UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Form 10-K

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013

OR

Commission File Number: 001-14625 (Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.)

0-25087 (Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P.)

 

HOST HOTELS & RESORTS, INC.

HOST HOTELS & RESORTS, L.P.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

(240) 744-1000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

 

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

 

Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

 

The aggregate market value of common shares held by non-affiliates of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (based on the closing sale price on the New York Stock Exchange) on June 28, 2013 was $12,310,903,149.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and delivered to stockholders in connection with its annual meeting of stockholders to be held on May 14, 2014 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This report combines the annual reports on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P. Unless stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires, references to “Host Inc.” mean Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a Maryland corporation, and references to “Host L.P.” mean Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and its consolidated subsidiaries. We use the terms “we” or “our” or “the company” to refer to Host Inc. and Host L.P. together, unless the context indicates otherwise. We use the term Host Inc. to specifically refer to Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and the term Host L.P. to specifically refer to Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P. (and its consolidated subsidiaries) in cases where it is important to distinguish between Host Inc. and Host L.P. Host Inc. owns properties and conducts operations through Host L.P., of which Host Inc. is the sole general partner and of which it holds approximately 98.7% of the partnership interests (“OP units”) as of December 31, 2013. The remaining approximate 1.3% partnership interests are owned by various unaffiliated limited partners. As the sole general partner of Host L.P., Host Inc. has the exclusive and complete responsibility for Host L.P.’s day-to-day management and control.

We believe combining the annual reports on Form 10-K of Host Inc. and Host L.P. into this single report results in the following benefits:

Management operates Host Inc. and Host L.P. as one enterprise. The management of Host Inc. consists of the same members who direct the management of Host L.P. The executive officers of Host Inc. are appointed by Host Inc.’s board of directors, but are employed by Host L.P. Host L.P. employs everyone who works for Host Inc. or Host L.P. As general partner with control of Host L.P., Host Inc. consolidates Host L.P. for financial reporting purposes, and Host Inc. does not have significant assets other than its investment in Host L.P. Therefore, the assets and liabilities of Host Inc. and Host L.P. are the same on their respective financial statements.

There are a few differences between Host Inc. and Host L.P., which are reflected in the disclosure in this report. We believe it is important to understand the differences between Host Inc. and Host L.P. in the context of how Host Inc. and Host L.P. operate as an interrelated consolidated company. Host Inc. is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, and its only material asset is its ownership of partnership interests of Host L.P. As a result, Host Inc. does not conduct business itself, other than acting as the sole general partner of Host L.P., and issuing public equity from time to time, the proceeds from which are contributed to Host L.P. in exchange for OP units. Host Inc. itself does not issue any indebtedness and does not guarantee the debt or obligations of Host L.P. Host L.P. holds substantially all of our assets and holds the ownership interests in our joint ventures. Host L.P. conducts the operations of the business and is structured as a limited partnership with no publicly traded equity. Except for net proceeds from public equity issuances by Host Inc., Host L.P. generates the capital required by our business through Host L.P.’s operations, by Host L.P.’s direct or indirect incurrence of indebtedness, or through the issuance of OP units.

The substantive difference between the filings of Host Inc. and Host L.P. is that Host Inc. is a REIT with public stock, while Host L.P. is a partnership with no publicly traded equity. In the financial statements, this difference primarily is reflected in the equity (or partners’ capital for Host L.P.) section of the consolidated balance sheets and in the consolidated statements of equity (or partners’ capital) and in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) with respect to the manner in which income is allocated to non-controlling interests. Income allocable to the holders of approximately 1.3% of the OP units is reflected as income allocable to non-controlling interests at Host Inc. and within net income at Host L.P. Also, earnings per share generally will be slightly less than the earnings per OP unit, as each Host Inc. common share is the equivalent of .97895 OP units (instead of 1 OP unit). Apart from these differences, the financial statements of Host Inc. and Host L.P. are nearly identical.

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To help investors understand the differences between Host Inc. and Host L.P., this report presents the following separate sections or portions of sections for each of Host Inc. and Host L.P.:

This report also includes separate Item 9A. Controls and Procedures sections and separate Exhibit 31 and 32 certifications for each of Host Inc. and Host L.P. in order to establish that the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of Host Inc. and the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of Host Inc. as the general partner of Host L.P. have made the requisite certifications and that Host Inc. and Host L.P. are compliant with Rule 13a-15 or Rule 15d-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. §1350.

 

 

 

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HOST HOTELS & RESORTS, INC. AND HOST HOTELS & RESORTS, L.P.

 

 

 

 

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PART I

Forward Looking Statements

Our disclosure and analysis in this 2013 Form 10-K and in Host Inc.’s 2013 Annual Report to stockholders contain some forward-looking statements that set forth anticipated results based on management’s plans and assumptions. From time to time, we also provide forward-looking statements in other materials we release to the public. Such statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events; they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify each such statement by using words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “will,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these forward-looking statements include those relating to future actions, future acquisitions or dispositions, future capital expenditure plans, future performance or results of current and anticipated expenses, interest rates, foreign exchange rates or the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings.

We cannot guarantee that any future results discussed in any forward-looking statements will be realized, although we believe that we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions. Achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions, including those discussed in Item 1A “Risk Factors.” Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could differ materially from past results and those results anticipated, estimated or projected. You should bear this in mind as you consider forward-looking statements.

We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make or related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Also note that, in our risk factors, we provide a cautionary discussion of risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions relevant to our business. These are factors that, individually or in the aggregate, we believe could cause our actual results to differ materially from past results and those results anticipated, estimated or projected. We note these factors for investors as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risk factors. Consequently, you should not consider the discussion of risk factors to be a complete discussion of all of the potential risks or uncertainties that could affect our business.

 

Host Inc. was incorporated as a Maryland corporation in 1998 and operates as a self-managed and self-administered REIT. Host Inc. owns properties and conducts operations through Host L.P., of which Host Inc. is the sole general partner and in which it holds approximately 98.7% of the partnership interests (“OP units”) as of December 31, 2013. The remaining partnership interests are owned by various unaffiliated limited partners. Host Inc. has the exclusive and complete responsibility for Host L.P.’s day-to-day management and control.

As of February 14, 2014, our consolidated lodging portfolio consists of 114 primarily luxury and upper-upscale hotels containing approximately 60,000 rooms, with the majority located in the United States, and with 15 of the properties located outside of the U.S. in Canada, New Zealand, Chile, Australia, Mexico and Brazil. We also are developing two hotels in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In addition, we own non-controlling interests in two international joint ventures: a joint venture in Europe, which owns 19 luxury and upper upscale hotels with approximately 6,400 rooms in France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, Germany and Sweden; and a joint venture in Asia/Pacific, which owns one upscale hotel in Australia and minority interests in two operating hotels, one upscale and one midscale, in India and five additional hotels in India currently under development. We also hold non-controlling investments in the 255-room Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown in Tennessee, a 131–unit vacation ownership project under development adjacent to our Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa and the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in which we sold an 89% ownership interest in January 2014.

The Lodging Industry

The lodging industry in the United States consists of private and public entities that operate in an extremely diversified market under a variety of brand names. The lodging industry has several key participants:

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The hotel manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the hotel, including the employment of hotel staff, the determination of room rates, the development of sales and marketing plans, the preparation of operating and capital expenditure budgets and the preparation of financial reports for the owner. They typically receive fees based on the revenues and profitability of the hotel.

The lodging industry is viewed as consisting of six different segments, each of which caters to a discrete set of customer tastes and needs: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale (with and without food and beverage service) and economy. Our portfolio primarily consists of luxury and upper upscale properties that are located in the central business districts of major cities, near airports and resort/conference destinations, which are operated under internationally recognized brand names such as Marriott, Hyatt, Starwood and Accor (see – “Our Hotel Portfolio”). Revenues earned at our hotels consist of three broad categories: rooms, food and beverage, and other revenues. While approximately 65% of our revenue is generated from room sales, many of our properties feature a variety of amenities that help drive demand and profitability. Our hotels typically include meeting and banquet facilities, a variety of restaurants and lounges, swimming pools, exercise facilities and/or spas, gift shops and parking facilities, the combination of which enable them to serve business, leisure and group travelers.   

The following graphs summarize the composition of the 114 hotels in our consolidated portfolio based on the percentage of revenues represented by our luxury, upper upscale and other categories and by property type:    

 

 

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Our industry is influenced by the cyclical relationship between the supply of and demand for hotel rooms. Lodging demand growth typically is related to the vitality of the overall economy, in addition to local market factors that stimulate travel to specific destinations. In particular, economic indicators such as GDP growth, business investment and employment growth are some of the primary drivers of lodging demand. The global recession of 2008 and 2009 resulted in a considerable decline both in consumer and business spending and a severe decline in demand within the lodging industry.  Beginning in 2010, as economic conditions gradually have stabilized and strengthened, lodging demand has improved steadily, driven by moderate GDP growth in the U.S. coupled with increasing business investment. The primary demand driver has been transient demand from business and leisure travelers and, to a much lesser degree, group business.  We expect demand to continue to improve in 2014, as the potential for growth in group business, and expected continued growth in transient business, could lead to further RevPAR improvements. However, several economic headwinds may hamper lodging demand, including the expected tapering of the U.S. federal reserve bond-buying program known as quantitative easing, the tenuous nature of the Euro Zone recovery, the slow-down in growth in China and general instability in emerging markets.

