Braemar Hotels & Resorts Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 2, 2023

There are 9 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings and welcome to Brammer Hotels and Resorts Inc. 2nd Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

Operator

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Jordan Jennings, Manager, Investor Relations. Thank you. Ms. Jennings, you may begin.

Speaker 1

Good morning, and welcome to today's call to review results for Braemar Hotels and Resorts for the Q2 of 2023 and to update you on recent developments. On the call today will be Richard Stockton, President and Chief Executive Officer Deric Eubanks, Chief Financial Officer and Chris Nixon, Executive Vice President and Head of Asset Management. The results as well as the notice of the accessibility of this conference call On a listen only basis over the Internet were distributed yesterday in the press release. At this time, let me remind you that certain statements and assumptions And this conference call contain or are based upon forward looking information and are being made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Federal Securities Regulation. Such forward looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, uncertainties and known or unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.

Speaker 1

These factors are more fully discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward looking statements included in this conference call are only made as of the date of this call and the company is not obligated to publicly update or revise them. Statements made during this call do not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation as an offer to buy any securities. Securities will be offered only by means of a registration statement and prospectus, which can be found at www.sec.gov. In addition, certain terms used in this call are non GAAP financial measures, reconciliations of which are provided in the company's earnings release and accompanying tables or schedules, which have been filed on Form 8 ks with the SEC on August 2, 2023, and may also be accessed through the company's website at www.bhrwheat.com.

Speaker 1

Each listener is encouraged to review the reconciliations provided in the earnings release together with all other information provided in the release. Also, unless otherwise stated, all reported results discussed in this call compare the Q2 ended June 30, 2023, with the Q2 ended June 30, 2022. I will now turn the call over to Richard Stockton. Please go ahead, Richard.

Speaker 2

Good morning, and welcome to our 2023 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. I will begin today's call by providing an overview of our business and an update on our portfolio. Then Derek will provide a review of our financial results And Chris will provide an update on our asset management activity. Afterwards, we will open the call for Q and A. We have a few key themes for today's call.

Speaker 2

First, We're pleased with the continued momentum of our urban hotels, which continue to ramp up nicely and delivered comparable hotel EBITDA of $20,000,000 in the 2nd quarter. 2nd, we're very happy with the performance of the hotels we have acquired this cycle, which continue to exceed our original underwriting. And third, we continue to make solid progress addressing loan maturities as evidenced by our recent announcement regarding the closing of our $200,000,000 corporate financing. Our balance sheet remains solid with ample liquidity and we remain focused on working through our liability management program during the remainder of 2023. For the Q2, Braemar delivered solid performance despite a volatile macroeconomic environment.

Speaker 2

Our Q2 2023 comparable hotel EBITDA $53,700,000 was driven by the continued strong performance at our resort properties as we've outlined on prior calls, The continued momentum and strong growth from our urban hotels. Turning to RevPAR for all hotels in the portfolio. I'm pleased to report that RevPAR totaled $309 for the 2nd quarter with solid occupancy in ADRs. Having said that, Given the tougher year over year comparisons, this represents a decrease of approximately 4.2% for the Q2 of 2023 compared to the Q2 2022. Our luxury resorts are seeing some stabilization in both demand and rate, but are still far outperforming 2019 results.

Speaker 2

Taking a closer look at our assets. Our best in class luxury portfolio remains well positioned. As you know, Many of our hotels are well located in attractive high barreled entry leisure markets. 10 of our 16 hotels are considered resort destinations. Our luxury resort portfolio continues to deliver strong performance with combined hotel EBITDA of $33,000,000 during the quarter.

Speaker 2

Turning to our urban assets, our 2nd quarter performance remained solid and exhibited growth for the 9th consecutive quarter. This segment generated $20,000,000 of comparable hotel EBITDA. We remain very encouraged by the continued momentum and ramp up of our urban hotels as demand quickly returns to our cities. This return continues to be driven by corporate transient with recent strength in corporate group demand. Overall, our urban portfolio is in solid shape.

