled by one current member of our Board of Directors for a total of $25,621 pursuant to the terms of the partnership agreement. Sotherly Foundation – During 2015, the Company loaned $180,000 to the Sotherly Foundation, a non-profit organization to benefit wounded warriors. As of December 31, 2015, the balance of the loan was $160,000. Issuance of Units in Operating Partnership – In connection with the acquisition of the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown Hotel in November 2013, we purchased from MHI Hotels its 1.0% limited partnership interest in HHA, the entity that owns the property, in exchange for 32,929 units of limited partnership interests in the Operating Partnership valued at $153,636 pursuant to an exchange agreement entered into between the Operating Partnership and MHI Hotels. The indirect equity owners of MHI Hotels include the Company’s chief executive officer, Andrew M. Sims, and a member of the Company’s board of directors, Kim E. Sims. Modified Excepted Holder. On July 10, 2012, the Company amended the terms of the outstanding Essex Warrant by establishing a modified excepted holder limit (as defined in the Company’s Articles of Amendment and Restatement) for the Investors. On December 23, 2013, the Company’s board of directors terminated and extinguished the excepted holder limit and excepted holder status for the Investors in connection with the redemption of the Essex Warrant. Preferred Stock Redemptions. On March 26, 2013, we used the net proceeds of an expansion of the mortgage on the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University to make a special distribution by the Operating Partnership to the Company to redeem 1,902 shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $2.1 million plus the payment of related accrued and unpaid cash and stock dividends. The redemption resulted in a prepayment fee of approximately $0.2 million. On August 1, 2013, we used the net proceeds of a new mortgage on the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University to make a special distribution by the Operating Partnership to the Company to redeem 2,460 shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $2.7 million plus the payment of related accrued and unpaid cash and stock dividends. The redemption resulted in a prepayment fee of approximately $0.2 million. On September 30, 2013, we used a portion of the proceeds of the 8% Notes offering to make a special distribution by the Operating Partnership to the Company to redeem the remaining outstanding shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $10.7 million plus the payment of related accrued and unpaid cash and stock dividends. The redemption resulted in a prepayment fee of approximately $0.7 million. Essex Warrant Redemptions. On October 23, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement to redeem the First Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares for an aggregate cash redemption price of $3.2 million. The First Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares are no longer Issuable Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant, and all exercise and other rights of the Initial Holders in respect of the Redeemed Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant were terminated and extinguished. On December 23, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement to redeem the Final Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares for an aggregate cash redemption price of approximately $4.0 million. The Final Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares are no longer Issuable Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant, and all exercise and other rights of the Initial Holders in respect of the Redeemed Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant were terminated and extinguished. Others. On June 24, 2013 we hired Ashley S. Kirkland, the daughter of our Chief Executive Officer as a legal analyst and Robert E. Kirkland IV, her husband, as our compliance officer. On October 2, 2014, we hired Andrew M. Sims Jr., the son of our Chief Executive Officer, as a brand manager. Compensation for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 totaled approximately $270,240 and $204,000, respectively, for the three individuals. During the year ending December 31, 2015, the Company reimbursed $138,025, to a partnership controlled by the Chief Executive Officer for business-related air travel pursuant to the Company’s travel reimbursement policy. There were no reimbursements during the year ended December 31, 2014.

9. Related Party Transactions

Chesapeake Hospitality. As of December 31, 2015, the members of Chesapeake Hospitality (a company that is majority-owned and controlled by the Company’s chief executive officer, its former chief financial officer, a member of its Board of Directors and a former member of its Board of Directors) owned 1,329,314 shares, approximately 9.2%, of the Company’s outstanding common stock as well as 1,292,958 Operating Partnership units. The following is a summary of the transactions between Chesapeake Hospitality and us:

Accounts Receivable – At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we were due $0 and $50,838, respectively, from Chesapeake Hospitality.

