Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT)

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Ryman Hospitality Properties Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Hosting the call today from Ryman Hospitality Properties are Mr. Colin Reed, Executive Chairman, Mr. Mark Friovanti, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Jennifer Hutchison, Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Patrick Chaffin, Chief Operating Officer, and Mr. Patrick Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Opry Entertainment Group. This call will be available for digital replay. The number will be 1-800-839-5685 with no conference ID required. At this time, all participants have been placed on the listen-only mode. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Ms. Jennifer Hutchison. Ma'am, you may begin.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. This call may contain forward-looking statements as defined in the private securities litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the company's expected financial performance. Any statements we make today that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as believes or expects are intended to identify these statements, which may be affected by many factors, including those listed in the company's SEC filings and in today's release. The company's actual results may differ materially from the results we discuss or project today. We will not update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or any other reason. We will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures today. We reconcile each non-GAAP measure to the most comparable GAAP measure in exhibits to today's release. I'll now turn the call over to Colin.

Thank you, Jen, and good morning, everyone. We are pleased to report strong third quarter 2024 results. Our same-store hospitality segment delivered record third-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA RE, driven by continued strength in our group business. And our entertainment business delivered record third-quarter revenue, driven by continued momentum in our All Red brand. During the quarter, we continued to make progress against our major capital investment initiatives, and with many of our 2024 projects nearing completion, We're more excited than ever about the value this will create for our shareholders in the years to come. Mark will review the third quarter in more detail in just a moment. But first, I'd like to remind you how we think about some of these exciting improvements. As we first shared with you at our investor day, in our hospitality portfolio, we are focused on continuing to grow our business through investments that are customer-informed, and replicable across the portfolio, resulting in at least mid-teens unlevered returns. This year alone, we've undertaken a significant portion of the more than $1 billion capital program, and the early results of these efforts are beginning to show in our bookings production for 26 and beyond. Now, the strategy sounds simple. We build demand. Two, we provide the customer with great service. Three, we retain the customers and then move them across our system and then further enhance and expand the product and generate superior returns on the capital we deploy. But in reality, it's taken years to perfect this strategy, but our superior TSR is because of this disciplined approach. At the Gaylord Rockies, we've completely repositioned the entertainment spaces with beautiful sellable space that seamlessly bridge the indoor and outdoor spaces. We've also increased our food and beverage outlet seat count ahead of a potential further rooms expansion at this resort. At Gaylord Opryland, we are replicating what we've learned at the Gaylord Rockies to reposition underutilized courtyard space adjacent to our largest meeting space into a modern sports bar complex featuring an event lawn and an indoor-outdoor pavilion. This complex will add flexible space for group buyouts and during group load periods will provide necessary additional seats for our leisure transient guests. At the same time, we're modernizing the governors and presidential ballrooms, which together account for approximately 40% of the property's carpeted meeting space. The Begaylor Palms were renovating the lobby and rooms to match the 2021 expansion. When these projects conclude, nearly every group and guest-facing aspect of that hotel will have been completely refreshed within the last four years, which is critical to our long-term positioning in that market. Our entertainment business, We're wrapping up significant investments in Austin and Nashville, including opening our first venue under the Category 10 brand. Our partnership with country music superstar Luke Combs, arguably the most successful country music artist today, is off and running. Category 10 soft opens over the weekend, initially with a private event for Luke's bootleggers fan club. And then more broadly to the public. This multifaceted entertainment venue is one of a kind in downtown Nashville. And we believe it will be hugely successful with the anticipated revenue growth of tourism in the city and the East Bank development that is underway across the river. We look forward to hosting the grand opening later in 2025, following the completion of the rooftop and the first quarter. we will have that rooftop done at the end of the first quarter and further expanding the brand in the years to come. Let me go off script just a second here, if you're okay with this, Mark. Category 10 is 70,000 square feet. Most of the bars and Broadway that we often get peered against are small honky-tonks. By contrast, there are five distinct entertainment experiences within Category 10. Yes, we have a honky-tonk. We have this beautiful hall, which we call Hurricane Hall, that can accommodate up to 1,500 people, which comes with an incredible light display that replicates an intense storm. And it's one of the few places in this hall where people can actually dance. The Still is a VIP area for the affluent fan that travels to Nashville. We have a sports bar. that on Saturday was absolutely packed, catering to the country lifestyle consumer that loves sports. And then all of this will be supplemented, as I say, in the first quarter with this best rooftop experience in downtown. And I think, you know, the whole team has done a wonderful job bringing this to fruition. And I know we're all very, very excited about the prospects of Category 10. Finally, we've just announced our plans for Opry 100, our 2025 programming around the 100th anniversary of the Grand Old Opry, including 100 Opry debuts that we'll be making and an international exposure with a special performance at London's Royal Albert Hall in the fall of 2025. Tickets for most of the 25 shows went on sale on October the 18th, and sales are pacing very well. I'm also very personally excited about the impact the Opry will have in London as we work towards broadcasting that show throughout that part of the world. And in case you missed it, over the last few weeks, Icelandic Air, which has a major hub route through Scandinavia, and Aer Lingus have announced direct flights into Nashville. And we believe the European tourist flow to this city is in its infancy. Taking the Opry to London will be a big long-term demand generator. We're really excited about the future of our entertainment business. With our major capital investments nearing completion and the opportunity to connect with more country lifestyle consumers through our activation of Opry 100, our entertainment business is poised to have a very good year in 2025. Taken together, our businesses are in the best shape they've ever been in. and our company's future looks awfully exciting. Now with that, let me turn over to Mark to review the third quarter results in more detail. Mark.