Speaker 2

And as demonstrated by our 2nd quarter performance, we continue to believe our urban hotels will be the primary driver of to Cameo Beverly Hills and have entered into an agreement to join the Hilton Central Reservation System and Hilton Honors Guest Loyalty Program. This property is an iconic asset with a great location and will undergo a $25,000,000 renovation as part of this conversion. The renovation will include updates to the guest rooms, guest bathrooms, corridors, lobby, restaurant, facade and meeting space. We will be creating a distinctive theme and style for the property that is commensurate with Hilton's LXR brand, which it will join upon renovation completion before the end of 2025. Next, we remain very assured about our recent acquisition of the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, which has exceeded our expectations and in the quarter delivered RevPAR of $4.15 based on 49% occupancy and an ADR of $8.52 As you may recall, the 210 Room Luxury Resort was acquired in early December 2022.

Speaker 2

Strategically, as demonstrated by our 2nd quarter performance, it's a great addition to our portfolio and fits perfectly with our strategy of owning high RevPAR luxury We also continue to analyze the optimal solution for the nearly 6 acre development parcel we acquired as part of the acquisition. Braemar's other 2022 acquisition, the Ritz Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach also continues to perform very well. For the Q2, Ritz Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach delivered RevPAR growth of 7.2%. RevPAR for the quarter was $14.54 based on 64% occupancy and an outstanding ADR of $2,270 This property has shown an ability to buck other prevailing trends in the luxury resort segment due to being located in the tax favorable jurisdiction of Puerto Rico. Over the trailing 12 months, the Ritz Carlton Reserve Dorado Beach has achieved a 9.2% yield on cost, while the 4 Seasons Scottsdale achieved a 7.2% yield on cost.

Speaker 2

These luxury assets have significantly outpaced our underwriting and looking ahead to the balance of the year, We remain very encouraged about the prospects for these properties. Looking at Braemar's capital position, our balance sheet remains in good shape We continue to emphasize balance sheet flexibility. In early June, we exercised a 1 year extension option on our 4 pack loan by paying down the loan balance by approximately $142,000,000 That loan is secured by the Notary Hotel, the Clancy, Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile and the Marriott Seattle Waterfront. We're also pleased to announce the recent closing of our $200,000,000 corporate financing. Derek will discuss that in more detail.

Speaker 2

In summary, I'm optimistic about our future results as evidenced by our group pace being up 20% for 2023 and 16% for 2024, which is benefiting from both corporate and social groups. As we move through the remainder of 2023 and into 2024, we're on solid footing to perform well in both the near term and the long term As business and group travel continue to accelerate. Further, we have the highest quality hotel portfolio in the public markets and we remain well positioned with what we believe is a solid liquidity position and balance sheet with attractive debt financing in place. I will now turn the call over to Derek to take you through our financials in more detail.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Richard. For the quarter, we reported net loss attributable to common stockholders of $13,000,000 or $0.20 per diluted share and AFFO per diluted share of $0.20 Adjusted EBITDAre for the quarter was $46,300,000 At quarter end, we had total assets of $2,300,000,000 We had $1,100,000,000 of loans, of which $49,000,000 related to our joint venture partner The share of the loan of the Capital Hilton and Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Our total combined loans had a blended average interest rate of 7%, Taking into account in the money interest rate caps. Based on the current levels of LIBOR and SOFR and our corresponding interest rate caps, Approximately 79% of our debt is effectively fixed and approximately 21% is effectively floating. As of the end of the second quarter, we had approximately 37.3 percent net debt to gross assets.

Speaker 3

We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $128,000,000 And restricted cash of $63,400,000 The vast majority of that restricted cash is comprised of lender and manager held reserve accounts. At the end of the quarter, we also had $15,400,000 in due from 3rd party hotel managers. This primarily represents cash held by 1 of our brand managers, is also available to fund hotel operating costs. With regard to dividends, in December, we announced a significant increase in the company's quarterly common stock dividend to $0.05 per share or $0.20 per diluted share on an annualized basis. This equates to an annual yield of approximately 5.5% based on yesterday's closing stock price.