Lodging supply growth generally is driven by overall lodging demand, as extended periods of strong demand growth tend to encourage new development. However, the rate of supply growth also is influenced by a number of additional factors, including the availability of capital, interest rates, construction costs and unique market considerations. The relatively long lead-time required to complete the development of hotels makes supply growth easier to forecast than demand growth, but increases the volatility of the cyclical behavior of the lodging industry. As illustrated in the charts below for the U.S. lodging industry, at different points in the cycle, demand may increase when there is no new supply or supply may grow when demand is declining. The decline in lodging demand during the recession of 2008 through 2009 and the lack of available financing for new hotel construction caused a significant reduction in hotel development. As a result, supply growth was relatively low in 2010 through 2013. Overall, we expect domestic supply growth to remain constrained in 2014, at approximately 1.5%, which still is below the historical average of approximately 2%. Additionally, we believe that the average supply growth for upper upscale hotels in our markets will be approximately 0.9% in 2014.  However, New York City and Washington, D.C. are expected to experience above average growth in supply, which will increase competition in these markets.

We anticipate that demand growth will exceed supply growth in the near term, resulting in continued growth in revenue per available room (“RevPAR”), which is consistent with analysis prepared by PKF Hospitality Research. RevPAR is a commonly used operational measure of hotel performance in the lodging industry calculated as the product of average room rate and occupancy percentage. Occupancy levels in the upper-upscale market currently are above their 15-year average. Therefore, while there is potential for occupancy growth, we believe RevPAR growth primarily will be driven by increases in average room rate. However, there can be no assurance that any increases in hotel revenues or earnings at our properties or improvement in margins will continue for any number of reasons, including those discussed above.    

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Our portfolio primarily consists of upper upscale hotels and, accordingly, its performance is best understood in comparison to the upper upscale segment rather than the entire industry. The charts below detail the historical supply, demand and RevPAR growth for the U.S. lodging industry and for the U.S. upper upscale segment for 2009 to 2013 and forecast data for 2014:

U.S. Lodging Industry Supply, Demand and RevPAR Growth

 

U.S. Upper Upscale Supply, Demand and RevPAR Growth

 

 

Business Strategy

Our primary long-term business objective is to provide superior total returns to our equity holders through a combination of appreciation in asset values, growth in earnings and dividend distributions. To achieve this objective, we seek to:

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Since 2002, the percentage of revenues from our target markets in the U.S. and internationally has increased from approximately 55% to 75%. The following graph summarizes the composition of our consolidated hotels by market based on percentage of revenues (which excludes properties owned by our European and Asia/Pacific joint ventures):  

    

Acquisitions and Development. Our acquisition strategy focuses on acquiring hotels at attractive yields that exceed our cost of capital in our target markets. As discussed above, these markets consist of gateway cities in the U.S. and in key international cities that are positioned to attract premium corporate, leisure and international travelers, and have significant barriers to entry.  Based on historical trends, we believe these markets will have favorable long-term supply and demand dynamics and consequently better potential for revenue growth.  In the U.S., we will focus primarily on acquiring upper upscale and luxury hotels at prices below replacement cost and, secondarily, developing midscale and upscale hotels with strategic partners, in target markets. Our efforts in Europe will include the acquisition of upper upscale and luxury hotels in our target markets through our European joint venture. In the

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Asia/Pacific and Latin America regions, we will concentrate both on the acquisition of upper upscale and luxury hotels and the development of midscale and upscale hotels in our target markets, which we may look to acquire directly or through joint ventures with strategic partners. We may acquire additional properties through various structures, including transactions involving single assets, portfolios, joint ventures and acquisitions of the securities or assets of other REITs.   

Value Enhancement Initiatives. We look to enhance the value of our portfolio by identifying and executing strategies designed to achieve the highest and best use of our properties. These projects have included the development of timeshare, office space or condominium units on excess land, redevelopment or expansion of existing retail space, the purchase or extension of ground leases, the acquisition of air rights or development entitlements or the restructuring of management agreements. We believe that the successful execution of these projects will create significant value for the company.    

Redevelopment and Return on Investment Projects. We pursue opportunities to enhance asset value by completing select capital improvements outside the scope of recurring renewal and replacement capital expenditures. These projects are designed to take advantage of changing market conditions and the favorable location of our properties to increase profitability and enhance customer satisfaction. We also evaluate our capital expenditures projects based on their environmental impact. In collaboration with our hotel managers, we evaluate new products and systems designed to optimize energy performance and reduce water consumption. Many of these sustainability projects include the renewal and replacement of systems and equipment reaching the end of its life cycle with more efficient solutions and incorporating sustainable materials and construction practices within renovation projects. We also invest in building infrastructure projects that mitigate potential risks associated with extreme weather events or climate change. Our capital expenditures projects generally fall into the following categories:  

Redevelopment projects. These projects are designed to optimally position our hotels within their markets and competitive set. Redevelopment projects include extensive renovations of guest rooms, including bathrooms, lobbies, food and beverage outlets, expanding ballroom and meeting rooms, and major mechanical system upgrades.

Targeted Return on Investment projects. These ROI projects often are smaller and focused on specific areas, such as converting unprofitable or underutilized space into meeting space, adding guestrooms or implementing a building automation system.

Acquisition Capital Expenditures Projects. In connection with the acquisition of a property, we prepare capital and operational improvement plans designed to improve profitability and enhance the guest experience. These projects may include required renewal and replacement projects, significant redevelopment and even re-branding of the property and represent a key component of our decision to invest in a hotel and typically are completed within two to three years of acquisition.

Renewal and Replacement Capital Expenditures. We work closely with our managers to ensure that renewal and replacement capital expenditures are spent efficiently in order to maximize the profitability of the hotel, while minimizing disruption to operations. Typically, room renovations occur at intervals of approximately seven years, but the timing may vary based on the type of property and equipment being replaced. These refurbishments generally are divided into the following types: soft goods, case goods, bathroom and infrastructure. Soft goods include items such as carpeting, bed spreads, curtains and wall vinyl and may require more frequent updates in order to maintain brand quality standards. Case goods include items such as dressers, desks, couches, restaurant and meeting room chairs and tables and generally are not replaced as frequently. Bathroom renovations include the replacement of tile, vanity, lighting and plumbing fixtures. Infrastructure includes the physical plant of the hotel, including the roof, elevators, façade and fire systems.

Asset Management. As the owner of a diverse portfolio of properties, we are in a unique position to work with our managers to maximize revenues, while minimizing operating costs. The size and composition of our portfolio and our affiliation with most of the leading operators and brands in the industry allow us to benchmark similar hotels and identify best practices and efficiencies that can improve the long-term profitability of our hotels by driving group business which allows our operators to shift the mix of business to the higher-rated transient segments. We also carefully evaluate our management and franchise agreements prior to the acquisition of a new hotel or upon termination of an existing contract. This may include obtaining franchise rights for hotels and hiring an independent operator to manage the hotel, which may be more efficient for some hotels, while still maintaining the brand recognition of the existing manager. See “—Operational Agreements” for further discussion.  

Capital structure and liquidity profile. In order to maintain its qualification as a REIT, Host Inc. is required to distribute 90% of its taxable income (other than net capital gain) to its stockholders and, as a result, generally relies on external sources of capital, as well as cash from operations, to finance growth. We use a variety of debt and equity instruments to fund our external growth, including senior notes and mortgage debt, exchangeable debentures, common and preferred stock offerings, issuances of OP units and joint ventures/limited partnerships to take advantage of the prevailing market conditions. While we may issue debt at any time, management believes it is prudent, over time, to target a leverage ratio of approximately 3.0x debt-to-EBITDA. We believe that lower leverage reduces our overall cost of capital and our earnings volatility and increases our access to capital, thereby providing us with

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the necessary flexibility to take advantage of opportunities throughout the lodging cycle, which we consider a key competitive advantage.

We also seek to structure our debt profile to allow us to access different forms of financing, primarily senior notes and exchangeable debentures, as well as mortgage debt (particularly outside of the U.S. when debt is priced reasonably and can be denominated in the local currency). Generally, this means we look to minimize the number of assets that are encumbered by mortgage debt, minimize near-term maturities and maintain a balanced maturity schedule.

Joint Ventures. We expect to continue to utilize joint ventures to finance external growth. We believe joint ventures provide a significant means to access external capital and spread the inherent risk of hotel ownership. Our primary focus for joint ventures is in international markets, which helps to diversify exposure to market risk.

Dispositions. Our disposition strategy is aligned with our overall portfolio focus to reallocate our investments to target gateway markets. Generally, our dispositions will be focused on secondary or tertiary markets, or as part of our strategy to limit our total investment within individual markets. We may dispose of assets in our target markets through direct sales or through the creation of joint ventures when we have the opportunity to capitalize on value enhancement strategies and apply the proceeds to other business objectives. Additionally, we will dispose of properties where we believe the potential for growth is constrained or on properties with significant capital expenditure requirements where we do not believe we would generate a significant return on the investment. Proceeds from dispositions are deployed to repay debt or fund acquisitions and ROI/redevelopment projects.

Corporate Responsibility

Host’s corporate responsibility strategy integrates fiscal, environmental and social elements at both the corporate and portfolio levels. Our corporate responsibility program focuses on the following themes and objectives:

Management and Governance. Our corporate responsibility program is managed by our Corporate Responsibility team and governed by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.

Operating Structure

Host Inc. operates through an umbrella partnership structure in which substantially all of its assets are held by Host L.P., of which Host Inc. is the sole general partner and holds approximately 98.7% of the OP units as of December 31, 2013. A REIT is a corporation that has elected to be treated as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and that meets certain ownership, organizational and operating requirements set forth under the Code. In general, through payments of dividends to stockholders, a REIT is permitted to reduce or eliminate federal income taxes at the corporate level. Each OP unit owned by holders other than Host Inc. is redeemable, at the option of the holder, for an amount of cash equal to the market value of one share of Host Inc. common stock multiplied by a factor of 1.021494 (rather than a conversion factor of 1 share/OP unit that existed prior to the December 2009 stock dividend). Host Inc. has the right to acquire any OP unit offered for redemption directly from the holder in exchange for 1.021494 shares of Host Inc. common stock instead of Host L.P. redeeming such OP unit for cash. Additionally, for every share of common stock issued by Host Inc., Host L.P. will issue .97895 OP units to Host Inc. As of December 31, 2013, non-controlling limited partners held 9.5 million OP units, which were convertible into 9.7 million Host Inc. common shares. Assuming that all OP units held by non-controlling limited partners were converted into common shares, there would have been 764.5 million common shares of Host Inc. outstanding at December 31, 2013.

