Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

Good morning, and welcome to the Host Hotels and Resorts third quarter 2022 earnings conference call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Jamie Marcus, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations.

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Before we begin, please note that many of the comments made today are considered to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. As described in our filings with the SEC, These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause future results to differ from those expressed, and we are not obligated to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements. In addition, on today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial information, such as FFO, adjusted EBITDA RE, and hotel-level results. You can find this information together with reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP information in yesterday's earnings press release, in our 8K filed with the SEC, and in the supplemental financial information on our website at hosthotels.com. With me on today's call will be Jim Rizzolio, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Saurav Ghosh, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Jim.

Thank you, Jamie, and thanks to everyone for joining us this morning. We delivered strong performance during the third quarter, setting a number of milestones in the recovery. Total food and beverage and group revenues exceeded 2019 for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, and our EBITDA margin was 250 basis points better than 2019. During the third quarter, our adjusted EBITDA RE was $328 million, and our adjusted FFO per share was 38 cents. Our all-owned hotel EBITDA of $341 million in the third quarter was 15% above 2019, driven by continued rate strength, elevated out-of-room revenues, and tight expense controls. All owned hotel revenues in the third quarter increased 4.9% over the third quarter of 2019, while all owned hotel operating expenses were up only 1.2%. All owned hotel rep part for the third quarter was $192, a 1.4% improvement over the third quarter of 2019. As a reminder, this is now the second consecutive quarter REVPAR has exceeded 2019 levels since the onset of the pandemic. While macroeconomic concerns continue to dominate the headlines, we are not seeing any signs of weakness in our business. In contrast to 2008, the banking system is in good shape, leverage levels are reasonable, and consumers still have $1.7 trillion in excess savings, with the majority concentrated in the top income brackets, which gives us confidence the recovery in the lodging industry is sustainable. In a poll released by the Global Business Travel Association last month, a majority of companies indicated that they are not limiting travel specifically due to economic concerns, and 78% of the participants expect volumes to increase in 2023. Consistent with normal seasonality and shifting business and market mix, we expect fourth quarter nominal red part to be slightly above that of the third quarter, as well as above the fourth quarter of 2019. Our recent acquisitions continue to contribute to our outperformance and are substantially ahead of our underwriting expectations. Based on updated expectations for full year 2022, EBITDA from our seven 2021 hotel acquisitions is expected to be approximately 100% above our underwriting expectations, already putting us better than our targeted stabilization range of 10 to 12 times EBITDA. Subsequent to quarter end, we acquired the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole, a 125-room luxury resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for approximately $315 million. The acquisition price represents a 13.6 times, even a multiple, or a 6.6% cap rate on 2022 estimated results. It is expected to be one of our top three assets based on full-year 2022 results, with an estimated red par of $855, red par of $1,430, and an EBITDA per key of $185,000, further improving the quality of our portfolio. The resort is one of only a handful of luxury ski-in, ski-out resorts in the United States. It sits on 6.3 acres in Teton Village, just steps from the gondola at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, one of the top-rated ski destinations in the country. The resort is located 20 minutes from downtown Jackson within close proximity to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, a unique feature making it a year-round destination where future supply is expected to be severely restricted. The resort has 125 oversized rooms and suites that average approximately 650 square feet with gas fireplaces, balconies, and dramatic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The property also features an additional 44 private residences, which are not part of our ownership, ranging in size from 1700 to 3700 square feet. Of the 44 residences, 30 currently participate in a rental program through the resort. From 2014 through 2019, the resort had a rep part CAGR of 5.8%, significantly outperforming the ultra luxury set, which had a rep part CAGR of 4.3% over the same time period. The resort, which opened in 2003, underwent a comprehensive guest room renovation in 2022, and no disruptive capital expenditures are expected in the near term. Since 2015, $15 million or $120,000 per key has been invested in the property. In addition, the Jackson Hole Airport is undergoing a $65 million renovation and expansion, which is scheduled to be complete at the end of this year. Since 2021, nonstop flights from six cities have been added to better accommodate year-round demand, shrinking shoulder seasons and increasing visitor growth. As is typically the case, we took a conservative approach when underwriting this asset, and we believe there is performance upside beyond 2022. As I just mentioned, earlier this year, the resort underwent a comprehensive guest room renovation, and the Jackson Hole Airport was closed for approximately three months. By continuing to grow year-round occupancy to historical levels, repositioning the food and beverage outlets in the public spaces, we expect the resort to stabilize at approximately 11 to 13 times EBITDA in the 2026 to 2028 time frames. With built-in winter and summer demand generators, a lack of competition, and no new supply on the horizon, we believe the Four Seasons Jackson Hole is positioned to outperform over the long term. On the dispositions front, during the third