Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc.

Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss Equity Lifestyle Properties third quarter 2024 results. Our featured speakers today are Marguerite Nader, our president and CEO, Paul Seedy, our executive vice president and CFO, and Patrick Waite, our executive vice president and COO. In advance of today's call, management released earnings. Today's call will consist of opening remarks and a question and answer session. with management relating to companies' earnings release. For those who would like to participate in the question and answer session, management asks that you limit yourselves to two questions, so everyone who would like to participate has ample opportunity. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. Certain matters discussed during this conference call may contain forward-looking statements in the meaning of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements are subject to certain economic risks and uncertainties. The company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any statements that become untrue because of subsequent events. In addition, during today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release, our supplemental information, and our historical SEC filings. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Marguerite Nader, our president and CEO.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. I am pleased to be able to report on the third quarter today and provide some insights into the strengths we see in 2025. Turning to the results for the third quarter, we delivered strong normalized FFO growth of 5.3%. Over the last several years, we have seen increased demand for owning a home in our properties. Our rental pool is at the lowest point since 2010, with 2.9% of our occupancy comprised of rental homes. Over 95% of these new homebuyers were cash buyers. This investment is consistent with our entire portfolio as the vast majority of our residents have made a capital commitment to live in our communities. The commitment from our homeowners results in a pride of ownership and a long-term resident base. Our RV annual revenue continues to show strength with growth of 6.9% year-to-date. The attractive price point of the vacation cottage product at our properties drives a stable annual revenue base. Our first-time transient customer returning from last year showed a desire to strengthen their relationship with us. I would like to turn to focus on our access points for new customers. In the last decade, ELS has made significant investments and developed partnerships with leading publishers and internet listing services to reach our target customers in the US and Canada. Our digital marketing efforts seek audiences that share characteristics similar to those of our existing customers. We focus on the lifestyle-driven decisions of our customers. Our social media strategy leverages engaging content, targeted advertising, and partnerships to expand our reach and boost customer engagement with our RV members, guests, and prospects. This summer was the 10th year of our 100 Days of Camping marketing campaign, which celebrates the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The campaign recorded 38.7 million impressions, the highest we have experienced across several social media platforms. Before I talk about our expectations for 2025, I would like to highlight some of the demand drivers for the MH business. There are 7 million manufactured homes in the country, housing over 18 million people, making up 6% of the housing. And when you go outside of the metro areas, that number increases to 14%. In 1994, the HUD code was updated and it increased the construction and safety standards for manufactured housing. Our homes fit the needs of our core demographic. The average price of a new home in our property is approximately $90,000, which is about 75% less than a similar home in the neighborhood. We offer incredible value, and our available audience is significant, with nearly 70 million baby boomers and 65 million Gen Xers included in our targeted base. Our customers seek out our properties for the vacation destination locations, high-quality home product at an affordable price, and the sense of community. We are pleased to be able to provide with you an insight into the strength we see ahead in 2025. Within our MH portfolio, by the end of October, we anticipate sending 2025 rent increase notices to approximately 50% of our MH residents. These rent increase notices have an average growth rate of 5%. For our RV portfolio, we have set annual rates for more than 95% of our annual sites. The RV annual rate increases have an average growth rate of 5.5%. We are engaged with our residents discussing the appropriate areas for capital allocation within our communities. These results set us up for continuing our long-term track record of leading revenue growth. Our supplemental report included information on the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The strength of the infrastructure, particularly the new homes in the communities, has been evident after the storms. Our teams have shown incredible resilience and dedication to the residents and community. This commitment from our employees and residents reinforces the sense of community found in our properties. Our Snowbird residents and guests are anxious to head back to Florida and Arizona for the season. Our teams are prepared for their arrival and will continue to focus on providing outstanding customer service. We are able today to report the results from operations, provide a positive update about our cleanup efforts, and provide an advanced view into 2025 results, because of our 4,000-plus team members who are actively engaged to support our residents and customers and to deliver shareholder value. Their focus on meeting the needs of the residents and customers is the reason we are able to report REIT-leading operating statistics over the last 20-plus years. I will now turn the call over to Patrick to provide an overview of property operations.

Thanks, Marie. I'll start by providing a bit more detail regarding our assessments of the impact of Hurricane Milton on our properties in Florida. In the days since the storm made landfall, I've toured properties and I've seen the great strides our team members have made in cleanup and restoration efforts. Hurricane Milton impacted a number of our properties in Florida locations. The affected properties experienced flood, wind, windblown debris, falling trees and tree branches. We've seen damage to homes, carports, screen rooms, and awnings. Our team members and third-party contractors are in the process of cleanup projects at the impacted properties. and we're working towards quickly returning our properties to full operating condition. Our storm operation plan was enacted prior to landfall, helping to ensure our ELS team members were safe at the properties and were prepared for the weather. Our teams and contractors were staged and ready to be deployed after the storm. The strategic mobilization ensures that we have third-party vendors available to start work as soon as reasonably possible. I visited storm-impacted properties after every large storm event, and each time I visit, I am impressed by the stability of infrastructure at our properties throughout Florida, as well as the impact the residents have as they gather to help others in their communities who may be in need. Turning to our third quarter results, our summer camping season is punctuated by three major holidays and supported by our annual 100 Days of Camping campaign. For the 14 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, total RV revenue increased 2.5% over last year, largely driven by annual of 6.3%. As we have discussed in recent quarters, we are seeing a normalization of demand in the RV space from the peak COVID demand period when we experience flexible life schedules and the desire to spend time with one's socially distanced group of family and friends. We now shift our focus to the winter season when activity picks up in our Sunbelt resorts. In the MH portfolio, our properties are 95% occupied and deliver consistent revenue growth. Florida, California, and Arizona collectively represent about 70% of our stable MH portfolio revenue. We continue to see strong demand for our homes and communities in these Sunbelt markets, supporting stable, long-term rate growth. Florida has historically been the leading state for net-in migrations. Our development program continues to deliver opportunities for home sales and occupancy growth, and we have more than 1,500 MH sites in the expansion pipeline in Florida to support future growth. Our California and Arizona portfolios are 97% occupied. Those MH properties in Arizona benefit from strong Sunbelt locations, while California locations offer tremendous value to customers given they are in high demand markets, and the high cost of alternatives to ELS properties in those markets. I'd like to thank the ELS team for their efforts. The progress of the properties over the last 12 days, often under difficult circumstances, shows a great deal of commitment and teamwork, and that progress is meaningful to residents and guests at the impacted properties. I'll now turn it over to Paul to walk through the results in detail.