Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation	1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION: On January 1, 2013, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (“Ryman”) and its subsidiaries (collectively with Ryman, the “Company”) began operating as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for federal income tax purposes, specializing in group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets. The Company’s owned assets include a network of upscale, meetings-focused resorts that are managed by Marriott International, Inc. (“Marriott”) under the Gaylord Hotels brand. These resorts, which the Company refers to as the Gaylord Hotels properties, consist of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee (“Gaylord Opryland”), the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center near Orlando, Florida (“Gaylord Palms”), the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, Texas (“Gaylord Texan”) and the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington D.C. (“Gaylord National”). The Company’s other owned hotel assets managed by Marriott include the Inn at Opryland, an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord Opryland, and the AC Hotel at National Harbor, Washington D.C. (“AC Hotel”), an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord National. At September 30, 2020, the Company also owns a 65% interest in a joint venture (the “Gaylord Rockies joint venture”) that owns the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center near Denver, Colorado (“Gaylord Rockies”), which opened in December 2018 and is managed by Marriott. As further discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, management has concluded that the Company is the primary beneficiary of this variable interest entity. As such, the Company has consolidated the assets, liabilities and results of operations of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. The portion of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture that the Company does not own is recorded as noncontrolling interest in consolidated joint venture in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet, and any adjustment necessary to reflect the noncontrolling interest at its redemption value is shown in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of equity. Creditors of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture have no recourse to the general credit of the Company, except with respect to certain limited loan guarantees as discussed in Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein. The Company also owns a number of media and entertainment assets, including the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary weekly showcase of country music’s finest performers; the Ryman Auditorium, the storied live music venue and former home of the Grand Ole Opry; WSM-AM, the Opry’s radio home; Ole Red, a brand of Blake Shelton-themed bar, music venue and event spaces; and three Nashville-based assets managed by Marriott – Gaylord Springs Golf Links (“Gaylord Springs”), the Wildhorse Saloon, and the General Jackson Showboat. The Company also owns a 50% interest in a joint venture intended to create and distribute a linear multicast and over-the-top channel dedicated to the country music lifestyle (“Circle”), which launched its broadcast network on January 1, 2020. See Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein for further disclosure. The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Ryman and its subsidiaries and have been prepared by the Company, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted from this report pursuant to such rules and regulations. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the results of operations for the interim periods have been included. All adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. The results of operations for such interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year because of seasonal and short-term variations. The Company principally operates, through its subsidiaries and its property managers, as applicable, in the following business segments: Hospitality, Entertainment, and Corporate and Other. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States. COVID-19 is having an unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy, and there is significant uncertainty surrounding the full extent of its impact on the Company’s future results of operations and financial position. The Company, in consultation with local governmental authorities, first determined to close its Nashville-based entertainment venues in mid-March 2020. As cancellations at the Gaylord Hotels properties began to increase, the Company and its hotel manager, Marriott, implemented a series of operational changes, culminating with the suspension of operations at the Gaylord Hotels properties in late March 2020. Gaylord Texan reopened June 8, 2020, and Gaylord Opryland, Gaylord Palms and Gaylord Rockies reopened June 25, 2020. Gaylord National remains closed. Hotel employees that were laid off or furloughed were generally paid the equivalent of one week of compensation, and benefits for non-union hotel employees have been maintained throughout the individual properties’ closures. In the Company’s Entertainment segment, in addition to the temporary closure of its entertainment assets, the Company took steps to reduce operating costs in all areas. Many of the Company’s Nashville-based attractions reopened at reduced capacities in May and June 2020. The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium began offering limited-capacity tours in June 2020, and in September 2020, they reopened for limited-capacity publicly attended performances. The Company’s decision to offer publicly attended performances with additional capacity will be based on a number of factors and made in consultation with local health authorities. The Company amended its credit facility on April 23, 2020, as described in Note 7, “Debt.” The Company continues to pay all required debt service payments on its indebtedness, lease payments, taxes and other payables. At September 30, 2020, the Company had an additional $664.1 million available for borrowing under its revolving credit facility and $52.2 million in unrestricted cash on hand. In addition, following the payment of the Company’s first quarter 2020 dividend as discussed in Note 14, “Equity,” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein, the Company suspended its regular quarterly dividend payments for the remainder of 2020. The Company’s board of directors will consider a future dividend as permitted by the Company’s credit agreement. The Company’s credit agreement amendment described in Note 7, “Debt,” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein, permits payment of dividends as necessary to maintain the Company’s REIT status and permits the Company to pay a dividend of $0.01 per share each quarter. Any future dividend is subject to the Company’s board of director’s determinations as to the amount of distributions and timing thereof. The Company has deferred substantially all non-essential capital projects, in addition to delaying the Gaylord Rockies expansion project, which was scheduled to begin construction in second quarter 2020. The Gaylord Palms expansion project is continuing, and the Company believes the expansion will allow Gaylord Palms to serve groups moving meetings to 2021. Termination of Block 21 Acquisition In December 2019, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office and retail complex located in Austin, Texas, for $275 million, which included the assumption of approximately $141 million of existing mortgage debt. In May 2020, in response to the then-existing capital markets and economic environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company determined it was not in the best interest of shareholders to focus resources and capital on the project and terminated the purchase agreement. The Company forfeited a nonrefundable December 2019 deposit of $15.0 million and recorded a loss, which is included in other gains and (losses), net in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. Newly Issued Accounting Standards In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses – Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which changes how entities measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. The ASU replaces the previous “incurred loss” approach with an “expected loss” model for instruments measured at amortized cost. For trade and other receivables, held-to-maturity debt securities, loans and other instruments, entities are required to use a new forward-looking “expected loss” model that generally will result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. The Company has applied these amendments with a modified-retrospective approach, with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. For debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment has been previously recognized, a prospective transition approach for the prior other-than-temporary impairment is required. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2020 and recorded an adjustment to beginning retained earnings of $5.3 million and an adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss of $2.2 million. See Note 4, “Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss” and Note 6, “Notes Receivable” for additional disclosure. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, “Reference Rate Reform – Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting,” which provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the existing guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens of the expected market transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). The guidance in ASU 2020-04 is optional, effective immediately, and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur generally through December 31, 2022. During 2020, the Company elected to apply the hedge accounting expedients related to probability and the assessments of effectiveness for future LIBOR-indexed cash flows to assume that the index upon which future hedged transactions will be based matches the index on the corresponding derivatives. Application of these expedients preserves the presentation of derivatives consistent with past presentation. The Company continues to evaluate the impact of this guidance and may apply other elections as applicable as additional market changes occur. In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-09, “Debt – Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-10762,” which addresses disclosure rules on guaranteed debt securities offerings. The new rules allow for more summarized information regarding issuer and guarantor subsidiaries, as well as the option to provide the required disclosures in a footnote to the consolidated financial statements or in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations. The updated guidance is effective for the Company in January 2021; however, early adoption is permitted. The Company elected to adopt this guidance in the third quarter of 2020 and has included the applicable disclosures within management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations in this Form 10-Q.

Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION:

On January 1, 2013, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (“Ryman”) and its subsidiaries (collectively with Ryman, the “Company”) began operating as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for federal income tax purposes, specializing in group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets. The Company’s owned assets include a network of upscale, meetings-focused resorts that are managed by Marriott International, Inc. (“Marriott”) under the Gaylord Hotels brand. These resorts, which the Company refers to as the Gaylord Hotels properties, consist of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee (“Gaylord Opryland”), the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center near Orlando, Florida (“Gaylord Palms”), the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, Texas (“Gaylord Texan”) and the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington D.C. (“Gaylord National”). The Company’s other owned hotel assets managed by Marriott include the Inn at Opryland, an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord Opryland, and the AC Hotel at National Harbor, Washington D.C. (“AC Hotel”), an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord National.

At September 30, 2020, the Company also owns a 65% interest in a joint venture (the “Gaylord Rockies joint venture”) that owns the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center near Denver, Colorado (“Gaylord Rockies”), which opened in December 2018 and is managed by Marriott. As further discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, management has concluded that the Company is the primary beneficiary of this variable interest entity. As such, the Company has consolidated the assets, liabilities and results of operations of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. The portion of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture that the Company does not own is recorded as noncontrolling interest in consolidated joint venture in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet, and any adjustment necessary to reflect the noncontrolling interest at its redemption value is shown in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of equity. Creditors of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture have no recourse to the general credit of the Company, except with respect to certain limited loan guarantees as discussed in Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein.

The Company also owns a number of media and entertainment assets, including the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary weekly showcase of country music’s finest performers; the Ryman Auditorium, the storied live music venue and former home of the Grand Ole Opry; WSM-AM, the Opry’s radio home; Ole Red, a brand of Blake Shelton-themed bar, music venue and event spaces; and three Nashville-based assets managed by Marriott – Gaylord Springs Golf Links (“Gaylord Springs”), the Wildhorse Saloon, and the General Jackson Showboat. The Company also owns a 50% interest in a joint venture intended to create and distribute a linear multicast and over-the-top channel dedicated to the country music lifestyle (“Circle”), which launched its broadcast network on January 1, 2020. See Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein for further disclosure.

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Ryman and its subsidiaries and have been prepared by the Company, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted from this report pursuant to such rules and regulations. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the results of operations for the interim periods have been included. All adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. The results of operations for such interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year because of seasonal and short-term variations.

