Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

New Accounting Standards

New Accounting Standards

In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. The standard adopts a two-step approach wherein, if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single (group of similar) identifiable asset(s), then the transaction would be considered an asset purchase. As a result of the standard, we anticipate that the majority of our hotel purchases will be considered asset purchases as opposed to business combinations. However, the determination will be made on a transaction-by-transaction basis and we do not expect the determination to materially change the recognition of the assets and liabilities acquired. This standard will be applied on a prospective basis and, therefore, it does not affect the accounting for any of our previous transactions. The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash, which requires that, on the statement of cash flows, amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning and ending total amounts thereof. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. We adopted this standard beginning January 1, 2017. As a result, amounts included in restricted cash and furniture, fixtures and equipment replacement fund on our consolidated balance sheet are included with cash and cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows, and we have restated the statement of cash flows for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 to reflect this change. The adoption of this standard did not change our balance sheet presentation.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which is intended to simplify accounting for share-based payment transactions and will affect the classification of certain share-based awards and related income tax withholdings. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. We adopted this standard beginning January 1, 2017. As a result of the standard, we anticipate that the majority of our share-based payment awards granted in 2017 will be equity-classified awards, and the excess tax benefits or deficiencies that are incurred based on the difference between the intrinsic value of the award and the grant-date fair value will be recognized as income tax expense or benefit on the income statement. However, we do not anticipate that the implementation of this standard will have a material effect on our financial statements. The shares granted are still included under the previous Comprehensive Stock and Cash Incentive Plan rules.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The new standard sets forth steps to determine the timing and amount of revenue to be recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration that the entity expects in exchange. In March, April, May and December 2016, the FASB issued ASUs Nos. 2016-08, 2016-10, 2016-12 and 2016-20, respectively, all related to Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which further clarify the application of the standard. Additionally, in February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-05, Other Income – Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20), which is required to be adopted concurrently with ASU No. 2014-09, as it provides further guidance on accounting for the derecognition of and partial sales of a non-financial asset. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, which deferred the effectiveness of ASU No. 2014-09 to reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and permitted early application for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The new standards can be applied retrospectively or under a modified retrospective approach. Based on our assessment of this standard, it will not materially affect the amount or timing of revenue recognition for revenues from room, food and beverage, and other hotel level sales; however, it may allow for earlier gain recognition for certain sale transactions pursuant to which we have continuing involvement. Upon adoption, we expect to implement these standards using a modified retrospective approach with a cumulative effect recognized with no restatements of prior period amounts.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which affects aspects of accounting for lease agreements. Under the new standard, all leases, including operating leases, will require recognition of the lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees on the balance sheet. However, the net effect on the statement of operations and the statement of cash flows largely is unchanged. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early application permitted. The standard requires a modified retrospective approach, with restatement of the periods presented in the year of adoption. The primary impact of the new standard will be to the treatment of our 26 ground leases, which represent approximately 85% of all of our operating lease payments. While we have not completed our analysis, we believe that the application of this standard will result in the recording of a right of use asset and the related lease liability of between $400 million and $500 million for the ground leases, although changes in discount rates, ground lease terms or other variables may have a significant effect on this calculation. As noted above, we expect the adoption of this standard to have minimal impact on our income statement.