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Our operating structure is as follows:

 

Because Host Inc. has elected to be treated as a REIT, certain tax laws limit the amount of “non-qualifying” income that Host Inc. and Host L.P. can earn, including income derived directly from the operation of hotels. As a result, we lease substantially all of our consolidated properties to certain of our subsidiaries designated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) for federal income tax purposes or to third party lessees. Our TRS are subject to income tax and are not limited as to the amount of non-qualifying income they can generate. Our TRS enter into agreements with third parties to manage the operations of the hotels. Our TRS also may own assets engaging in other activities that produce non-qualifying income, such as the development of timeshare or condominium units, subject to certain restrictions. The difference between the hotels’ net operating cash flow and the aggregate rents paid to Host L.P. is retained by our TRS as taxable income. Accordingly, the net effect of the TRS leases is that, while, as a REIT, Host Inc. generally is exempt from federal income tax to the extent that it meets specific distribution requirements, among other REIT requirements, a portion of the net operating cash flow from our properties is subject to federal, state and, if applicable, foreign income tax.

Our Hotel Portfolio

As of February 14, 2014, we owned a portfolio of 114 hotel properties, of which 99 are located in the United States and 15 are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and New Zealand. Our consolidated hotels located outside the United States collectively contain approximately 3,826 rooms. Approximately 5% of our revenues were attributed to the operations of these foreign properties in each of 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. We also are developing two hotel properties in Brazil.

Our consolidated hotels primarily consist of luxury and upper upscale properties. All of our hotels generally are located in the central business districts of major cities, near airports or in resort/conference destinations that, because of their locations, typically benefit from barriers to entry for new supply. Thirty-nine of our owned hotels, representing approximately 63% of our revenues, have in excess of 500 rooms.  The average age of our properties is 30 years, although substantially all of the properties have benefited from significant renovations or major additions, as well as regularly scheduled renewal and replacement and other capital improvements.

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By Brand. The following table details our consolidated hotel portfolio by brand as of February 14, 2014:

 

  

 

 

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By Location. The following table details the location and number of rooms at our consolidated hotels as of February 14, 2014:

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Other Real Estate Interests

In addition to our consolidated hotel portfolio, we also own non-controlling interests in several entities that, as of February 14, 2014, owned, or owned an interest in, 24 hotel properties, as detailed below. The operations of the properties owned by these entities are not consolidated and are included in equity in earnings in our consolidated results of operations.

European Joint Venture. We own a general and limited partnership interest in a joint venture in Europe (“Euro JV”) with APG Strategic Real Estate Pool NV, an affiliate of a Dutch Pension Fund, and Jasmine Hotels Pte Ltd, an affiliate of the real estate investment company of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd (“GIC RE”). The Euro JV consists of two funds, which we refer to as Euro JV Fund I and Euro JV Fund II. We hold a 32.0% limited partner interest and a 0.1% general partner interest in Euro JV Fund I and a 33.3% limited partner interest and a 0.1% general partner interest in Euro JV Fund II. A subsidiary of Host L.P. acts as the asset manager for the hotels owned by the Euro JV, as well as for one hotel in Paris, France, in exchange for a fee. As of February 14, 2014, the Euro JV owns the following hotels:

 

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Asia/Pacific Joint Venture. We own a 25% interest in a joint venture (the “Asia/Pacific JV”) with RECO Hotels JV Private Limited, an affiliate of GIC RE. Our Asia/Pacific JV owns the 278-room Four Points by Sheraton Perth in Perth, Australia and a 36% non-controlling interest in a joint venture in India with Accor S.A. and InterGlobe Enterprises Limited that owns two hotels, with an additional five hotels under development, totaling 1,750 rooms. The seven hotels in India will be operated under the Pullman, Novotel and ibis brands.

Other U.S. Real Estate Investments. Our other domestic real estate investments include the following:

Competition

The lodging industry is highly competitive. Competition often is specific to individual markets and is based on a number of factors, including location, brand, guest facilities and amenities, level of service, room rates and the quality of accommodations. The lodging industry is viewed as consisting of six different segments, each of which caters to a discrete set of customer tastes and needs: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale (with and without food and beverage service) and economy. The classification of a property is based on lodging industry standards, which take into consideration many factors such as guest facilities and amenities, level of service and quality of accommodations. Most of our hotels operate in urban and resort markets either as luxury properties under such brand names as Fairmont^®, Four Seasons^®, Grand Hyatt^®, JW Marriott^®, Ritz-Carlton^®, St. Regis^®, The Luxury Collection^® and W^®, or as upper upscale properties under such brand names as Embassy Suites^®, Hilton^®, Hyatt^®, Le Méridien^®, Marriott Executive Apartments^®, Marriott Marquis^®, Marriott Suites^®, Pullman^®, Renaissance^®, Sheraton^®, Swissôtel^® and Westin^®. We also may selectively invest in upscale and midscale properties such as Courtyard by Marriott^®, Crowne Plaza^®, Four Points by Sheraton^®, Hyatt Place^®, ibis^®, Novotel^® or Residence Inn by Marriott^®, particularly in international markets.¹  While our hotels primarily compete with other hotels in the luxury and upper upscale segments, they also may compete with hotels in other lower-tier segments. In addition, many management contracts for our hotels do not prohibit our managers from converting, franchising or developing other hotel properties in our markets.  As a result, our hotels compete with other hotels that our managers may own, invest in, manage or franchise.  

We believe our properties enjoy competitive advantages associated with the hotel brands under which they operate. The international marketing programs and reservation systems of these brands, combined with the strong management systems and expertise they provide, should enable our properties to perform favorably in terms of both occupancy and room rates. In addition, repeat guest business is enhanced by guest reward or guest recognition programs offered by most of these brands.

 

¹ This annual report contains registered trademarks that are the exclusive property of their respective owners, which are companies other than us. None of the owners of these trademarks, their affiliates or any of their respective officers, directors, agents or employees, has or will have any responsibility or liability for any information contained in this annual report

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We also compete with other REITs and other public and private investors for the acquisition of new properties and investment opportunities, both in domestic and international markets, as we attempt to position our portfolio to take best advantage of changes in markets and travel patterns of our customers.

Seasonality

Our hotel sales traditionally have experienced moderate seasonality, which varies based on the individual property and the region. Hotel sales for our consolidated portfolio averaged approximately 24%, 27%, 23% and 26% for the first, second, third and fourth calendar quarters, respectively, in 2013.

Environmental and Regulatory Matters

Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances. These laws may impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. In addition, certain environmental laws and common law principles could be used to impose liability for release of hazardous or toxic materials, and third parties may seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury associated with exposure to released hazardous or toxic materials. 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 corrective or other expenditures. In connection with our current or prior ownership or operation of hotels, we potentially may be liable for various environmental costs or liabilities. Although currently we are not aware of any material environmental claims pending or threatened against us, we can offer no assurance that a material environmental claim will not be asserted against us in the future.

Operational Agreements

All of our hotels are managed by third parties pursuant to management or operating agreements, with some of such hotels also subject to separate license agreements addressing matters pertaining to operation under the designated brand. Under these agreements, the managers generally have sole responsibility and exclusive authority for all activities necessary for the day-to-day operation of the hotels, including establishing room rates, securing and processing reservations, procuring inventories, supplies and services, providing periodic inspection and consultation visits to the hotels by the managers’ technical and operational experts and promoting and publicizing the hotels. The managers provide all managerial and other employees for the hotels, review the operation and maintenance of the hotels, prepare reports, budgets and projections, and provide other administrative and accounting support services to the hotels. These support services include planning and policy services, divisional financial services, product planning and development, employee staffing and training, corporate executive management and certain in-house legal services. We have certain approval rights over budgets, capital expenditures, significant leases and contractual commitments, and various other matters.

General Terms and Provisions – Agreements governing the management and operation of our hotels typically include the terms described below:

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Employees

As of December 31, 2013, we had 242 employees, of which 218 work in the United States. We had 24 employees located in our offices in London, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam and Singapore. None of Host’s employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, other than those working in our office in Rio de Janeiro. The number of employees referenced above does not include the hotel employees of our nine hotels in Brazil, New Zealand and Australia, which while technically are Host employees, are under the direct supervision and control of our third-party hotel managers. Our third-party managers are responsible for hiring and maintaining the labor force at each of our hotels. Although we do not manage employees at our consolidated hotels, we still are subject to many of the costs and risks generally associated with the hotel labor force, particularly those hotels with unionized labor. We believe relations with the employees of these third party managers are positive. For a discussion of these relationships, see Part I Item 1A. “Risk Factors—We are subject to risks associated with the employment of hotel personnel, particularly with hotels that employ unionized labor.”

Employees at certain of our third-party managed hotels are covered by collective bargaining agreements that are subject to review and renewal on a regular basis. For a discussion of these relationships, see Part I Item 1A. “Risk Factors—We are subject to risks associated with the employment of hotel personnel, particularly with hotels that employ unionized labor.”   

