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DATE

Friday, Aug. 7, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Director of Investor Relations - John Paul Austin
• President and Chief Executive Officer - Leslie D. Hale
• Chief Financial Officer - Nikhil Bhalla
• Chief Operating Officer - Tom Bardenett

TAKEAWAYS

• Comparable RevPAR -- $167.15, increasing 6.8% due to broad-based strength in urban markets and events such as the World Cup.
• Average Daily Rate -- $217.18, representing 4.9% growth driven by pricing power as the highest-rated customer segments increased travel frequency.
• Occupancy -- 77.0%, an increase of 130 basis points reflecting accelerated demand in the short-term booking window.
• Adjusted FFO per Diluted Share -- $0.52, rising 8.3% year over year from higher top-line performance and disciplined operations.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- $110.4 million, a 6.1% increase resulting from the successful ramp of renovations and conversions.
• Comparable Hotel EBITDA Margin -- 31.3%, improving by 10 basis points despite higher variable expenses from a greater transient mix.
• Business Transient Revenue -- 10% growth for the second consecutive quarter, led by a 6% increase in demand and a 4% increase in rates.
• Leisure Revenue -- 7% growth, supported by a 6% increase in average daily rate while room nights grew 1%.
• Group Revenue -- 6% increase, balanced between demand and ADR, with a third quarter booking pace at 110% of last year.
• Nonroom Revenue -- $27.5 million, growing 7.1% as return-on-investment initiatives drove higher food and beverage and ancillary spending.
• Chicago Market RevPAR -- 15% increase, benefiting from a robust citywide event calendar during the second quarter.
• Austin Market RevPAR -- 17% growth, driven by strong in-house group demand.
• Northern California RevPAR -- 9% increase, supported by World Cup matches and expansion in the artificial intelligence industry.
• Asset Disposition -- $13.2 million, from the sale of the Hyatt Place Fremont at an accretive 29.2-fold multiple of hotel EBITDA.
• Full-Year RevPAR Guidance -- 3.5% to 4.5% growth, revised upward to reflect second quarter outperformance and positive summer trends.
• Full-Year Adjusted FFO Guidance -- $1.37 to $1.50 per share, assuming the continuation of business travel recovery and urban leisure demand.
• Capital Expenditures -- $80 million to $90 million for the full year, primarily focused on high-impact renovations and hotel conversions.
• Liquidity -- $1.0 billion, including $937,599 in cash and $600 million of undrawn revolver capacity.
• Total Debt -- $2.2 billion, with no maturities until 2029 following the July repayment of $500 million in senior notes.
• Pittsburgh Conversion -- 35% estimated EBITDA upside for the Arrott hotel following its rebranding as an Autograph Collection property.
• Key West Conversion -- 50% projected EBITDA upside from the planned transition of the Fairfield Inn and Suites to a Compass by Margaritaville resort.
• Corporate G&A -- $33.5 million to $34.5 million range for the full year 2026.
• Interest Expense -- $101 million to $103 million expected for the full year, reflecting a weighted average interest rate of 4.8%.

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RISKS

• Hale stated, "visibility is limited given the short booking window and the evolving macro backdrop," noting management will monitor potential shifts in demand.
• Hale reported, "our pace for the fourth quarter is actually down year over year" as a result of the Salesforce conference shifting from October to September.

SUMMARY

Management reported strong performance across urban markets, raising full-year guidance based on the acceleration of business transient demand and robust leisure activity. The company continues to execute a capital allocation strategy focused on hotel conversions to lifestyle brands, which have historically outperformed the broader portfolio in revenue and EBITDA growth. RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ +0.46%) completed the repayment of its near-term debt, extending its maturity profile to 2029 while maintaining high liquidity for potential opportunistic investments. The trust is transitioning several properties to Autograph Collection, Tapestry Collection, and Margaritaville brands to capture higher-rated leisure demand and drive food and beverage profitability.

