Commitments and Contingencies |
9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2015 | |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Restricted Cash—Under certain management and debt agreements for our hotel properties existing at September 30, 2015, escrow payments are required for insurance, real estate taxes, and debt service. In addition, for certain properties based on the terms of the underlying debt and management agreements, we escrow 4% to 6% of gross revenues for capital improvements. Franchise Fees—Under franchise agreements for our hotel properties existing at September 30, 2015, we pay franchisor royalty fees between 2% and 6% of gross room revenue and, in some cases, food and beverage revenues. Additionally, we pay fees for marketing, reservations, and other related activities aggregating between 1% and 6% of gross room revenue and, in some cases, food and beverage revenues. These franchise agreements expire on varying dates between 2017 and 2040. When a franchise term expires, the franchisor has no obligation to renew the franchise. A franchise termination could have a material adverse effect on the operations or the underlying value of the affected hotel due to loss of associated name recognition, marketing support, and centralized reservation systems provided by the franchisor. A franchise termination could also have a material adverse effect on cash available for distribution to stockholders. In addition, if we breach the franchise agreement and the franchisor terminates a franchise prior to its expiration date, we may be liable for up to three times the average annual fees incurred for that property. Our continuing operations incurred franchise fees of $17.6 million and $46.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively, and $10.0 million and $28.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively. Management Fees—Under management agreements for our hotel properties existing at September 30, 2015, we pay a) monthly property management fees equal to the greater of $10,000 (CPI adjusted since 2003) or 3% of gross revenues, or in some cases 1.5% to 7% of gross revenues, as well as annual incentive management fees, if applicable, b) market service fees on approved capital improvements, including project management fees of up to 4% of project costs, for certain hotels, and c) other general fees at current market rates as approved by our independent directors, if required. These management agreements expire from 2016 through 2044, with renewal options. If we terminate a management agreement prior to its expiration, we may be liable for estimated management fees through the remaining term and liquidated damages or, in certain circumstances, we may substitute a new management agreement. Income Taxes—If we sell or transfer the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Virginia prior to July 2016, we will be required to indemnify the entity from which we acquired the property if, as a result of such transactions, such entity would recognize a gain for federal tax purposes. In general, tax indemnities equal the federal, state, and local income tax liabilities the contributor or their specified assignee incurs with respect to the gain allocated to the contributor. The contribution agreements’ terms generally require us to gross up tax indemnity payments for the amount of income taxes due as a result of such tax indemnities. Potential Pension Liabilities—Upon our 2006 acquisition of a hotel property, certain employees of such hotel were unionized and covered by a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan. At that time, no unfunded pension liabilities existed. Subsequent to our acquisition, a majority of employees, who are employees of the hotel manager, Remington Lodging, petitioned the employer to withdraw recognition of the union. As a result of the decertification petition, Remington Lodging withdrew recognition of the union. At the time of the withdrawal, the National Retirement Fund, the union’s pension fund, indicated unfunded pension liabilities existed. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) filed a complaint against Remington Lodging seeking, among other things, that Remington Lodging’s withdrawal of recognition was unlawful. Pending the final determination of the NLRB complaint, including appeals, the pension fund entered into a settlement agreement with Remington Lodging on November 1, 2011, providing that (a) Remington Lodging will continue to make monthly pension fund payments pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, and (b) if the withdrawal of recognition is ultimately deemed lawful, Remington Lodging will have an unfunded pension liability equal to $1.7 million minus the monthly pension payments made by Remington Lodging since the settlement agreement. To illustrate, if Remington Lodging—as of the date a final determination occurs—has made monthly pension payments equaling $100,000, Remington Lodging’s remaining withdrawal liability shall be the unfunded pension liability of $1.7 million minus $100,000 (or $1.6 million). This remaining unfunded pension liability shall be paid to the pension fund in annual installments of $84,000 (but may be made monthly or quarterly, at Remington Lodging’s election), which shall continue for the remainder of the twenty-(20)-year capped period, unless Remington Lodging elects to pay the unfunded pension liability amount earlier. We agreed to indemnify Remington Lodging for the payment of the unfunded pension liability as set forth in the settlement agreement. Litigation—Palm Beach Florida Hotel and Office Building Limited Partnership, et al. v. Nantucket Enterprises, Inc. This litigation involves a landlord tenant dispute from 2008 in which the landlord, Palm Beach Florida Hotel and Office Building Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of the Company, claimed that the tenant, Nantucket Enterprises, Inc., had violated various lease provisions of the lease agreement and was therefore in default. The tenant counterclaimed and asserted multiple claims including that it had been wrongfully evicted. The litigation was instituted by the plaintiff in November 2008 in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County, Florida and proceeded to a jury trial on June 30, 2014. The jury entered its verdict awarding the tenant total claims of $10.8 million and ruling against the landlord on its claim of breach of contract. The landlord is preparing various post trial motions. A final judgment was entered and the landlord has filed a notice of appeal. As a result of the jury verdict, we previously recorded pre-judgment interest of $707,000 and accrued a reasonable estimate of loss related to legal fees of $400,000 during 2014. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, we recorded additional pre-judgment interest of $24,000 and $71,000, respectively. Including the 2014 judgment, pre-judgment interest and estimated loss of legal expenses, total expense recorded was $12.0 million through September 30, 2015. The additional charges related to pre-judgment interest are included in “other expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015. We are engaged in other various legal proceedings which have arisen but have not been fully adjudicated. The likelihood of loss from these legal proceedings, based on definitions within contingency accounting literature, ranges from remote to reasonably possible and to probable. Based on estimates of the range of potential losses associated with these matters, management does not believe the ultimate resolution of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations. However, the final results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty and if we fail to prevail in one or more of these legal matters, and the associated realized losses exceed our current estimates of the range of potential losses, our consolidated financial position or results of operations could be materially adversely affected in future periods. |