Where to Find Additional Information

The address of our principal executive office is 6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 1500, Bethesda, Maryland, 20817. Our phone number is 240-744-1000. We maintain an internet website at: www.hosthotels.com. Through our website, we make available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The public also may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Our website also is a key source of important information about us. We routinely post to the Investor Relations section of our website important information about our business, our operating results and our financial condition and prospects, including, for example, information about material acquisitions and dispositions, our earnings releases and certain supplemental financial information related or complimentary thereto. The website also has a Governance page in the Investor Relations section that includes, among other things, copies of our By-laws, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Policy for our directors,

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our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics Policy for employees, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters for each standing committee of Host Inc.’s Board of Directors, which currently are the Audit Committee, the Compensation Policy Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Copies of these charters and policies, Host Inc.’s By-laws and Host L.P.’s partnership agreement also are available in print to stockholders and unitholders upon request to Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., 6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 1500, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, Attn: Secretary. Please note that the information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document, unless expressly incorporated by reference therein.

 

The statements in this section describe the major risks to our business and should be considered carefully. In addition, these statements constitute our cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Financial Risks and Risks of Operation

Our revenues and the value of our properties are subject to conditions affecting the lodging industry.

The lodging industry is subject to changes in the travel patterns of business and leisure travelers, both of which are affected by the strength of the economy, as well as other factors.  The performance of the lodging industry has traditionally been closely linked with the performance of the general economy and, specifically, growth in gross domestic product (“GDP”). Changes in travel patterns of both business and leisure travelers, particularly during periods of economic contraction or low levels of economic growth, may create difficulties for the industry over the long-term and adversely affect our results.  The majority of our hotels are classified as luxury or upper upscale. In an economic downturn, these types of hotels may be more susceptible to a decrease in revenue, as compared to hotels in other categories that have lower room rates. This characteristic may result from the fact that these hotels generally target business and high-end leisure travelers. In periods of economic difficulties, business and leisure travelers may seek to reduce travel costs by limiting travel or seeking to reduce costs on their trips.  During the recession in 2008 and 2009, overall travel was reduced, which had a significant effect on our results of operations. While operating results have improved since then, there continues to be uncertainty in the overall strength of the recovery in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world.  Additionally, continued high unemployment has slowed the pace of the economic recovery. Therefore, there can be no assurance that any increases in hotel revenues or earnings at our properties will continue for any number of reasons, including, but not limited to, slower than anticipated growth in the economy. Our results of operations and any forecast we make, may be affected by, and can change based on, a variety of circumstances that affect the lodging industry, including:

A reduction in our revenue or earnings as a result of the above risks may reduce our working capital, impact our long-term business strategy, and impact the value of our assets and our ability to meet certain covenants in our existing debt agreements.

In addition, continued political uncertainty and changes in government policies, in particular with respect to U. S. economic policy, federal budget deficit concerns, and the slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program could have material adverse impacts on financial markets and economic conditions in the United States and throughout the world. This in turn could, directly or indirectly, adversely affect lodging demand and therefore our business and financial condition. In addition, U.S. government travel is approximately 5% of our business, and may suffer as a result of U.S. federal spending cuts resulting from  regulations reducing the amount of travel by U.S. government employees and contractors.  In 2013 we experienced weakened government demand for our hotel rooms in some markets such as Washington, D.C., which may continue, depending on factors such as the outcome of U.S. Federal budget negotiations.

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Disruptions in the financial markets may affect adversely our business and results of operations, our ability to obtain financing on reasonable and acceptable terms, and our ability to hedge our foreign currency exchange risk.

The United States and global equity and credit markets have experienced and may in the future experience significant price volatility, dislocations and liquidity disruptions.  This may cause the market price of the stock of many companies to fluctuate substantially and the spreads on prospective and outstanding debt financings to widen considerably. In the event these disruptions occur, liquidity in the financial markets will be affected, which may make terms for financings less attractive, and, in some cases, result in the lack of availability of certain types of financing. Uncertainty regarding the stability of the equity and credit markets may impact negatively our ability to access additional short-term and long-term financing on reasonable terms or at all, which would impact negatively our liquidity and financial condition. A prolonged downturn in the stock or credit markets may cause us to seek alternative sources of potentially less attractive financing and may impact negatively our ability to enter into derivative contracts in order to hedge risks associated with changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates.  While we believe we have adequate sources of liquidity with which to meet our anticipated requirements for working capital, debt service and capital expenditures for the foreseeable future, if our operating results weaken significantly and our cash flow or capital resources prove inadequate, or if interest rates increase significantly, we could face liquidity problems that could affect materially and adversely our results of operations and financial condition.

Economic conditions may affect adversely the value of our hotels which may result in impairment charges on our properties.

We analyze our assets for impairment throughout the year when events or circumstances occur that indicate that their carrying values may not be recoverable.  For example, we analyze our assets for impairments when a property has current or projected losses from operations, when it becomes more likely than not that a hotel will be sold before the end of its previously estimated useful life, or when other material trends, contingencies or changes in circumstances indicate that a triggering event has occurred, such that an asset’s carrying value may not be recoverable. For impaired assets, we record an impairment charge equal to the excess of the property’s carrying value over its fair value. We may incur additional impairment charges in the future, which charges will affect negatively our results of operations. We can provide no assurance that any impairment loss recognized would not be material to our results of operations. For information on impairment charges taken in 2013 and 2012, see Part II Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies.”

We depend on external sources of capital for future growth and we may be unable to access capital when necessary.

Unlike regular C corporations, Host Inc. must finance its growth and fund debt repayments largely with external sources of capital because it is required to distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its taxable income (other than net capital gain) in order to qualify as a REIT, including taxable income recognized for federal income tax purposes but with regard to which it does not receive cash. Funds used by Host Inc. to make required distributions are provided through distributions from Host L.P. Our ability to access external capital could be hampered by a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including credit market conditions as discussed above, unfavorable market perception of our growth potential, decreases in our current and estimated future earnings, or decreases in the market price of the common stock of Host Inc. Our ability to access additional capital also may be limited by the terms of our existing indebtedness which, under certain circumstances, restrict our incurrence of debt and the payment of dividends and Host L.P. distributions. The occurrence of any of these factors, individually or in combination, could prevent us from being able to obtain the external capital we require on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to finance our future growth.

We have substantial debt and may incur additional debt.

As of December 31, 2013, we and our subsidiaries had total indebtedness of approximately $4.8 billion. Our substantial indebtedness requires us to dedicate a significant portion of our cash flow from operations to debt service payments, which reduces the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, expansion efforts, dividends and distributions and other general corporate needs. Additionally, our substantial indebtedness could:

If our cash flow and working capital are not sufficient to fund our expenditures or service our indebtedness, we will be required to raise additional funds through:

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We cannot make any assurances that any of these sources of funds will be available to us or, if available, will be on terms that we would find acceptable or in amounts sufficient to meet our obligations or fulfill our business plan. Under certain circumstances, we would be required to use the cash from some of the events described above to repay other indebtedness.

The terms of our debt place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries and these restrictions reduce our operational flexibility and create default risks.

The documents governing the terms of our senior notes and our credit facility contain covenants that place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. These covenants restrict, among other things, our ability to:

In addition, certain covenants in our credit facility also require us and our subsidiaries to meet financial performance tests. The restrictive covenants in the applicable indenture(s), the credit facility and the documents governing our other debt (including our mortgage debt) will reduce our flexibility in conducting our operations and will limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. Failure to comply with these restrictive covenants could result in an event of default that, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of all or a substantial portion of our debt. In addition, certain of our mortgage debt requires that, to the extent cash flow from the hotels which secure such debt drops below stated levels, we escrow cash flow after the payment of debt service until operations improve above the stated levels.  In some cases, the lender may apply the escrowed amount to the outstanding balance of the mortgage debt. If such provisions are triggered, the amounts required to be escrowed may affect negatively our liquidity from these mortgaged properties by limiting our access to cash flow after debt service. For a detailed description of the covenants and restrictions imposed by the documents governing our indebtedness, see Part II Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Financial Condition.”

Our ability to pay dividends and to make distributions may be limited or prohibited by the terms of our indebtedness or preferred units.

We are, and may in the future become, party to agreements and instruments that restrict or prevent the payment of dividends on classes and series of Host Inc. capital stock and Host L.P.’s payment of distributions on its classes of units. Under the terms of Host L.P.’s credit facility, distributions to Host L.P. unitholders, including Host Inc., upon which Host Inc. depends in order to obtain the cash necessary to pay dividends, are permitted only to the extent that Host L.P. can satisfy certain financial covenant tests (concerning leverage, fixed charge coverage and unsecured interest coverage) and meet other requirements. We also will be subject to similar restrictions under the terms of our senior notes if our senior notes are no longer rated investment grade. We are, however, permitted under our credit facility and senior notes indenture to make distributions of estimated taxable income that are necessary to maintain Host Inc.’s REIT status.

Under the terms of Host L.P.’s outstanding preferred OP units, we are not permitted to make distributions on our common OP units unless all cumulative distributions have been paid (or funds for payment have been set aside for payment) on our preferred OP units. In the event that we fail to pay the accrued distributions on our preferred OP units for any reason, including any restriction on making such distributions under the terms of our debt instruments (as discussed above), distributions will continue to accrue on such preferred OP units and we will be prohibited from making any distributions on our common OP units until all such accrued but unpaid distributions on our preferred OP units have been paid (or funds for such payment have been set aside).

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

Interest payments for borrowings on our credit facility, the mortgages on certain properties and fixed-to-floating interest rate swaps linked to two other properties are based on floating rates. As a result, an increase in interest rates will reduce our cash flow available for other corporate purposes, including investments in our portfolio. Further, rising interest rates could limit our ability to refinance existing debt when it matures and increase interest costs on any debt that is refinanced. We may from time to time enter into

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agreements such as interest rate swaps, caps, floors and other interest rate hedging contracts. Currently, the majority of our mortgages with floating rates are fully or partially hedged through the use of floating-to-fixed interest rate swaps or interest rate caps and floors. While these agreements may lessen the impact of rising interest rates, they also expose us to the risk that other parties to the agreements will not perform or that the agreements will be unenforceable. In addition, an increase in interest rates could decrease the amount third parties are willing to pay for our assets, thereby limiting our ability to dispose of assets as part of our business strategy.