• CEO Hale attributed the 12% RevPAR growth in June and preliminary 11% growth in July to "broad-based momentum and fundamentals" across both World Cup host and non-host markets.
• Management identified artificial intelligence expansion in Northern California as a primary driver of the region's 9% RevPAR growth, signaling a multiyear recovery trajectory.
• The company plans to relaunch the Fairfield Inn and Suites Key West as Compass by Margaritaville in 2027, targeting higher-rated leisure demand in one of the highest ADR markets in the U.S.
• CFO Bhalla noted that weekday revenues grew 6.3% and weekend revenues rose 8.1%, illustrating the portfolio's ability to capture seven-day-a-week demand.
• The Pittsburgh conversion of the Renaissance to the Arrott included a signature light show in the hotel's rotunda and new premium function spaces to activate underutilized assets.
• CEO Hale stated that four high-impact renovations completed last year achieved "22% revenue growth and 50% EBITDA growth" during the second quarter.
• Management expects third quarter performance to be stronger than the fourth quarter, with adjusted EBITDA contribution for the period projected to be "100 basis points higher" than the prior year.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• RevPAR: Revenue per available room, a performance metric calculated by multiplying a hotel's average daily room rate by its occupancy rate.
• ADR: Average daily rate, the average rental income per paid occupied room in a given time period.
• BT: Business transient, a segment of hotel guests traveling for business purposes on short-term stays.
• GDS: Global distribution system, a computer network that allows travel agencies and websites to access hotel inventory and make reservations.
• FFO: Funds from operations, a measure used by REITs to define cash flow from their operations.
• EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Lifestyle Hotel: A boutique or branded hotel that focuses on unique designs and amenities tailored to specific consumer lifestyle preferences.
• Autograph Collection: A brand of independent luxury hotels within the Marriott International portfolio.
• Margaritaville: A lifestyle brand inspired by the lyrics and lifestyle of singer Jimmy Buffett, including resorts and restaurants.
• Compass by Margaritaville: A boutique hotel brand under Margaritaville that offers a smaller, focused-service resort experience.
• Tapestry Collection: A brand of independent upscale hotels within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio.
• Pro Forma: A method of calculating financial results to include the effects of acquisitions or dispositions as if they had occurred at the beginning of the period.
• Non-GAAP: Financial measures that are not defined or specified under Generalized Accepted Accounting Principles, such as Adjusted EBITDA or FFO.
• Occupancy Rate: The percentage of available rooms that are occupied by guests during a specific period.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Please stand by. The conference will start soon. Please standby. The conference will start soon. Greetings, and welcome to the RLJ Lodging Trust Second Quarter 26 Earnings Call. At this time, all only a question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to John Paul Austin, Director of Investor Relations.

John Paul Austin: Thank you, John. You may begin.

Operator: Thank you, operator.

John Paul Austin: Good afternoon, and welcome to RLJ Lodging Trust 26 second quarter earnings call. On today's call, Leslie D. Hale, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will discuss key highlights for the quarter. Nikhil Bhalla, our Chief Financial Officer, will discuss the company's financial results. Tom Bardenett, our Chief Operating Officer, will also be available for Q&A. Forward looking statements made on this call are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties that may lead the company's actual results to differ materially from what had been communicated. Factors that may impact the results of the company can be found in the company's 10-Q and other reports filed with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward looking statements.

Also, as we discuss certain non GAAP measures, may be helpful to review the reconciliations to GAAP located in our press release. Finally, please refer to the schedule of supplemental information includes pro forma operating results for our current hotel portfolio. I will now turn the call over to Leslie.

Leslie D. Hale: Thanks, John Paul. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are pleased to report strong second quarter results, which exceeded our expectations. Our operating performance reflects broad based growth across our entire portfolio, as well as the successful ramp of our renovations and conversions. We continue to benefit from the momentum in lodging fundamentals. Which are being led by the acceleration of business travel and robust demand around urban leisure experiences, both of which align with our portfolio's overall positioning. Against this positive backdrop, during the quarter, our RevPAR growth outperformed the industry by 110 basis points. With all of our markets delivering results ahead of our expectations.

Our out-of-room spend once again exceeded our RevPAR growth. We delivered high single digit EBITDA growth with positive margin improvement. And we completed the transformative conversion of our new autograph collection asset. Further bolstering our lifestyle orientation. The broad based nature of the growth across markets and demand segments year to date is demonstrating that the strength we are seeing is durable, and not reliant on any individual market or event. These industry tailwinds continue to disproportionately favor urban markets. Which are benefiting from diverse demand drivers and an extended period of muted supply growth.

Our urban centric portfolio is well positioned to capture these tailwinds, which combined with the upside we are seeing from our capital investments, gives us conviction in our ability to continue delivering strong relative performance. With respect to our operating performance, during the quarter, we achieved RevPAR growth of 6.8%. Driven by ADR growth of 4.9%. We also saw a healthy 130 basis point increase in occupancy which was better than we had expected. Reflecting the acceleration in demand we are seeing in the short-term booking window. Each month of the quarter achieved positive RevPAR growth. With June being the strongest month. up 12%.

We were encouraged to see these positive trends carry into July with preliminary RevPAR growth approaching 11%. With regard to the World Cup, the performance of our host markets came in line with our expectations. As we successfully executed on our revenue management strategy of intentionally building a base of high certainty demand from teams, media, and sponsors, while reserving sufficient inventory to capture the transient pickup that materialized closer to the matches. This strategy performed as anticipated by amplifying rate growth. More importantly, beyond the World Cup, we were very encouraged by the broad based momentum and fundamentals we saw across the entire portfolio.

With our non World Cup markets achieving RevPAR growth of 6.2% and several of these markets delivering double digit RevPAR growth during the second quarter. Among these Austin was a notable outperformer. With RevPAR increasing 17% year-over-year benefiting from strong in-house group. Other notable markets included Chicago, which saw RevPAR increase by 15%, driven by a strong citywide calendar. And Tampa, which grew RevPAR by 11% benefiting from a healthy event calendar. We also had a number of other markets such as Orlando, Charleston, and DC that produced high single digit RevPAR growth all supported by broad based improvements in segmentation. Additionally, we remain encouraged by the recovery underway in Northern California. With RevPAR growing 9% during the second quarter.