Speaker 3

The Board also approved the company's dividend policy for 2023. The company expects to quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share for 2023 or $0.20 per share on annualized basis. As Richard mentioned, in early June, we finalized an extension of our $435,000,000 mortgage loan secured by 4 properties, The Notary Hotel, the Clancy, Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile and Marriott Seattle Waterfront. The loan was Beyond its original initial maturity in June 2023 for an additional 12 months. In conjunction with the extension, we paid down $142,000,000 of

Speaker 4

the loan

Speaker 3

Utilizing corporate cash on hand, which reduced the loan balance to approximately $293,000,000 As part of this extension, we also purchased an interest rate cap through June 2024 with a strike rate of 4.69%. Earlier this week, we announced a new $200,000,000 corporate financing that consists of a $150,000,000 term loan $50,000,000 revolving credit facility. This financing is secured by a borrowing base of 3 hotels, Ritz Carlton Sarasota, Bardessono Hotel and Spa and Hotel Yountville, and we use the proceeds from the financing to pay off the existing mortgage loans on those properties. The new financing has a 3 year term with 1 1 year extension option subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, The interest rate is based upon a pricing grid related to our net debt to EBITDA to provide for a range of silver plus 2.35 percent to 3.1%. We anticipate that the initial interest rate will be SOFR plus 2.85%.

Speaker 3

Our next final debt maturity is the loan on the Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe, which matures in January 2024. As of June 30, 2023, our portfolio 16 hotels with 3,957 net rooms. Our share count currently stands at 73,200,000 fully diluted shares outstanding, which is comprised of 66,000,000 shares of common stock and 7,200,000 OP units. This concludes our financial review. I'd now like to turn it over to Chris

Speaker 4

portfolio decreased 4% over the prior year quarter to $309 Our urban assets continue to benefit from sustained demand growth With comparable total hotel revenue exceeding the prior year quarter by 13%. While we are seeing a stabilization across our resort properties, Total portfolio RevPAR was 8% higher than the national average for the luxury chain scale and reflects the high quality nature of our portfolio. I would like to spend some time highlighting how our team has capitalized on the urban recovery, driven performance through increased group demand and implemented successful initiatives to drive performance at our newly acquired hotels. We continue to see strong results across our urban hotels in the portfolio. Last year, we capitalized on the opportunity to renovate the guest rooms at Marriott Seattle Waterfront, while the hotel is still ramping up.

Speaker 4

Due to these enhancements, during the Q2, Marriott Seattle Waterfront reported a comparable RevPAR growth of 43% over the prior year quarter, resulting in a 91% RevPAR premium to the entire Seattle market. The freshly renovated guest rooms, Including 8 additional keys and the hotel's unique positioning right on the water has allowed us to capture additional transient demand from the cruise lines that are near our hotel. Another recently renovated hotel in our portfolio that is outperforming the market is our iconic Philadelphia Autograph brand hotel, The Notary, which reported a comparable RevPAR growth of 24% over the prior year quarter and roughly 16 percentage points higher than the Philadelphia market. We have been working to increase exposure of the Autograph of branding and place an emphasis on the improved services, restaurant reconcept and room renovation. To further drive group business, our revenue optimization team is partnered with sales leaders and third party technology providers to develop best in class virtual site visit platforms, which have increased conversion rates of group leads.

Speaker 4

We continue to see acceleration from the group segment, Group room revenue for the 2nd quarter exceeded the prior year quarter by 9%. This was a strong quarter for group booking activity. We started the quarter with $81,000,000 in group room bookings for the full year 2023. During the Q2, we added over $10,000,000 and additional group room bookings for 2023. As a comparison, on a more stabilized basis, during the Q2 of 2019, We added just under $6,000,000 in same year bookings.

Speaker 4

Our largest hotel, Capital Hilton, finished the quarter with approximately $5,300,000 in group revenue, a 63% increase when compared to the $3,200,000 in the prior year quarter. This achievement is noteworthy considering that the hotel was under a transformative guestroom renovation throughout the entire Q2. We attribute the success to our partnership with Premier, who is handling the renovation and a successful implementation of their Stealth Renovation Program, which minimizes displacement. All these efforts and more have contributed to the overall success of the portfolio during the first half of twenty twenty three. It is worth noting how successful this year has been in terms Hotel performance with 5 of our hotels setting all time year to date records and hotel RevPAR, including our 2 most recent acquisitions, The Ritz Carlton Reserve, Dorado Beach and the Four Seasons Scottsdale.