Rating agency downgrades may increase our cost of capital.

Our senior notes are rated by Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings. These independent rating agencies may elect to downgrade their ratings on our senior notes at any time. Such downgrades may affect negatively our access to the capital markets and increase our cost of capital.

Our expenses may not decrease if our revenue decreases.

Many of the expenses associated with owning and operating hotels, such as debt-service payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and employee wages and benefits, are relatively inflexible and do not necessarily decrease in tandem with a reduction in revenue at the hotels. Our expenses also will be affected by inflationary increases, and certain costs, such as wages, benefits and insurance, may exceed the rate of inflation in any given period. In the event of a significant decrease in demand, our hotel managers may not be able to reduce the size of hotel work forces in order to decrease wages and benefits. Our managers also may be unable to offset any such increased expenses with higher room rates. Any of our efforts to reduce operating costs or failure to make scheduled capital expenditures also could adversely affect the future growth of our business and the value of our hotel properties.

Our acquisition of additional properties may have a significant effect on our business, liquidity, financial position and/or results of operations.

As part of our business strategy, we seek primarily to acquire luxury and upper upscale hotel properties. We may acquire properties through various structures, including transactions involving portfolios, single assets, joint ventures and acquisitions of all or substantially all of the securities or assets of other REITs or similar real estate entities. We anticipate that our acquisitions will be financed through a combination of methods, including proceeds from Host Inc. equity offerings, issuance of limited partnership interests of Host L.P., advances under our credit facility, the incurrence or assumption of indebtedness and proceeds from the sales of assets. To the extent there are disruptions in credit markets, it may limit our ability to finance acquisitions and may limit the ability of purchasers to finance hotels and therefore our ability to use disposition proceeds to finance acquisitions.

We routinely are actively engaged in the process of identifying, analyzing and negotiating possible acquisition transactions. We cannot provide any assurances that we will be successful in consummating future acquisitions on favorable terms or that we will realize the benefits that we anticipate from such acquisitions. Our inability to consummate one or more acquisitions on such terms, or our failure to realize the intended benefits from one or more acquisitions, could have a significant adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial position and/or results of operations, including as a result of our incurrence of additional indebtedness and related interest expense and our assumption of unforeseen contingent liabilities in connection with completed acquisitions.

We may not achieve the value we anticipate from new hotel developments or value enhancement projects at our existing hotels.

We currently are, and in the future may be, involved in the development of hotel properties, timeshare units or other alternate uses of portions of our existing properties, including the development of retail, office or apartments, including through joint ventures. There are risks inherent in any new development, including:

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In addition, to the extent that developments are conducted through joint ventures, this creates additional risks, including the possibility that our partners may not meet their financial obligations or could have or develop business interests, policies or objectives that are inconsistent with ours. See “—We may acquire hotel properties through joint ventures with third parties that could result in conflicts.”

Any of the above factors could affect adversely our and our partners’ ability to complete the developments on schedule and along the scope that currently is contemplated, or to achieve the intended value of these projects. For these reasons, there can be no assurances as to the value to be realized by the company from these transactions or any future similar transactions.

We do not control our hotel operations and we are dependent on the managers of our hotels.

To maintain our status as a REIT, we are not permitted to operate any of our hotels.  As a result, we have entered into management agreements with third-party managers to operate our hotel properties. For this reason, we are unable to directly implement strategic business decisions with respect to the daily operation and marketing of our hotels, such as decisions with respect to the setting of room rates, repositioning of a hotel, food and beverage pricing and certain similar matters.  Although we consult with our hotel operators with respect to strategic business plans, the hotel operators are under no obligation to implement any of our recommendations with respect to these matters.  While we monitor the hotel managers’ performance, we have limited recourse under our management agreements if we believe that the hotel managers are not performing adequately. The cash flow from our hotels may be affected adversely if our managers fail to provide quality services and amenities or if they or their affiliates fail to maintain a quality brand name.  Because our management agreements are long term agreements, we also may not be able to terminate these agreements if we believe the manager is not performing adequately.

From time to time, we have had, and continue to have, differences with the managers of our hotels over their performance and compliance with the terms of our management agreements. We generally resolve issues with our managers 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. Failure by our hotel managers to fully perform the duties agreed to in our management agreements or the failure of our managers to adequately manage the risks associated with hotel operations, including cyber-security risks, could affect adversely our results of operations.

In addition, 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 have in the past made, and may in the future make, decisions regarding competing lodging facilities that are not or would not be in our best interest.

We are subject to risks associated with the employment of hotel personnel, particularly with hotels that employ unionized labor.

Our third-party managers are responsible for hiring and maintaining the labor force at each of our hotels. Although we do not directly employ or manage employees at our consolidated hotels (other than employing, but not managing, associates at our properties in Brazil, New Zealand and Australia), we still are subject to many of the costs and risks generally associated with the hotel labor force, particularly those hotels with unionized labor. From time to time, hotel operations may be disrupted as a result of strikes, lockouts, public demonstrations or other negative actions and publicity. We also may incur increased legal costs and indirect labor costs as a result of contract disputes involving our third-party managers and their labor force or other events. The resolution of labor disputes or re-negotiated labor contracts could lead to increased labor costs, a significant component of our hotel operating costs, either by increases in wages or benefits or by changes in work rules that raise hotel operating costs. As we are not the employer nor bound by any collective bargaining agreement, we do not negotiate with any labor organization, and it is the responsibility of each property’s manager to enter into such labor contracts.  Our ability, if any, to have any material impact on the outcome of these negotiations is restricted by and dependent on the individual management agreement covering a specific property and we may have little ability to control the outcome of these negotiations.

Our hotels have an ongoing need for renovations and potentially significant capital expenditures in order to remain competitive in the marketplace, maintain brand standards or to comply with applicable laws or regulations. The timing and costs of such renovations or improvements may result in reduced operating performance during construction and may not improve the return on these investments.

We are required by our loan agreements or agreements with our hotel managers to make agreed upon capital expenditures. In addition, we will need to make further capital expenditures in order to remain competitive with other hotels, to maintain the economic value of our hotels and to comply with applicable laws and regulations. The timing of these improvements can affect hotel performance, particularly if the improvements require closure of a significant number of rooms or other features of the hotels, such as ballrooms, meeting space and restaurants. These capital improvements reduce the availability of cash for other purposes and are subject to cost overruns and delays. In addition, because we depend on external sources of capital, we may not have the necessary funds to invest and, if we fail to maintain our properties in accordance with brand standards set by our managers, the manager may

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terminate the management agreement. Moreover, we may not necessarily realize a significant, or any, improvement in the performance of the hotels in which we make these investments.

The ownership of hotels outside the United States and the expansion of our business into new markets outside of the United States will expose us to risks related to owning hotels in those international markets.

Part of our business strategy is to expand our presence outside of the United States. As of December 31, 2013, we own directly 15 hotels located outside of the United States. We also are party to a joint venture that owns 19 hotels in Europe and to a joint venture that owns one hotel in Australia and a non-controlling interest in two hotels currently open and five hotels in development in India. We may have difficulty managing our expansion into new geographic markets where we have limited knowledge and understanding of the local economy, an absence of business relationships in the area, or unfamiliarity with local governmental and permitting procedures and regulations. There are risks inherent in conducting business outside of the United States, which include:

Any of these factors could affect adversely our ability to obtain all of the intended benefits of our international country expansion. If we do not effectively manage this expansion and successfully integrate the international hotels into our organization, our operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We may acquire hotel properties through joint ventures with third parties that could result in conflicts.

We have made investments in joint ventures and are exploring further investment opportunities in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. We may, from time to time, invest as a co-venturer in other entities holding hotel properties instead of purchasing hotel properties directly.  We also may sell interests in existing properties to a third party as part of forming a joint venture with such third party.  Investments in joint ventures may involve risks not present were a third party not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Co-venturers often share control over the operation of a joint venture. Actions by a co-venturer also could subject the assets to additional risks as a result of any of the following circumstances:

Although generally we will seek to maintain sufficient control of any joint venture in order to permit our objectives to be achieved, we might not be able to take action without the approval of our joint venture partners. Disputes between us and partners or co-venturers may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers from focusing their time and effort on our business.

Our management agreements could affect the sale or financing of our hotels.

Under the terms of our management agreements, we generally may not sell, lease or otherwise transfer our hotels unless the transferee is not a competitor of the manager and the transferee assumes the related management agreements and meets specified other

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conditions. Our ability to finance or sell our properties, depending upon the structure of such transactions, may require the manager’s consent. If the manager does not consent to such sale or financing, we may be precluded from taking actions in our best interest.

We may not be able to recover fully under our existing terrorism insurance program for losses caused by some types of terrorist acts, and neither U. S. nor foreign terrorism insurance laws or regulations ensure that we will be able to obtain terrorism insurance in adequate amounts or at acceptable premium levels in the future.  

We generally obtain terrorism insurance to cover property damage caused by acts of terrorism under separate standalone policies of insurance as well as policies on U.S. properties which currently are subject to U.S. federal government cost sharing as provided in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (“TRIPRA”). We also have terrorism insurance under our general liability program and in our program for directors’ and officers’ coverage. We also obtain terrorism insurance to cover some of our foreign properties through insurance programs involving or administered by foreign governments. We may not be able to recover fully under our existing terrorism insurance policies for losses caused by some types of terrorist acts, and neither U.S. nor foreign terrorism insurance legislation or regulations ensure that we will be able to obtain terrorism insurance in adequate amounts or at acceptable premium levels in the future. TRIPRA is due to expire on December 31, 2014. There is no assurance that terrorism insurance will be readily available or affordable before or after expiration of TRIPRA in December 2014 or that TRIPRA will not be modified, repealed or allowed to expire.