Shell Island Sublease – We had a sublease arrangement with Chesapeake Hospitality on our expired leasehold interests in the property at Shell Island. For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, we earned $0, $350,000 and $350,000, respectively, in leasehold revenue. The underlying leases at Shell Island expired on December 31, 2011.

Strategic Alliance Agreement – On December 21, 2004, we entered into a ten-year strategic alliance agreement with Chesapeake Hospitality that provides in part for the referral of acquisition opportunities to the Company and the management of its hotels by Chesapeake Hospitality. The agreement expired on December 15, 2014, in conjunction with the execution of the new management agreement,

Management Agreements – Each of the hotels that we wholly-owned at December 31, 2015 and 2014, are operated by Chesapeake Hospitality under various management agreements that were to expire between December 2014 and March 2019. Under those now terminated agreements, Chesapeake Hospitality received a base management fee of 2.0% of gross revenues for the first full fiscal year and partial fiscal year from the commencement date through December 31 of that year, 2.5% of gross revenues the second full fiscal year, and 3.0% of gross revenues for every year thereafter. The agreements also provided for an incentive management fee due annually in arrears within 90 days of the end of the fiscal year equal to 10.0% of the amount by which the gross operating profit of the hotels, on an aggregate basis for eight hotels and on an individual basis for two other hotels, for a given year exceeds the gross operating profit for the same hotel(s), for the prior year. The incentive management fee may not exceed 0.25% of gross revenues of all of the hotel(s) included in the incentive fee calculation. The management agreement for the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown did not provide for any incentive management fee. Additionally, the management agreement for the Georgian Terrace provided for an administrative fee of $30,000 per year for as long as the adjacent parking garage is managed by a third party.

On December 15, 2014, we entered into a new master agreement and a series of individual hotel management agreements that became effective on January 1, 2015. The master agreement has a five-year term, but may be extended for such additional periods as long as an individual management agreement remains in effect. The base management fee for the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown and the Georgian Terrace will remain at 2.00% through 2015, increases to 2.25% in 2016 and increases to 2.50% thereafter. The base management fees for the remaining properties in the current portfolio will be 2.65% through 2017 and decreases to 2.50% thereafter. For new individual hotel management agreements, Chesapeake Hospitality will receive a base management fee of 2.00% of gross revenues for the first full year from the commencement date through the anniversary date, 2.25% of gross revenues the second full year, and 2.50% of gross revenues for every year thereafter.

Base management fees earned by Chesapeake Hospitality totaled $3,371,668, $3,342,782 and $2,652,070 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively. In addition, incentive management fees of $79,555, $97,025 and $67,502 were accrued for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively.

Employee Medical Benefits – We purchase employee medical benefits through Maryland Hospitality, Inc. (d/b/a MHI Health), an affiliate of Chesapeake Hospitality for our employees as well as those employees that are employed by Chesapeake Hospitality that work exclusively for our hotel properties. Gross premiums for employee medical benefits paid by the Company (before offset of employee co-payments) were $4,541,546, $3,748,587 and $2,592,115 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively.

Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort. As of December 31, 2015, we own 100% of the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort, which is no longer considered a related party and has a new management agreement as of July 31, 2015. However, through July 30, 2015 we owned a 25.0% indirect interest in (i) the entity that owns the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort and (ii) the entity that leases the hotel and has engaged Chesapeake Hospitality to operate the hotel under a management contract. The following is a summary of the transactions between Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort and us:

Accounts Receivable – At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we were due $0 and $146,836, respectively, from Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort.

Management Agreement – Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort was operated by Chesapeake Hospitality under a management agreement that was set to expire August 2017. Under this agreement Chesapeake Hospitality received a base management fee of 3.0% of gross revenues. Base management fees earned by Chesapeake Hospitality totaled $401,954, $592,119 and $560,847 for the period ended July 31, 2015 and the years ended December 31, 2014, and 2013, respectively.

