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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

6. Commitments and Contingencies

Ground, Building and Submerged Land Leases – We lease 2,086 square feet of commercial space next to The DeSoto for use as an office, retail or conference space, or for any related or ancillary purposes for the hotel and/or atrium space. In December 2007, we signed an amendment to the lease to include rights to the outdoor esplanade adjacent to the leased commercial space. The areas are leased under a six-year operating lease, which expired October 31, 2006 and has been renewed for the third of three optional five-year renewal periods expiring October 31, 2011, October 31, 2016 and October 31, 2021, respectively. Rent expense for this operating lease for each of the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 totaled $18,245 and for each of the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, totaled $36,491.

We lease, as landlord, the entire fourteenth floor of The DeSoto hotel property to The Chatham Club, Inc. under a ninety-nine year lease expiring July 31, 2086. This lease was assumed upon the purchase of the building under the terms and conditions agreed to by the previous owner of the property. No rental income is recognized under the terms of this lease as the original lump sum rent payment of $990 was received by the previous owner and not prorated over the life of the lease.

We lease a parking lot adjacent to the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University in Raleigh, North Carolina. The land is leased under a second amendment, dated April 28, 1998, to a ground lease originally dated May 25, 1966. The original lease is a 50-year operating lease, which expired August 31, 2016. We exercised a renewal option for the first of three additional ten-year periods expiring August 31, 2026, August 31, 2036, and August 31, 2046, respectively. We hold an exclusive and irrevocable option to purchase the leased land at fair market value at August 1, 2018, or at the end of any 10-year renewal period, subject to the payment of an annual fee of $9,000, and other conditions. Rent expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, each totaled $23,871 and $47,741, respectively.

We lease land adjacent to the Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore for use as parking under a five-year agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation that commenced in July 2009.  In May 2014, we extended the agreement for an additional five years.  The agreement expires in July 2019. The agreement requires annual payments of $2,432, plus tax, and may be renewed for an additional five years. Rent expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, each totaled $651 and $1,301, respectively.

We lease certain submerged land in the Saint Johns River in front of the DoubleTree by Hilton Jacksonville Riverfront from the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida. The submerged land was leased under a five-year operating lease requiring annual payments of $4,961, which expired September 18, 2012. A new operating lease was executed requiring annual payments of $6,020 and expires September 18, 2017. Rent expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, each totaled $1,505 and $3,010, respectively.

We lease 5,216 square feet of commercial office space in Williamsburg, Virginia under an agreement, as amended, that commenced September 1, 2009 and expires August 31, 2018.  Rent expense for each of the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 totaled $22,552, and for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 totaled $45,104 and $45,899, respectively.

We lease the parking garage adjacent to the Hyde Resort & Residences in Hollywood Beach, Florida. The parking garage is leased under a 20-year operating lease requiring monthly payments of $20,000, which expires in February, 2037.  Rent expense for the three and six month ended June 30, 2017 totaled $60,000 and $80,000, respectively.

We also lease certain furniture and equipment under financing arrangements expiring between August 2017 and March 2019.

A schedule of minimum future lease payments for the following six and twelve-month periods is as follows:

 

For the remaining six months ending:  December 31, 2017

 

$

319,068

 

December 31, 2018

 

 

575,987

 

December 31, 2019

 

 

387,097

 

December 31, 2020

 

 

351,464

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

351,464

 

December 31, 2022 and thereafter

 

 

4,271,629

 

Total

 

$

6,256,709

 

 

Employment Agreements - The Company has entered into various employment contracts with employees that could result in obligations to the Company in the event of a change in control or termination without cause.

Management Agreements – As of June 30, 2017, each of our wholly-owned hotels and the rental program and condominium association of the Hyde Resort & Residences operated under a management agreement with Chesapeake Hospitality (see Note 9).  The management agreements expire between January 1, 2020 and January 30, 2022, and may be extended for up to two additional periods of five years each subject to the approval of both parties.  Each of the individual hotel management agreements may be terminated earlier than the stated term upon the sale of the hotel covered by the respective management agreement, in which case we may incur early termination fees.

Franchise Agreements – As of June 30, 2017, most of our hotels operated under franchise licenses from national hotel companies. Under the franchise agreements, we are required to pay a franchise fee generally between 2.5% and 5.0% of room revenues, plus additional fees for marketing, central reservation systems, and other franchisor programs and services that amount to between 2.5% and 6.0% of room revenues from the hotels. The franchise agreements expire between July 2017 and October 2030.   On April 12, 2016 we allowed the franchise agreement on the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown to expire.  The property has been rebranded as The Whitehall.  Each of our franchise agreements provides for early termination fees in the event the agreement is terminated before the stated term.

Restricted Cash Reserves – Each month, we are required to escrow with the lenders on the Hilton Wilmington Riverside, The DeSoto, the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University, the DoubleTree by Hilton Jacksonville Riverside, the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort, and the Georgian Terrace an amount equal to one-twelfth (1/12) of the annual real estate taxes due for the properties. We are also required by several of our lenders to establish individual property improvement funds to cover the cost of replacing capital assets at our properties. Each month, those contributions equal 4.0% of gross revenues for the Hilton Wilmington Riverside, The DeSoto, DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone–University, the DoubleTree by Hilton Jacksonville Riverside, the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort, The Whitehall, and the Georgian Terrace and equal 4.0% of room revenues for the DoubleTree by Hilton Philadelphia Airport.

ESOP Purchase Commitment – The Company’s board of directors approved the ESOP on November 29, 2016.  The ESOP is a non-contributory defined contribution plan covering all employees of the Company.  The ESOP is a leveraged ESOP, meaning funds are loaned to the ESOP from the Company.  The Company entered into a loan agreement with the ESOP on December 29, 2016, pursuant to which the ESOP may borrow up to $5.0 million to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock on the open market.  Shares purchased by the ESOP are held in a suspense account for allocation among participants as contributions are made to the ESOP by the Company.  The share allocations will be accounted for at fair value at the date of allocation.  As of June 30, 2017, the ESOP had purchased 682,500 shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market for approximately $4.9 million, which the ESOP borrowed from the Company pursuant to the loan agreement.  A total of 16,984 shares with a fair value of $121,305 were allocated or committed to be released from the suspense account and recognized as compensation cost during the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.  The remaining 665,516 unallocated shares have an approximate fair value of $4.5 million, as of June 30, 2017.  At June 30, 2017, the ESOP held a total of 9,630 allocated shares, 7,354 committed-to-be-released shares and 665,516 suspense shares.  Dividends on allocated shares are paid to the participants of the ESOP, while dividends on unallocated shares are used to pay down the ESOP loan from the Operating Partnership.

Litigation –To our knowledge, no material litigation has been threatened against us. We are involved in routine litigation arising out of the ordinary course of business, all of which we expect to be covered by insurance and we believe it is not reasonably possible such matters will have a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations or cash flows.