While TRIPRA allows direct insurers to be reimbursed for certain losses they incur on U.S. properties resulting from nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological (“NBCR”) perils, TRIPRA does not require insurers to offer coverage for these perils and, to date, insurers are not willing to provide this coverage, even with government reimbursement. Any damage related to war and to NBCR incidents, therefore, is excluded under policies covering our U.S. properties.  Moreover, many of our foreign properties are not covered against NBCR perils. We obtain a certain amount of property insurance coverage on our U.S. properties for NBCR perils through our wholly-owned subsidiary that acts as our direct insurer against such perils to the extent of reimbursement under TRIPRA. We ultimately are responsible for any loss borne by our insurance subsidiary.

As a result of the above, there remains uncertainty regarding the adequacy and cost of terrorism coverage that will be available to protect our interests in the event of terrorist attacks that impact our properties.    

Some potential losses are not covered by insurance.

We, or our hotel managers, carry comprehensive insurance coverage for general liability, property, business interruption and other risks with respect to all of our hotels and other properties. These policies offer coverage features and insured limits that we believe are customary for similar types of properties. Generally, our “all-risk” property policies provide coverage that is available on a per-occurrence basis and that, for each occurrence, has an overall limit, as well as various sub-limits, on the amount of insurance proceeds we can receive. Sub-limits exist for certain types of claims, such as service interruption, debris removal, expediting costs, landscaping replacement and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, and may be subject to annual aggregate coverage limits. The dollar amounts of these sub-limits are significantly lower than the dollar amounts of the overall coverage limit. In this regard, hotels in certain of our markets, including California, Florida and New Zealand, have in the past been and continue to be particularly susceptible to damage from natural disasters. Recovery under the applicable policies also is subject to substantial deductibles and complex calculations of lost business income. There is no assurance that this insurance, where maintained, will fully fund the re-building or restoration of a hotel that is impacted by an earthquake, hurricane, or other natural disaster, or the income lost as a result of the damage. Our property policies also provide that all of the claims from each of our properties resulting from a particular insurable event must be combined together for purposes of evaluating whether the aggregate limits and sub-limits contained in our policies have been exceeded and, in the case where the manager of one of our hotels provides this coverage, any such claims will be combined with the claims of other owners participating in the manager’s program for the same purpose. Therefore, if an insurable event occurs that affects more than one of our hotels, or, in the case of hotels where coverage is provided by the manager, affects hotels owned by others, the claims from each affected hotel will be added together to determine whether the aggregate limit or sub-limits, depending on the type of claim, have been reached. Each affected hotel only may receive a proportional share of the amount of insurance proceeds provided for under the policy if the total value of the loss exceeds the aggregate limits available. We may incur losses in excess of insured limits and, as a result, we may be even less likely to receive complete coverage for risks that affect multiple properties, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or certain types of terrorism.

In addition, there are other risks, such as certain environmental hazards, that may be deemed to fall completely outside the general coverage limits of our policies or may be uninsurable or too expensive to justify coverage. We also may encounter challenges with an insurance provider regarding whether it will pay a particular claim that we believe to be covered under our policy. Should a loss in excess of insured limits or an uninsured loss occur, or should we be unsuccessful in obtaining coverage from an insurance carrier, we could lose all or a part of the capital we have invested in a property, 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 property.

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Litigation judgments or settlements could have a significant adverse effect on our financial condition.

We have accrued a potential litigation loss of approximately $68 million in connection with a lawsuit in the 166th Judicial District Court of Bexar County, Texas involving the sale of land encumbered by a ground lease for the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter. See Part I Item 3. “Legal Proceedings” for more information on the verdict and the status of the appeal.

We also are involved in various other legal proceedings in the normal course of business and are vigorously defending these claims; however, no assurances can be given as to the outcome of any pending legal proceedings. We believe, based on currently available information, that the results of such proceedings, in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, but might be material to our operating results for any particular period, depending, in part, upon the operating results for such period.

We also could become the subject of future claims by the operators of our hotels, individuals or companies who use our hotels, our investors, our joint venture partners or regulating entities and these claims could have a significant adverse effect on our financial condition and performance.

We may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities related to hotels or businesses we acquire.

Assets and entities that we have acquired, or may in the future acquire, may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities for which we may have no recourse, or only limited recourse, against the sellers. In general, the representations and warranties provided under the transaction agreements may not survive long enough for us to become aware of such liabilities and seek recourse against our sellers. While usually we require the sellers to indemnify us with respect to breaches of representations and warranties that survive, such indemnification often is limited and subject to various materiality thresholds, a significant deductible or an aggregate cap on losses. As a result, there is no guarantee that we will recover any amounts with respect to losses due to breaches by the sellers of their representations and warranties. The total amount of costs and expenses that may be incurred with respect to liabilities associated with acquired hotels and entities may exceed our expectations, plus we may experience other unanticipated adverse effects, all of which may affect adversely our revenues, expenses, operating results and financial condition. Finally, indemnification agreements between us and the sellers typically provide that the sellers will retain certain specified liabilities relating to the assets and entities acquired by us. While the sellers generally are contractually obligated to pay all losses and other expenses relating to such retained liabilities without regard to survival limitations, materiality thresholds, deductibles or caps on losses, there can be no guarantee that such arrangements will not require us to incur losses or other expenses in addition to those incurred by the sellers.

We depend on our key personnel.

Our success depends on the efforts of our executive officers and other key personnel. None of our key personnel have employment agreements and we do not maintain key person life insurance for any of our executive officers. We cannot assure you that these key personnel will remain employed by us. While we believe that we could find replacements for these key personnel, the loss of their services could have a significant adverse effect on our financial performance.

Exchange rate fluctuations could affect adversely our financial results.

As a result of the expansion of our international operations, currency exchange rate fluctuations could affect our results of operations and financial position. We expect to generate an increasing portion of our revenue and expenses in such foreign currencies as the Euro, the Canadian dollar, the Mexican peso, the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the British pound sterling, the Polish zloty, Swedish krona, the Brazilian real and the Chilean peso. Although we may enter into foreign exchange agreements with financial institutions and/or obtain local currency mortgage debt in order to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in the value of these and other foreign currencies, these transactions, if entered into, will not eliminate that risk entirely. To the extent that we are unable to match revenue received in foreign currencies with expenses paid in the same currency, exchange rate fluctuations could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, because our consolidated financial results are reported in U.S. dollars, if we generate revenues or earnings in other currencies, the conversion of such amounts to U.S. dollars can result in an increase or decrease in the amount of our revenues or earnings.

Applicable REIT laws may restrict certain business activities.

As a REIT, Host Inc. is subject to various restrictions on the types of income it can earn, assets it can own and activities in which it can engage. Business activities that could be restricted by applicable REIT laws include, but are not limited to, activities such as developing alternative uses of real estate, including the development and/or sale of timeshare or condominium units. Due to these restrictions, we anticipate that we will conduct certain business activities, including those mentioned above, in one or more of our taxable REIT subsidiaries. Our taxable REIT subsidiaries are taxable as regular C corporations and are subject to federal, state, local, and, if applicable, foreign taxation on their taxable income.

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We may be unable to sell properties because real estate investments are inherently illiquid.

Real estate properties generally cannot be sold quickly and, accordingly, we may not be able to vary our portfolio promptly in response to economic or other conditions. The inability to respond promptly to changes in the performance of our investments could affect adversely our financial condition and the ability to service our debt. In addition, under the federal income tax laws applicable to REITs, we may be limited in our ability to recognize the full economic benefit from a sale of our assets.

Our ground lease payments may increase faster than the revenues we receive from the hotels located on the leased ground.

As of December 31, 2013, 36 of our hotels are subject to third-party ground leases (encumbering all or a portion of the hotel). These ground leases generally require periodic increases in ground rent payments, which often are based on economic indicators such as the Consumer Price Index. Our ability to pay ground rent could be affected adversely to the extent that our hotel revenues do not increase at the same or a greater rate than the increases in rental payments under the ground leases. In addition, if we were to sell a hotel encumbered by a ground lease, the buyer would be required to assume the ground lease, which may result in a lower sales price.

Environmental problems are possible and can be costly.

We believe that our properties comply in all material respects with applicable environmental laws. Unidentified environmental liabilities could arise, however, and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and performance. Additionally, even after we have sold a property, we may be liable for environmental liabilities that occurred during our ownership. Federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment may require a current or previous owner or operator of real estate to investigate and remediate hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases at the property. The owner or operator may be required to pay a governmental entity or third parties for property damage, and for investigation and remediation costs incurred by the parties in connection with the contamination. These laws typically impose clean-up responsibility and liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of or caused the presence of the contaminants. Even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination, each person covered by the environmental laws may be held responsible for all of the clean-up costs incurred. In addition, third parties may sue the owner or operator of a site for damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from that site. Environmental laws also govern the presence, maintenance and removal of toxic or hazardous substances. These laws require that owners or operators of buildings properly manage and maintain these substances and notify and train those who may come into contact with them and undertake special precautions. These laws may impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators who fail to comply with these requirements and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to toxic or hazardous materials.

Compliance with other government regulations can be costly.

