WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. - Chatham Lodging Trust, a lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels, today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2020.
Fourth Quarter 2020 Operating Results
- Portfolio Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) – All Chatham hotels have remained open throughout the pandemic. For the 39 comparable hotels owned as of December 31, 2020, RevPAR declined 60 percent to $47, compared to the 2019 fourth quarter. Average daily rate (ADR) decreased 34 percent to $104, and occupancy dropped 40 percent to 45 percent.
- Net Loss – Worsened $1.0 million to a loss of $(3.4) million for the 2020 fourth quarter, compared to the 2019 fourth quarter. Net loss per diluted share was $(0.07) versus net loss per diluted share of $(0.05) for the same period last year. During the quarter, - Chatham recognized a gain of $21.1 million on the sale of the Residence Inn San Diego Mission Valley.
- GOP Margin – Generated positive GOP margins of 25 percent during the 2020 fourth quarter, compared to 42 percent in the 2019 fourth quarter.
- Adjusted EBITDA – Produced positive Adjusted EBITDA for the second consecutive quarter, generating Adjusted EBITDA of $0.2 million, versus $25.9 million in the 2019 fourth quarter.
- Adjusted FFO – Declined $24.0 million to $(8.7) million. Adjusted FFO per diluted share was $(0.18), compared to $0.32 in the 2019 fourth quarter.
- Cash Burn Before Capital Expenditures – Fourth quarter 2020 cash burn was $9.5 million versus $5.1 million in the third quarter and $12.8 million in the second quarter. Cash burn includes $2.3 million of principal amortization per quarter.
“Obviously, 2020 was the most challenging lodging environment in history,” commented Jeffrey H. Fisher, Chatham’s president and chief executive officer. “From owners and operators having to make very difficult decisions with respect to employees and how we serve our guests to significantly reducing or eliminating dividends to stress testing all facets of our business while seeing equity share prices plummet, to say things were tough would be an understatement. Since the outset of the pandemic, to preserve long-term shareholder value, we focused our efforts on the following:
- Maximizing hotel operating results through aggressive sales strategies and expense controls
- Minimizing cash burn through reducing headcount at the corporate and hotel levels, implementing temporary salary reductions and significantly cutting capital expenditures
- Improving liquidity through the opportunistic sale of hotels at non-discounted pricing
- Preserving balance sheet strength by maintaining flexibility and capacity on our credit facility and obtaining new financing on our hotel development.
“We were able to execute on these essential points, and for that, I am thankful to all of the employees of Chatham and Island for their above and beyond efforts during 2020,” Fisher stated. “Despite a global pandemic, we generated positive Adjusted EBITDA for the full year, we paid all debt service which includes principal amortization of $9 million, our net debt only increased $8 million and our leverage ratio slightly increased from 34 percent to 36 percent based on the ratio of the company’s net debt to hotel investments at cost.
“Operationally, Chatham continued to generate some of the best operating metrics of all lodging REITs during 2020, supporting our longstanding belief that our platform working alongside Island Hospitality is the best among lodging REITs. Examples of some incredible results in the midst of a global pandemic include:
Produced the highest absolute RevPAR of any lodging REIT over the last three quarters of 2020
- Generated some of, if not the, highest operating margins of all lodging REITs in 2020
- Generated the second highest hotel EBITDA per room of all lodging REITs during the pandemic
- Gained significant market share throughout the pandemic with an average monthly RevPAR index of 136 over the last nine months of 2020, compared to an index of 118 in 2019, an increase of 15 percent
- Kept all hotels open, maximizing revenue, cash flow and allowing us to employ more people.
“Our outperformance is a testament to great portfolio attributes, high-quality, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels in locations that generate room revenue from diverse demand sources. Chatham has the largest concentration of extended-stay rooms of all lodging REITs. For years, we have touted the benefits of a portfolio such as ours through all phases of a lodging cycle, and our performance over the past year certainly proves that. As COVID-19 vaccinations roll-out across the United States and the world, we expect travel to rebound meaningfully in the second half of the year and into 2022 and 2023, and we believe that we will reach cash flow breakeven levels sooner than most other lodging REITs,” Fisher concluded.
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