Speaker 4

Each of these hotels have a detailed takeover plan, which our team created upon acquisition to highlight strategic opportunities for creating and optimizing value. At the Ritz Carlton Dorado Beach, we have optimized our cabana rental program, Increased luxury villa sales and enhanced our digital marketing strategy. We have also completed a full menu benchmarking deep dive for all the spa services and food and beverage outlets. These efforts have resulted in year to date comparable spa revenue and food and beverage revenue increases of 15% and 10% over the first half of last year respectively. The 4 Seasons Scottsdale has benefited from similar initiatives as well as ancillary revenue optimization and best use analyses for revenue generating space.

Speaker 4

As part of the takeover plan, our team did a deep dive We recognized an opportunity in the market to satisfy local residential demand for a luxury salon with boutique hair and nail services. We also identified underutilized space in the spa where we partnered with local vendors to accumulate inventory and build out a retail platform. These initiatives have been successful, propelling our year to date comparable SPA revenue by 28% over the first half of last year. Moving on to capital investments. We have invested heavily in our portfolio over the last several years to enhance our competitive advantage.

Speaker 4

We believe that those investments have resulted in a competitive edge for our portfolio. We are currently renovating the guest rooms at the Capitol Hilton, The Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe as well as the lobby retail outlet at the Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe and Spa at the Ritz Carlton Sarasota. Later this year, we plan to start guestroom renovations at Bartosono Hotel and Spa and Hotel Yachtville. We also plan to begin renovating the meeting space at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and Spa at the Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe. For 2023, we anticipate spending between $80,000,000 $90,000,000 on capital expenditures.

Speaker 4

Lastly, I would like to emphasize how optimistic we are about the future of this portfolio. As I mentioned earlier, our urban assets are experiencing strong demand. Group business continues to accelerate with no signs of slowing and a number of our assets continue to break records each quarter. We are already launching new initiatives to further enhance our portfolio, which include transformative full property renovations, Developing underutilized land and key additions. With these new initiatives underway, we are confident the portfolio will continue to outperform.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Chris. In summary, we continue to be pleased with the trends we're seeing in our hotels emphasized by the continued recovery of our urban properties. We're very well positioned moving forward with a solid balance sheet and the highest quality portfolio in the publicly traded REIT market. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the quarters ahead. This concludes our prepared remarks, and we will now open up the call for Q and A.

Operator

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer First question comes from the line of Bryan Maher with B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thank you and good morning.

Speaker 2

Just a couple of questions

Speaker 5

for me this morning. Maybe start off with Richard. When you look at the wide range of RevPAR outcomes The portfolio over the past couple of quarters, does it give you any thoughts as it relates to capital recycling opportunities Between resort and urban, or are you pretty happy with the split that you have now? And kind of a follow-up to that, Where do you think your next target lies? Is it in resort or would it be urban?

Speaker 2

Yes. Thanks, Brian. Thanks for joining the call. Yes, I'd say a little if you think about capital recycling, you're thinking about accessing investment sales market and I'm buying something. I think for me, it's just not a great time to sell assets in general.

Speaker 2

I think we're at a point with the Fed interest rate hiking cycle that it's constricting liquidity so much That's just a difficult thing to consider. I think that's due to evolve over the next several months. And so we'll be keeping an eye on that. And if we were to do it, I'd say, I wouldn't think about Making a call necessarily on resort versus urban, but more luxury versus upper upscale, right? Our strategy is very clearly Aligned with the luxury segment, we do have some legacy upper upscale assets who are, I guess save 1 considered urban assets.

Speaker 2

So it'd be more along those lines that I would upgrade the quality of the portfolio Rather than choosing sides, if you will, between resort and urban side, I do like having a bit of balance there and it's worked well for us over the last 4 years. We've been able to play Yes, both sides of that game as first resorts accelerated and then urban thereafter followed. And so that's I think that served us pretty well. Okay.

Speaker 5

And then when we think about growth and acquisitions for you, you've kept it pretty clean With outright purchases, but it does come up on other calls, and in the weird market that we live in now, possibly taking down meant That with the goal of maybe taking the asset later, would you explore opportunities there? Or do you think you just keep it real clean without rent purchases?