Our hotels are subject to various other forms of regulation, including Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), building codes and regulations pertaining to fire and life safety. Under the ADA, all public accommodations are required to meet certain federal rules related to access and use by disabled persons. These laws and regulations may be changed from time-to-time, or new regulations adopted, resulting in additional costs of compliance, including potential litigation. For example, the ADA was revised substantially in September 2010 and our facilities were required to comply with the new regulations by March 15, 2012. A determination that we are not in compliance with the ADA could result in a court order to bring the hotel into compliance, imposition of fines or an award of attorneys’ fees to private litigants. Compliance with the ADA and other laws and regulations could require substantial capital expenditures. Any increased costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In addition, the operations of our international properties are subject to a variety of United States and international laws and regulations, including the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). We have policies and procedures designed to promote compliance with the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws, but we cannot assure you that we will continue to be found to be operating in compliance with, or be able to detect violations of, any such laws or regulations. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our international properties might be subject and the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.

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Risks of Ownership of Host Inc.’s Common Stock

There are limitations on the acquisition of Host Inc. common stock and changes in control.

Host Inc.’s charter and bylaws, the partnership agreement of Host L.P., and the Maryland General Corporation Law (the “MGCL”) contain a number of provisions, the exercise or existence of which could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for Host Inc.’s stockholders or Host L.P.’s unitholders or otherwise be in their best interests, including the following:

Accordingly, Host Inc.’s charter prohibits ownership, directly or by attribution, by any person or persons acting as a group, of more than 9.8% in value or number, whichever is more restrictive, of shares of Host Inc.’s outstanding common stock, preferred stock or any other class or series of stock, each considered as a separate class or series for this purpose. Together, these limitations are referred to as the “ownership limit.”

Stock acquired or held in violation of the ownership limit will be transferred automatically to a trust for the benefit of a designated charitable beneficiary, and the intended acquirer of the stock in violation of the ownership limit will not be entitled to any distributions thereon, to vote those shares of stock or to receive any proceeds from the subsequent sale of the stock in excess of the lesser of the price paid for the stock or the amount realized from the sale. A transfer of shares of Host Inc.’s stock to a person who, as a result of the transfer, violates the ownership limit may be void under certain circumstances, and, in any event, would deny that person any of the economic benefits of owning shares of Host Inc.’s stock in excess of the ownership limit. These restrictions will not apply if Host Inc.’s Board of Directors determines that it is no longer in Host Inc.’s best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT or that compliance with the restrictions on transfer and ownership is no longer required for Host Inc. to qualify as a REIT.

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Shares of Host Inc.’s common stock that are or become available for sale could affect the share price of Host Inc.’s common stock.

We have in the past and may in the future issue additional shares of common stock to raise the capital necessary to finance hotel acquisitions, fund capital expenditures, refinance debt or for other corporate purposes. Sales of a substantial number of shares of Host Inc.’s common stock, or the perception that sales could occur, could affect adversely prevailing market prices for Host Inc.’s common stock. In addition, holders of OP units who redeem their units and receive, at Host Inc.’s election, shares of Host Inc. common stock will be able to sell those shares freely. As of December 31, 2013, there are approximately 9.5 million OP units outstanding owned by third parties that are redeemable, which represents approximately 1.3% of all outstanding units. Further, a substantial number of shares of Host Inc.’s common stock have been and will be issued or reserved for issuance from time to time under our employee benefit plans. We maintain two stock-based compensation plans: (i) the comprehensive stock plan, whereby we may award to participating employees and directors restricted shares of common stock, options to purchase common stock and deferred shares of common stock, and (ii) an employee stock purchase plan. At December 31, 2013, there were approximately 18 million shares of Host Inc.’s common stock reserved and available for issuance under the comprehensive stock plan and employee stock purchase plan and 0.7 million outstanding options exercisable with a weighted average exercise price of $15.41 per share.

Also as of December 31, 2013, Host L.P. had outstanding $400 million principal amount of exchangeable senior debentures that currently are exchangeable for cash, shares of Host Inc.’s common stock or any combination thereof. Assuming the holders elected to exchange and we elected to settle in shares of Host Inc. common stock, the debentures would be exchangeable for approximately 29.9 million shares based on the current exchange price. While these debentures currently are exchangeable through March 31, 2014 based on past trading prices of Host Inc. common stock, whether they remain exchangeable after March 31, 2014 will depend on then current trading prices of Host Inc. common stock.

Our earnings and cash distributions will affect the market price of shares of Host Inc.’s common stock.

We believe that the market value of a REIT’s equity securities is based primarily upon the market’s perception of the REIT’s growth potential and its current and potential future cash distributions, whether from operations, sales, acquisitions, development or refinancings, and secondarily is based upon the value of the underlying assets. For that reason, shares of Host Inc.’s common stock

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may trade at prices that are higher or lower than the net asset value per share. To the extent that we retain operating cash flow for investment purposes, working capital reserves or other purposes, rather than distributing the cash flow to stockholders, these retained funds, while increasing the value of our underlying assets, may impact negatively the market price of Host Inc.’s common stock. Our failure to meet the market’s expectation with regard to future earnings and cash distributions likely would affect adversely the market price of Host Inc.’s common stock.

Market interest rates may affect the price of shares of Host Inc.’s common stock.

We believe that one of the factors that investors consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell shares of a REIT is the dividend rate on the shares, considered as a percentage of the price of the shares, relative to market interest rates. If market interest rates increase, prospective purchasers of REIT shares may expect a higher dividend rate. Thus, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of Host Inc.’s common stock to decrease.

Federal Income Tax Risks

To qualify as a REIT, each of Host Inc. and its subsidiary REITs are required to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income, excluding net capital gain, regardless of available cash or outstanding obligations.

To continue to qualify as a REIT, Host Inc. is required to distribute to its stockholders with respect to each year at least 90% of its taxable income, excluding net capital gain. To the extent that Host Inc. satisfies this distribution requirement, but distributes less than 100% of its taxable income and net capital gain for the taxable year, it will be subject to federal and state corporate income tax on its undistributed taxable income and net capital gain. In addition, Host Inc. will be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions made by Host Inc. with respect to the calendar year are less than the sum of (1) 85% of its ordinary income, (2) 95% of its net capital gain, and (3) any undistributed taxable income from prior years, less excess distributions from prior years. Host Inc. intends to make distributions, subject to the availability of cash and in compliance with any debt covenants, to its stockholders in order to comply with the distribution requirement and to avoid the imposition of a significant nondeductible 4% excise tax and will rely for this purpose on distributions from Host L.P. and its subsidiaries. There are differences in timing between Host Inc.’s recognition of taxable income and its receipt of cash available for distribution due to, among other things, the seasonality of the lodging industry and the fact that some taxable income will be “phantom” taxable income, which is taxable income that is not matched with cash flow. Due to transactions entered into in years prior to Host Inc.’s conversion to a REIT, Host Inc. could recognize substantial amounts of “phantom” taxable income in the future. It is possible that any differences between the recognition of taxable income and the receipt of the related cash could require us to borrow funds or for Host Inc. to issue additional equity in order to enable Host Inc. to meet its distribution requirements and, therefore, to maintain its REIT status and to avoid the nondeductible 4% excise tax. In addition, because the REIT distribution requirements prevent Host Inc. from retaining earnings, generally we will be required to refinance debt at its maturity with additional debt or equity. It is possible that any of these sources of funds, if available at all, would not be sufficient to meet Host Inc.’s distribution and tax obligations.

Host L.P. owns 100% of the outstanding common stock and a portion of the outstanding preferred stock of two entities that have elected to be treated as REITs. Each of these subsidiary REITs are subject to the same requirements that Host Inc. must satisfy in order to qualify as a REIT, including the distribution requirements described above.

Adverse tax consequences would occur if Host Inc. or any of its subsidiary REITs fail to qualify as a REIT.

We believe that Host Inc. has been organized and has operated in such a manner so as to qualify as a REIT under the Code, commencing with its taxable year beginning January 1, 1999, and Host Inc. currently intends to continue to operate as a REIT during future years. In addition, Host Inc. owns, through Host L.P., two entities that have elected to be treated as REITs. As the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT are extremely complex and interpretations of the federal income tax laws governing qualification and taxation as a REIT are limited, no assurance can be provided that Host Inc. currently qualifies as a REIT or will continue to qualify as a REIT or that each of Host Inc.’s subsidiary REITs qualify as a REIT or will continue to qualify as a REIT. If any of the subsidiary REITs were to fail to qualify as a REIT, it is possible that Host Inc. would fail to qualify as a REIT unless it (or the subsidiary REIT) could avail itself of certain relief provisions. New legislation, treasury regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could change significantly the tax laws with respect to an entity’s qualification as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of its REIT qualification. If Host Inc. or any of its subsidiary REITs were to fail to qualify as a REIT, and any available relief provisions did not apply, the non-qualifying REIT would not be allowed to take a deduction for distributions to its stockholders in computing its taxable income, and it would be subject to federal and state corporate income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on its taxable income at regular corporate rates. Moreover, unless entitled to statutory relief, the non-qualifying REIT would not qualify as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which REIT qualification was lost.

Any determination that Host Inc. or one of its subsidiary REITs does not qualify as a REIT will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and could reduce materially the value of Host Inc.’s common stock. The additional tax liability of Host

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Inc. or the subsidiary REIT for the year, or years, in which the relevant entity did not qualify as a REIT would reduce its net earnings available for investment, debt service or distributions to stockholders. Furthermore, the non-qualifying entity no longer would be required to make distributions to its stockholders as a condition to REIT qualification and all of its distributions to stockholders would be taxable as ordinary C corporation dividends to the extent of its current and accumulated earnings and profits. This means that, if Host Inc. were to fail to qualify as a REIT, Host Inc.’s stockholders currently taxed as individuals would be taxed on those dividends at capital gain rates and Host Inc.’s corporate stockholders generally would be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to such dividends, subject in each case to applicable limitations under the Code. Host Inc.’s failure to qualify as a REIT also would cause an event of default under Host L.P.’s credit facility, which default could lead to an acceleration of the amounts due thereunder, which, in turn, would constitute an event of default under Host L.P.’s outstanding debt securities.