The Company principally operates, through its subsidiaries and its property managers, as applicable, in the following business segments: Hospitality, Entertainment, and Corporate and Other.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States. COVID-19 is having an unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy, and there is significant uncertainty surrounding the full extent of its impact on the Company’s future results of operations and financial position.

The Company, in consultation with local governmental authorities, first determined to close its Nashville-based entertainment venues in mid-March 2020. As cancellations at the Gaylord Hotels properties began to increase, the Company and its hotel manager, Marriott, implemented a series of operational changes, culminating with the suspension of operations at the Gaylord Hotels properties in late March 2020. Gaylord Texan reopened June 8, 2020, and Gaylord Opryland, Gaylord Palms and Gaylord Rockies reopened June 25, 2020. Gaylord National remains closed. Hotel employees that were laid off or furloughed were generally paid the equivalent of one week of compensation, and benefits for non-union hotel employees have been maintained throughout the individual properties’ closures.

In the Company’s Entertainment segment, in addition to the temporary closure of its entertainment assets, the Company took steps to reduce operating costs in all areas. Many of the Company’s Nashville-based attractions reopened at reduced capacities in May and June 2020. The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium began offering limited-capacity tours in June 2020, and in September 2020, they reopened for limited-capacity publicly attended performances. The Company’s decision to offer publicly attended performances with additional capacity will be based on a number of factors and made in consultation with local health authorities.

The Company amended its credit facility on April 23, 2020, as described in Note 7, “Debt.” The Company continues to pay all required debt service payments on its indebtedness, lease payments, taxes and other payables.

At September 30, 2020, the Company had an additional $664.1 million available for borrowing under its revolving credit facility and $52.2 million in unrestricted cash on hand. In addition, following the payment of the Company’s first quarter 2020 dividend as discussed in Note 14, “Equity,” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein, the Company suspended its regular quarterly dividend payments for the remainder of 2020. The Company’s board of directors will consider a future dividend as permitted by the Company’s credit agreement. The Company’s credit agreement amendment described in Note 7, “Debt,” to the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein, permits payment of dividends as necessary to maintain the Company’s REIT status and permits the Company to pay a dividend of $0.01 per share each quarter. Any future dividend is subject to the Company’s board of director’s determinations as to the amount of distributions and timing thereof.

The Company has deferred substantially all non-essential capital projects, in addition to delaying the Gaylord Rockies expansion project, which was scheduled to begin construction in second quarter 2020. The Gaylord Palms expansion project is continuing, and the Company believes the expansion will allow Gaylord Palms to serve groups moving meetings to 2021.

Termination of Block 21 Acquisition

In December 2019, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office and retail complex located in Austin, Texas, for $275 million, which included the assumption of approximately $141 million of existing mortgage debt. In May 2020, in response to the then-existing capital markets and economic environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company determined it was not in the best interest of shareholders to focus resources and capital on the project and terminated the purchase agreement. The Company forfeited a nonrefundable December 2019 deposit of $15.0 million and recorded a loss, which is included in other gains and (losses), net in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.

Newly Issued Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses – Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which changes how entities measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured

at fair value through net income. The ASU replaces the previous “incurred loss” approach with an “expected loss” model for instruments measured at amortized cost. For trade and other receivables, held-to-maturity debt securities, loans and other instruments, entities are required to use a new forward-looking “expected loss” model that generally will result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. The Company has applied these amendments with a modified-retrospective approach, with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. For debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment has been previously recognized, a prospective transition approach for the prior other-than-temporary impairment is required. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2020 and recorded an adjustment to beginning retained earnings of $5.3 million and an adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss of $2.2 million. See Note 4, “Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss” and Note 6, “Notes Receivable” for additional disclosure.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, “Reference Rate Reform – Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting,” which provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the existing guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens of the expected market transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). The guidance in ASU 2020-04 is optional, effective immediately, and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur generally through December 31, 2022. During 2020, the Company elected to apply the hedge accounting expedients related to probability and the assessments of effectiveness for future LIBOR-indexed cash flows to assume that the index upon which future hedged transactions will be based matches the index on the corresponding derivatives. Application of these expedients preserves the presentation of derivatives consistent with past presentation. The Company continues to evaluate the impact of this guidance and may apply other elections as applicable as additional market changes occur.

In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-09, “Debt – Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-10762,” which addresses disclosure rules on guaranteed debt securities offerings. The new rules allow for more summarized information regarding issuer and guarantor subsidiaries, as well as the option to provide the required disclosures in a footnote to the consolidated financial statements or in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations. The updated guidance is effective for the Company in January 2021; however, early adoption is permitted. The Company elected to adopt this guidance in the third quarter of 2020 and has included the applicable disclosures within management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations in this Form 10-Q.