Speaker 3

I think one of our

Speaker 2

great strengths frankly lies within our asset management capability. And yes, I would just question our ability to have the right level of influence through a mezz position Versus equity ownership. I think we believe we can bring significant value both to the top line and On the expense side of things, and the best way to effectuate that is through equity ownership. So we really haven't looked at any type of MedData. I suppose there could be a unique type of preferred equity investment where we also Yes, separately entered into an asset management agreement, but that would be critical to us in order to get the assurance that we drive You have the most out of that asset.

Speaker 5

Got it. Thank you. That's all for me.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Chris Woronka with Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hey, good morning, guys. Richard, maybe we get a little more color on the Hilton Cameo planned conversion, is there any anticipated disruption there this year or next year? And then I'm not sure if the press release mentioned anything with the residential. I think there's 4 or 5 units that you were Considering what you might do with any comments on that? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Yes, Chris, thanks for dialing in. Thanks for that question. We're super excited about what we have planned for Mr. C. I love the new branding.

Speaker 2

I love the Cameo name. It speaks to Beverly Hills. It speaks to the legacy and history of the film industry in LA as well as all types of celebrity. And so that's a great positioning for that property. We have entered into this partnership with Hilton, which I think will do great things for that hotel being part of the central reservation system.

Speaker 2

It's something that We just did a benefit from, I think we'll be able to drive a lot more group business as a result. So that's all really positive. And we're putting A lot of money into this property, right. So there will be some disruption. I'll let Chris comment in a second.

Speaker 2

But this will be an extensive 2 year renovation program. And I think we get to the other side of it, we're going to have one of the best assets in that market. But Chris, do you want

Speaker 4

to talk about Yes. Chris, we're really excited about the opportunity to rebrand this hotel. I think we're With the conversion, we're going to be, as Richard said, touching nearly every part of the property. And so there is going to be some disruption with that with the amount of money We're putting into the asset. I think we're really excited coming out the other end to have, as Richard said, an incredible brand new product in the Beverly Hills market.

Speaker 4

We're really excited about getting on the Hilton Distribution platform. We think there's immense upside for the property there. Joining the Honors loyalty program is going to really help us on weekends. So right now, the hotel runs a pretty high occupancy on weekends. And just the increased demand From that program and the distribution network is going to help us drive weekend rates.

Speaker 4

Where we've got opportunity for occupancy, this hotel is weekdays And Hilton has got a great presence in the market with corporate customers, and we think we're going to be able to tap into their corporate accounts and their corporate production, And that's going to drive weekday business. And so whether or not the Hilton distribution engine in the interim offsets the disruption from the renovation This is still to be seen. We've been very strategic in the renovation schedule to minimize displacement, But we're most excited about kind of the long term outlook and potential for this hotel with us being aligned with the Hilton brand on their distribution system.

Speaker 6

Okay, very helpful. Thanks for the color on that. Another question for, I guess, for Richard. With the dividend, and I know it's a small absolute dollar amount, right? It's less than $15,000,000 per year, but it Doesn't I don't know, I guess, do you think you're getting enough credit for it?

Speaker 6

And even though it's a small amount, do you think stock buyback This is something that you might put back on the table, either not necessarily suggesting instead of the dividend, possibly in addition to, But just any updated thoughts on capital allocation?

Speaker 2

Sure. Yes. Look, I agree that the dividend Yield, I believe is the 2nd highest in the sector now at 5.5%. It's way too high. But we have the liquidity and available cash flow to continue to pay it.

Speaker 2

So that's definitely our strategy. In terms of buyback, Yes, I don't know. I don't know that that's the right use of our capital right now. We have been working through Various liability management strategies this year. I think Yes.

Speaker 2

To the extent that you're taking on less debt for liquidity, that's also a big savings, right? Think about Buyback as a source of savings, right, because where debt is priced today, the less debt you have, kind of the better. So I think that's how we're thinking about capital allocation. This is definitely a year for us about liability management. We've got refinancings happening next year.