quarter, we sold the 254-key Chicago Marriott Suites Donner's Grove for $16 million. The hotel was expected to need $15 million of investment over the next five years. Looking back on our transaction activity since 2018, we have acquired $3.5 billion of assets at a 13.7 times EBITDA multiple and disposed of $4.9 billion of assets at a 17 times EBITDA multiple including $954 million of the estimated foregone capital expenditures. Comparing all owned hotel 2019 results for our current portfolio to 2017, we have increased the rep part of our assets by 12%, EBITDA per key by 26%, EBITDA margins by 190 basis points, and avoided considerable business disruption associated with capital projects. Turning to third quarter operations, our all-owned hotel revenue was up nearly 5% to the third quarter of 2019, driven by 16% rate growth. We estimate that Hurricane Ian impacted our third quarter REBPAR growth by 40 basis points and all-owned hotel EBITDA by $3 million when compared to the third quarter of 2019. The majority of the impact came from Hyatt Regency Coconut Point and the Ritz-Carlton Naples. We expect fourth quarter REBPARD growth to be negatively impacted by 250 basis points and adjusted EBITDA RE to be impacted $17 million. Despite a brief loss of commercial power and damage to the property's grounds, pools, and amenities, the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point remained open to first responders. The hotel is expected to reopen to guests in mid-November and we expect a water park to reopen in the second quarter of 2023. The Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach is expected to remain closed for the remainder of the year and into 2023. A phase reopening strategy is being evaluated and we will provide additional information when it is available. From an insurance perspective, our deductible is limited to $15 million, and we expect to collect business interruption insurance, though it is still too early to estimate when we will receive those payments. Turning back to third quarter results, transient revenue was up 2% compared to third quarter of 2019, and rate was up 25%. Growth continues to be driven by our Sunbelt and Hawaiian properties, which achieved double-digit rate growth over 2019 for the sixth consecutive quarter. Our resort properties continue to outperform, with transient revenue up more than 30% to third quarter 2019, driven by 64% transient rate growth at our 16 resorts. We had four resorts with transient rates above $1,000 for the quarter, and this marks the second consecutive quarter where our newly acquired Alita Ventana Big Sur achieved transient rates above $2,000. Our urban and downtown hotels saw continued progress with 2% transient demand growth over the second quarter and rates more than 8% above the third quarter of 2019. Turning to groups, Business continued to surge back at our hotels during the third quarter. Group revenue was up over 3% to the third quarter of 2019 for the first time, driven by 6% rate growth. In the third quarter, our hotels sold 991,000 group rooms, just 2.6% behind the third quarter of 2019. And we continue to be encouraged by net booking activity in the quarter for the quarter for the full year 2022 we currently have 3.7 million definite group room nights on the books an increase of 200 000 room nights from the second quarter this represents approximately 82 percent of 2019 actual group room nights up from 80 percent last quarter Group rate on the books for 2022 is up 6% to the third quarter of 2019, a 90 basis point increase over the last quarter. Total group revenue pace for the remainder of 2022 is down just 70 basis points to the same time, 2019. As we look forward to 2023, we currently have 2.6 million definite group room nights on the books. an increase of 400,000 room nights since last quarter. Total group revenue pace is down only 5.8%, driven by rate on the books being up over 6% to 2019. We expect the short-term nature of group bookings to continue over the near term and are encouraged by the large base we have on the books already. Sarab will get into more detail on business mix, markets, and our balance sheet in a few minutes. In addition to delivering operational improvements, we continue to execute on our three strategic objectives, all of which are aimed at elevating the EBITDA growth profile of our portfolio. As a reminder, our objectives include redefining the hotel operating model with our managers, gaining market share at hotels through comprehensive renovations, and strategically allocating capital to development ROI projects. We are targeting a range of $147 to $222 million of incremental stabilized EBITDA on an annual basis from the initiatives and projects underlying our three strategic objectives. We continue to make progress on the Marriott Transformational Capital Program as we believe these renovations allow us to capture incremental market share. At the JW Marriott Buckhead, which has a red part index share gain of 13.2 points on a trailing 12-month basis compared to its pre-renovation index. Trailing 12-month transient rates are up 11% over 2019, and banquet revenue per group room night has increased by over 6%. In addition to the positive momentum we are seeing at the JW Marriott Buckhead, We have seen a REVPAR index share gain of 11.7 points at our New York Marriott Downtown on a trailing 12-month basis compared to its pre-renovation index and a 7.6 point gain at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Halle, all far exceeding our targeted range of 3 to 5 points of REVPAR index gains at renovated assets. In addition to the 16 Marriott transformational capital program assets, we have eight hotels where we have completed or are in the process of completing comprehensive renovations. This includes the Don Cesar located in St. Pete Beach, Florida. The renovated resort is a phenomenal performer for us with a red part index share gain of 12.8 points over his pre-renovation average. In closing, As macroeconomic concerns continue to play out, we believe our capital allocation efforts over the past few years and our Fortress balance sheet leave us very well positioned to navigate any challenges that might lie ahead. We have worked with our managers to redefine the operating model, meaningfully reinvested in our assets, and maintained a strong investment-grade balance sheet. we will continue to be patient and opportunistic as we position our portfolio for our performance. With that, I will now turn the call over to Saurabh.