If our leases are not respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, each of Host Inc. and its subsidiary REITs would fail to qualify as a REIT.

To qualify as a REIT, Host Inc. must satisfy two gross income tests, pursuant to which specified percentages of its gross income must be passive income, such as rent. For the rent paid pursuant to the hotel leases with our TRS, which rental income currently constitutes substantially all of Host Inc.’s and each of our subsidiary REITs’ gross income, to qualify for purposes of the gross income tests, our leases must be respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes and must not be treated as service contracts, joint ventures or some other type of arrangement. We believe that the leases will be respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes. There can be no assurance, however, that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) will agree with this characterization. If the leases were not respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes, neither Host Inc. nor either of our subsidiary REITs would be able to satisfy either of the two gross income tests applicable to REITs and each likely would lose its REIT status.

If our affiliated lessees fail to qualify as taxable REIT subsidiaries, each of Host Inc. and its subsidiary REITs would fail to qualify as a REIT.

Rent paid by a lessee that is a “related party tenant” of Host Inc. will not be qualifying income for purposes of the two gross income tests applicable to REITs. We lease substantially all of our hotels to our subsidiary (or its affiliates) that is taxable as a regular C corporation and that has elected to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary with respect to Host Inc. and to each subsidiary REIT. So long as any affiliated lessee qualifies as a taxable REIT subsidiary, it will not be treated as a “related party tenant.” We believe that our affiliated lessees have qualified and will continue to qualify, and that the taxable REIT subsidiaries of each of our subsidiary REITs have qualified and will continue to qualify, to be treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries for federal income tax purposes. There can be no assurance, however, that the IRS will not challenge the status of a taxable REIT subsidiary for federal income tax purposes or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in disqualifying any of our affiliated lessees (including the taxable REIT subsidiaries of our subsidiary REITs) from treatment as a taxable REIT subsidiary, it is possible that Host Inc. or a subsidiary REIT would fail to meet the asset tests applicable to REITs and substantially all of its income would fail to qualify for the gross income tests. If Host Inc. or a subsidiary REIT failed to meet either the asset tests or the gross income tests, each likely would lose its REIT status.

Despite the REIT status of each of Host Inc. and its subsidiary REITs, we remain subject to various taxes.

One of the subsidiary REITs of Host Inc. will be required to pay federal income tax at the highest regular corporate rate on “built-in gain” recognized as a result of the sale of one or more of its hotels prior to the expiration of the applicable 10-year holding period, including certain hotels acquired from Starwood and its affiliates in 2006. The total amount of gain on which the subsidiary REIT would be subject to corporate income tax if all of its built-in gain assets were sold in a taxable transaction prior to the expiration of the applicable 10-year holding period would be material to it. Recently enacted legislation, however, has reduced the 10-year period to five years in the case of dispositions of assets in 2012 or 2013.  In addition, we expect that we could recognize other substantial deferred tax liabilities in the future without any corresponding receipt of cash.

Notwithstanding Host Inc.’s status as a REIT, Host Inc. and our subsidiaries (including our subsidiary REITs) are subject to federal, state, local and foreign taxes on their income and property in certain cases. For example, Host Inc. and our subsidiary REITs will pay tax on certain types of income that are not distributed and will be subject to a 100% excise tax on transactions with a taxable REIT subsidiary that are not conducted on an arm’s length basis. Moreover, the taxable REIT subsidiaries of Host Inc. and our subsidiary REITs are taxable as regular C corporations and will pay federal, state and local income tax on their net income at the applicable corporate rates, and foreign taxes to the extent that they own assets or conduct operations in foreign jurisdictions.

Host L.P. is obligated under its partnership agreement to pay all such taxes (and any related interest and penalties) incurred by Host Inc.

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If the IRS were to challenge successfully Host L.P.’s status as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, Host Inc. would cease to qualify as a REIT and would suffer other adverse consequences.

We believe that Host L.P. qualifies to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. As a partnership, it is not subject to federal income tax on its income. Instead, each of its partners, including Host Inc., is required to report and pay tax, if applicable, on such partner’s allocable share of its income. No assurance can be provided, however, that the IRS will not challenge Host L.P.’s status as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating Host L.P. as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, Host Inc. would fail to meet the gross income tests and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs and, accordingly, would cease to qualify as a REIT. If Host L.P. fails to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes or Host Inc. fails to qualify as a REIT, either failure would cause an event of default under Host L.P.’s credit facility that, in turn, could constitute an event of default under Host L.P.’s outstanding debt securities. Also, the failure of Host L.P. to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes would cause it to become subject to federal, state and foreign corporate income tax, which tax would reduce significantly the amount of cash available for debt service and for distribution to its partners, including Host Inc.

As a REIT, each of Host Inc. and its subsidiary REITs is subject to limitations on its ownership of debt and equity securities.

Subject to certain exceptions, a REIT generally is prohibited from owning securities in any one issuer to the extent that (1) the value of such securities exceeds 5% of the value of the REIT’s total assets, (2) the securities owned by the REIT represent more than 10% of the issuer’s outstanding voting securities, or (3) the REIT owns more than 10% of the value of the issuer’s outstanding securities. A REIT is permitted to own securities of a subsidiary in an amount that exceeds the 5% value test and the 10% vote or value test if the subsidiary elects to be a taxable REIT subsidiary. However, a REIT may not own securities of taxable REIT subsidiaries that represent in the aggregate more than 25% of the value of the REIT’s total assets. If Host Inc. or any of its subsidiary REITs were to violate these ownership limitations, each likely would lose its REIT status.

Each of Host Inc. or its subsidiary REITs may be required to pay a penalty tax upon the sale of a hotel.

The federal income tax provisions applicable to REITs provide that any gain realized by a REIT from the sale of property held as inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business is treated as income from a “prohibited transaction” that is subject to a 100% excise tax. Under existing law, whether property, including hotels, is held as inventory or primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business is a question of fact that depends upon all of the facts and circumstances with respect to the particular transaction. We intend to hold our hotels for investment with a view to long-term appreciation, to engage in the business of acquiring and owning hotels and to make occasional sales of hotels consistent with our investment objectives. There can be no assurance, however, that the IRS might not contend that one or more of these sales are subject to the 100% excise tax.

Risks Relating to Redemption of OP Units

A holder who offers its OP units for redemption may have adverse tax consequences.

A holder whose OP units are redeemed will be treated for federal and state income tax purposes as having sold the OP units. The sale of these units is a taxable event and the holder thereof will be treated as realizing an amount equal to the sum of (1) the value of the common stock or cash the holder receives, and (2) the amount of Host L.P.’s nonrecourse liabilities allocated to the redeemed OP units. The gain or loss recognized by the holder of OP units is measured by the difference between the amount realized by the holder and the holder’s tax basis in the OP units redeemed (which tax basis includes the amount of Host L.P.’s nonrecourse liabilities allocated to the redeemed OP units). It is possible that the amount of gain and/or the tax liability related thereto that the holder recognizes and pays could exceed the value of the common stock or cash that the holder receives.

Differences between an investment in shares of Host Inc. common stock and Host L.P. OP units may affect redeemed holders of OP units.

If a holder of OP units elects to have its units redeemed, we will determine whether the holder receives cash or shares of Host Inc.’s common stock in exchange for the OP units. Although an investment in shares of Host Inc.’s common stock is substantially similar to an investment in Host L.P. OP units, there are some differences.  These differences include form of organization, management structure, voting rights, liquidity and federal and state income taxation, some of which differences may be material to investors.

 

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None.

 

See Part 1 Item 1. “Business—Our Hotel Portfolio” above for a discussion of our hotels.

 

On April 27, 2005, we initiated a lawsuit against Keystone-Texas Property Holding Corporation (“Keystone”) seeking a declaration that a provision of the ground lease for the property under the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter was valid and claiming that Keystone had breached that lease provision. On October 18, 2006, Keystone filed an amended counterclaim and later, a third party claim, alleging that we had tortiously interfered with Keystone’s attempted sale of the property and that we slandered Keystone’s title to the property.

On February 8, 2010, we received an adverse jury verdict in the 166^th Judicial District Court of Bexar County, Texas. The jury found that we tortiously interfered with the attempted sale by Keystone of the land under the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter and awarded Keystone $34.3 million in damages, plus statutory interest. In addition, the jury found that we slandered Keystone’s title to the property and awarded Keystone $39 million in damages, plus statutory interest. Keystone only will be entitled to receive one of these damage awards. On February 12, 2010, the jury awarded Keystone $7.5 million in exemplary damages with respect to the second claim. The trial court, however, subsequently granted our motion to disregard the jury’s exemplary damages award. On June 3, 2010, the trial court issued its final judgment awarding Keystone: (i) $39 million in damages for slander of title or, alternatively, $34.3 million for tortious interference of contract; (ii) approximately $6.8 million in pre-judgment and post-judgment interest (as of December 31, 2013, interest was $17 million); (iii) approximately $3.5 million in attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs; and (iv) an additional $750,000 in attorneys’ fees for any appeal to the court of appeals and Texas Supreme Court.

On November 23, 2011, a three-judge panel of the San Antonio Court of Appeals issued its memorandum opinion denying our appeal of the trial court’s June 3, 2010 final judgment. In addition, the panel overturned the trial court’s decision to grant our motion to disregard the jury’s $7.5 million award of exemplary damages. On January 17, 2012, we filed motions seeking rehearing from the three-judge panel and a motion for rehearing by the entire seven-judge court of appeals. Those motions were denied on February 29, 2012.