Speaker 2

And as I said, if I can take on less debt in those refinancing, I would probably rather do that Then pursue a buyback right now. But look, I think our shares are undervalued. Our dividend is emblematic of that. I don't know if you tried to calculate a discount to NAV, but it would be extraordinarily wide right now. So For now, we're going to keep our head down and keep cranking on the portfolio delivering results.

Speaker 2

And hopefully, that will be reflected in an appropriate multiple over time.

Speaker 6

Okay, very good. Thanks guys.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Tyler Batory with Oppenheimer and Co. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Good morning. Thank you. I want to focus on the resort properties for a second here. And there's a number of crosscurrents, I think, Within leisure travel in your portfolio, you have some resort assets that are performing better than others. In terms of The hotels where RevPAR was down a little bit more significantly, I mean, how much of that is just tougher comps Versus something more significant going on for some of these assets or some of these markets?

Speaker 7

And can you speak to guest behavior, Especially that luxury chain scale as it pertains to leisure travel?

Speaker 4

Yes. Thanks for the question, Tyler. So I would say we are seeing kind of a broad stabilization of our resort hotels. Broadly, we were down year over year at our resorts, but You've got to look at kind of where we're at versus historicals. Our resorts were up 55% in RevPAR to 2019.

Speaker 4

And so while we're seeing a slight pullback, kind of broadly, we're still very, very happy with the performance of these hotels. And then when you've got 10 resort hotels in the portfolio, there's going to be nuances that I think you alluded to within some of the properties. So some of the properties where we're seeing the biggest year over year declines within the resorts are impacted by airlift into the markets. So we've seen a reduction in airlift both in St. Thomas and in Key West.

Speaker 4

Seats are down about 20% to last year at St. Thomas And Key West are down about 10% to last year. So as airlines other destinations and markets are kind of ramping up, We're seeing airlines shift kind of their travel patterns to accommodate that. We're also seeing a number of our resort hotels that are impacted by In Q2, the year over year omicron impact where they had a lot of group cancellations in Q1 and then they were rebooked into Q2. And so that's creating some tougher Comparables from a group standpoint.

Speaker 4

Park Hyatt and Beaver Creek was affected by that in terms of Significant group declines due to the omicron bookings. So that's playing into it as well. I think with that said, Within resorts, we still have a number of hotels that are setting all time Q2 records. Ritz Carlton Reserve, Dorado Beach Had just an incredible Q2 and it's been insulated by some of that softness. And so we're still really happy with the performance of select assets that continue to set records.

Speaker 4

So it's very market specific. It's nuanced. I think on the whole, we're seeing some leisure softening, some leisure stabilization, But there really are market specific things kind of either highlighting that or offsetting that.

Speaker 7

Okay. And then similar line of question just in terms of the margin for the portfolio and understanding this quarter On Q2, some very challenging comps. I mean, anything out of the ordinary in terms of expense or cost inflation? And kind of when you look at the comparison versus the prior year, I mean, are these declines a reasonable run rate to be thinking about going forward?

Speaker 4

Yes. There is some anomalies in the year over year comparables. Our Sofitel Hotel in Chicago last year in Q2 realized a tax Assessment savings of $2,400,000 and so that's playing into it. We've currently filed an appeal on the 2022 valuation, But that's still pending. And so we're hopeful at some point in the remainder of the year, we'll realize another savings there.

Speaker 4

I think as you look at kind of our margins, it's tied most closely to ADR and additional rate flows Very well for us and flows all the way down. And so when you look at ADR for the portfolio, you've got some of the resort and urban dynamics there, where our resort hotels declined in revenue and that's at a 681 Average rate. Our urban hotels, which are growing in occupancy and in ADR, is at a $2.80 average rate. And so just those dynamics is going to impact ADR for the whole portfolio, which is what happened in Q2. We expect urban to continue to ramp, and we expect the resort properties to somewhat stabilize and be a little more consistent.

Speaker 4

And so we believe in the long term that would help margin.

Speaker 7

Okay. That's all for me. Very good detail. Thank you.

Operator

Next question comes from the line of Michael Bellisario with Baird. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Good morning, guys.

Speaker 3

Hey, Mike.