Asset Management Fee – Also, under an asset management agreement that terminated on July 31, 2015, MHI Hospitality TRS II, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of the Company, receives a fee of 1.50% of total revenue which is due on a quarterly basis for services rendered. Asset management fees for the period ended July 31, 2015 and the years ended December 31, 2014, and 2013 were $200,976, $300,607 and $280,274, respectively. Unpaid asset management fees included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities at December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 totaled $0, $73,278 and $74,464, respectively

Redemption of Units in Operating Partnership – During 2014, we redeemed a total of 3,300 units in its Operating Partnership held by a trust controlled by one current member of our Board of Directors for a total of $25,621 pursuant to the terms of the partnership agreement.

Sotherly Foundation – During 2015, the Company loaned $180,000 to the Sotherly Foundation, a non-profit organization to benefit wounded warriors. As of December 31, 2015, the balance of the loan was $160,000.

Issuance of Units in Operating Partnership – In connection with the acquisition of the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown Hotel in November 2013, we purchased from MHI Hotels its 1.0% limited partnership interest in HHA, the entity that owns the property, in exchange for 32,929 units of limited partnership interests in the Operating Partnership valued at $153,636 pursuant to an exchange agreement entered into between the Operating Partnership and MHI Hotels. The indirect equity owners of MHI Hotels include the Company’s chief executive officer, Andrew M. Sims, and a member of the Company’s board of directors, Kim E. Sims.

Modified Excepted Holder. On July 10, 2012, the Company amended the terms of the outstanding Essex Warrant by establishing a modified excepted holder limit (as defined in the Company’s Articles of Amendment and Restatement) for the Investors.

On December 23, 2013, the Company’s board of directors terminated and extinguished the excepted holder limit and excepted holder status for the Investors in connection with the redemption of the Essex Warrant.

Preferred Stock Redemptions. On March 26, 2013, we used the net proceeds of an expansion of the mortgage on the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University to make a special distribution by the Operating Partnership to the Company to redeem 1,902 shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $2.1 million plus the payment of related accrued and unpaid cash and stock dividends. The redemption resulted in a prepayment fee of approximately $0.2 million. On August 1, 2013, we used the net proceeds of a new mortgage on the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University to make a special distribution by the Operating Partnership to the Company to redeem 2,460 shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $2.7 million plus the payment of related accrued and unpaid cash and stock dividends. The redemption resulted in a prepayment fee of approximately $0.2 million.

On September 30, 2013, we used a portion of the proceeds of the 8% Notes offering to make a special distribution by the Operating Partnership to the Company to redeem the remaining outstanding shares of Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $10.7 million plus the payment of related accrued and unpaid cash and stock dividends. The redemption resulted in a prepayment fee of approximately $0.7 million.

Essex Warrant Redemptions. On October 23, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement to redeem the First Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares for an aggregate cash redemption price of $3.2 million. The First Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares are no longer Issuable Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant, and all exercise and other rights of the Initial Holders in respect of the Redeemed Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant were terminated and extinguished.

On December 23, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement to redeem the Final Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares for an aggregate cash redemption price of approximately $4.0 million. The Final Tranche of Redeemed Warrant Shares are no longer Issuable Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant, and all exercise and other rights of the Initial Holders in respect of the Redeemed Warrant Shares under the Essex Warrant were terminated and extinguished.

Others. On June 24, 2013 we hired Ashley S. Kirkland, the daughter of our Chief Executive Officer as a legal analyst and Robert E. Kirkland IV, her husband, as our compliance officer. On October 2, 2014, we hired Andrew M. Sims Jr., the son of our Chief Executive Officer, as a brand manager. Compensation for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 totaled approximately $270,240 and $204,000, respectively, for the three individuals.

During the year ending December 31, 2015, the Company reimbursed $138,025, to a partnership controlled by the Chief Executive Officer for business-related air travel pursuant to the Company’s travel reimbursement policy. There were no reimbursements during the year ended December 31, 2014.