Note 19 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

19.  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Tucson Foothills and the Albuquerque Hotels are subject to non-cancelable ground leases. The Tucson Foothills non-cancelable ground lease expires in 2050. The Albuquerque Hotel non-cancelable ground lease was extended on January 14, 2014 and expires in 2058. Total expense associated with the non-cancelable ground leases for the fiscal years ended January 31, 2014 and 2013 was $212,236 and $210,501, respectively, plus a variable component based on gross revenues of each property that totaled approximately $88,000 and $73,000, respectively.

During 2010, the Trust entered into a five-year office lease for its corporate headquarters.  The Trust recorded $45,021 and $30,718 of general and administrative expense related to the lease during fiscal year 2014 and 2013, respectively.  The lease included a base rent charge of $24,000 for the first lease year with annual increases to a final year base rent of $39,600.  The Trust has the option to cancel the lease after each lease year for penalties of four months’ rent after the first year with the penalty decreasing by one month’s rent each successive lease year.  It is the Trust’s intention to remain in the office for the duration of the five-year lease period.

Future minimum lease payments under these non-cancelable ground leases and office lease are as follows:

Fiscal Year Ending
2015	$	235,670
2016		213,508
2017		213,508
2018		213,508
2019		213,508
Thereafter		9,085,678
Total	$	10,175,380

The Trust is obligated under loan agreements relating to four of its hotels to deposit 4% of the individual hotel’s room revenue into an escrow account to be used for capital expenditures.  The escrow funds applicable to the four hotel properties for which a mortgage lender escrow exists are reported on the Trust’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as “Restricted Cash.”

InnSuites Hotels has entered into membership agreements with Best Western International, Inc. (“Best Western”) for four of the hotel properties.  In exchange for use of the Best Western name, trademark and reservation system, the participating Hotels pay fees to Best Western based on reservations received through the use of the Best Western reservation system and the number of available suites at the participating Hotels.  The agreements with Best Western have no specific expiration terms and may be cancelled by either party.  Best Western requires that the participating hotels meet certain requirements for room quality, and the Hotels are subject to removal from its reservation system if these requirements are not met.  The Hotels with third-party membership agreements received significant reservations through the Best Western reservation system.  Under these arrangements, fees paid for membership fees and reservations were approximately $310,000 and $313,000 for fiscal years 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The nature of the operations of the Hotels exposes them to risks of claims and litigation in the normal course of their business.  Although the outcome of these matters cannot be determined and is covered by insurance, management does not expect that the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity of the Trust.

The Trust is involved from time to time in various other claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.  In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Trust’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

On January 8, 2013, the Trust received a letter from the NYSE MKT LLC (f/k/a AMEX) (the "NYSE MKT") informing the Trust that the staff of the NYSE MKT’s Corporate Compliance Department has determined that the Trust is not in compliance with Section 1003(a)(ii) of the NYSE MKT Company Guide due to the Trust having stockholders' equity of less than $4.0 million and losses from continuing operations in three of its four most recent fiscal years.

The Trust was afforded the opportunity to submit a plan of compliance to the NYSE MKT and submitted its plan on February 5, 2013. On March 21, 2013, the NYSE MKT notified the Trust that it accepted the Trust’s plan of compliance and granted the Trust an extension until April 30, 2014 to regain compliance with the continued listing standards.

On May 2, 2013, the Trust received another letter from the NYSE MKT informing the Trust that the Trust is not in compliance with an additional continued listing standard of the NYSE MKT, Section 1003(a)(iii) of the NYSE MKT Company Guide, due to the Trust having stockholders’ equity of less than $6.0 million and net losses in five consecutive fiscal years as of January 31, 2013. The plan submitted in response to the first letter received increased stockholders’ equity in excess of $6.0 million before the April 30, 2014 deadline; therefore the Trust was not required to submit an additional plan to regain compliance with the continued listing standards.

The Trust is undertaking efforts, as outlined in its plan, to regain compliance with the NYSE MKT continued listing standards.

On December 16, 2013, the Trust requested an extension of the plan period. Based on a review of information provided by the Trust’s, on January 10, 2014, the NYSE MKT granted the Trust an extension of time to regain compliance with the continued listing standards until July 8, 2014. The Trust will be subject to periodic review by the NYSE MKT’s staff during this extension period. Failure to make progress consistent with the plan or to regain compliance with the NYSE MKT continued listing standards by the end of the extension period could result in the Trust being delisted from the NYSE MKT.