Speaker 8

Can we go probably for Derek here. Can we go to the corporate financing? Just maybe big picture, we don't need to get into the nitty gritty of what's exactly in the loan docs. But What are the restrictive covenants of this new secured facility? And maybe what can and can't you do now that this facility is in place?

Speaker 3

Yes, Mike happy to address that. So the corporate financing was something that we've been thinking about for a while. We had wanted to get to Having a borrowing base of assets that we could use to have a secured revolver and term loan, It's the cheapest source of debt capital that's available in the market today. And so what we did is we took 3 of our kind of near term Debt maturities, refinanced that into a corporate term loan that's secured by those three assets as the borrowing base. We have the ability to add additional assets to that borrowing base over time.

Speaker 3

Obviously, a challenging time in the bank market to run a bank syndication, but we were very, very happy with how it turned out and the banks that ended up participating And the line, so we're happy to have all those on board. In terms of restrictive covenants, I mean, there's typical corporate covenants in terms of max leverage and FCCR. There's caps on the amount of recourse debt that we can have and there's some availability covenants that relate to the performance of the borrowing base assets. But there's nothing in the covenant package that gives us any concern at all. And in fact, We're very happy to have the line in place and I think it was a very attractive financing for us given the current state of the hotel debt markets.

Speaker 8

Got it, helpful. And then just along those same lines, what's the current thinking around the hard debt maturities that you guys have Coming in early 2024, I mean, obviously, you can add them to the borrowing base of the corporate facility, but I think the principal amount there is greater than What you can get on the accordion if I'm correct?

Speaker 3

Yes. Thankfully, we do have a decent number of 2024 debt maturities. Thankfully, all those assets and loans are easily refinanceable based on the performance of the assets and what's available in today's market. Spreads are higher than when we did put those loans in place. So we've just been pretty patient in terms of refinancing those and keep the attractive existing debt that we have in place as long Keep the attractive existing debt that we have in place as long as we possibly can.

Speaker 3

But we are starting to talk to lenders on a few of those. And The one that I would say would probably be a more challenging refinancing would be the Mr. C that's a late 2024 final maturity for us is a relatively small loan. We could use the line to pay it off ultimately Or use some excess proceeds somewhere else to pay it off or we could refinance it. It'd just be a little bit more challenging of a refinancing Given the performance of that asset and you can see all of that on the debt worksheet in our earnings release where we show the Debt yield for each of the loans and you can see how low leverage each of those loans are.

Speaker 8

Got it. And then just last one for me for Chris. Maybe could you talk a little bit about just booking patterns and Group pace for the portfolio into the second half of the year and or for 2024? And then maybe if you could provide some Color around booking windows and pace between urban and resort too, that would be helpful. Thank you.

Speaker 4

Yes. Thanks, Michael. So we're really, really happy with the Group AACE outlook and kind of just the continued acceleration from that segment. We cited Q2 finished up 9% year on year and the full year is pacing ahead 20%. We did benefit from some omicron comparables year over year, but when you look at kind of how each quarter is positioned, Q3 is flat And then Q4 is ahead 23% the prior year.

Speaker 4

So we're positioned well for the back half of the year. And then 20 24 is up 18% year on year. So again, a really strong group base that we're confident will insulate us from any continued softness. And with that, we'll allow us to drive rates. And so that's the other thing, pace is up and a lot of it's rate driven.

Speaker 4

So we've got high single digit rate growth In both years. In terms of booking windows, the booking window relative to historics for both urban and resorts Remains much shorter, but we're seeing it increase. And so now we're seeing it increase beyond that kind of 4 to 6 weeks in the group segment. We're seeing stuff that's Booking 6 months out, a year out. And from a leisure standpoint, we're seeing at the resorts, Short term demand is softening a little bit, so we're not getting as much in the month for the month pickup as we've historically done in our resorts.

Speaker 4

You've got kind of leisure. Leisure is experiencing a little bit softer short term and then the group booking window is extending At a pretty rapid rate, which we're very happy with.

Speaker 8

Thanks for that.

Operator

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to management for closing

Speaker 2

Thanks everyone for joining us on our Q2 earnings call. And we look forward to speaking with you again on our Q3 call. Have a good day.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for

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Earnings Conference Call
Braemar Hotels & Resorts Q2 2023
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