While the market benefited from hosting World Cup matches, its performance continues to be primarily driven by the ongoing expansion of the AI industry, which is fueling corporate investment and business travel. Against the backdrop of a more constructive local environment. Giving us confidence in a positive multiyear trajectory of this market's recovery. As it relates to segmentation, business transient revenues continue to accelerate increasing by a robust 10%. This increase was led by demand growth of 6%, with the rate increasing by 4%. Reflecting ongoing pricing power as our highest rated customer continues to increase their travel.

The acceleration in BT is supported by elevated levels of business investment and earnings growth broadly across many industries, including tech, finance, health care and defense. Encouragingly, we continue to observe strong demand among both large corporates as well as small and medium sized businesses. As expected, the leisure segment performed well in the second quarter, with revenues increasing by 7%, as pricing improved meaningfully with a 6% increase in rate while demand remained healthy with a 1% increase in room nights. Our hotels and live work play locations continue to benefit broadly from strong urban leisure trends. Reflecting the ongoing shift in consumer preferences toward urban entertainment. Which was aided by the World Cup during the second quarter.

With respect to group, our revenues grew 6% during the quarter. Balanced evenly between demand and ADR. While the booking window remained short, near term demand is continuing to materialize. As demonstrated by our end of quarter, for the quarter group pace, improving by 300 basis points during the second quarter, We were also pleased to see a meaningful pickup in our booking pace for the third quarter. Which is now pacing at 110% of last year. Additionally, we are encouraged by the growing share of corporate demand within our group mix, which is contributing to our high ADR and non-room revenues.

The strength we are seeing across each of our demand segments continues to have positive implications for our auto room spend. Which grew by 7% during the second quarter. These results once again underscore the success of our ROI initiative as well as our renovations and conversions. Aimed at growing food and beverage profitably reconcepting underutilized space, and growing other ancillary revenues. This strong top line performance translated into EBITDA growth of 7%. During the quarter, our occupancy growth exceeded our expectations. And as a result, expense growth was higher than anticipated. Although we still were able to achieve margin improvement.

Now with regard to capital allocation, the successful execution of our investments in our portfolio are unlocking value and is clearly evident in our performance. During the second quarter, our 4 high impact renovations completed last year achieved 22% revenue growth and 50% EBITDA growth while our 7 previously completed conversions achieved revenue growth of 8% and EBITDA growth of 12%. These results continue to reinforce our conviction the investments we are making in our assets and contributed to our outperformance During the quarter, we completed the conversion of a former Renaissance in Pittsburgh, relaunching the hotel as the Arrott under Marriott's Autograph Collection.

The name Arrott pays tribute to the original architect who designed the iconic building that opened in 1.9 thousand. Our comprehensive renovation reimagined all public spaces and guest rooms and activated revenue generating spaces to leverage the character of this historic asset. This included the addition of a drafting room, which is the hotel's signature restaurant and bar. The addition of the Fulton Room, A New Premium Function Space, And The Activation Of The Hotel's Historic Rotunda, Which Now Hosts A Light Show Showcasing Pittsburgh's rich history. We are also excited to announce that we will be adding Margaritaville to our family of brand affiliations. By converting our Fairfield Inn and Suites Key West to Compass by Margaritaville.

The Margaritaville Lifestyle Orientation Strong Recognition Among Leisure Travelers, And Its Origin In Key West. Make it a natural fit in 1 of the highest ADR markets in the country. The reimagination of this asset will allow us to capture higher rated leisure demand. While creating opportunities to drive ancillary revenue growth. Our repositioning will reimagine the property into an island resort with new themed inspired concepts, including 5 O'Clock Somewhere, a new poolside Cabana Bar, That Will Tie In The Aesthetics And Spirit Of Key West with live music and immersive F&B. We plan to initiate the conversion later this year and relaunch in 2027.

And finally, we made progress towards initiating the physical renovation at our Wyndham Boston which will join Hilton's Tapestry Collection. With each of these conversions, we continue to increase our exposure to the lifestyle segment and evolving consumer trends. These repositionings are also consistent with our broader strategy of creating opportunities to drive high-margin out-of-room spend with thoughtful execution that allows us to attract customers beyond our hotel guest. In addition to advancing our internal growth pipeline, we remain an active portfolio manager and opportunistically sold a hotel at a highly accretive basis during the quarter. Overall, our strong balance sheet and liquidity continues to position us to drive growth this year and beyond. Now turning to our outlook.

While there is considerable geopolitical uncertainty and limited visibility, we are raising our outlook for the full year to reflect our strong second quarter performance and the ongoing positive trends. As we enter the second half of the year, we remain optimistic that a resilient economy and consumer preferences that favor urban leisure experiences will continue to drive healthy demand against a backdrop of muted supply growth. As such, our outlook for the remainder of the year assumes the continuation of tailwinds that have supported our performance thus far. Including sustained momentum in the recovery of business travel, leisure demand remaining healthy, especially in urban markets, Positive group revenue pace.

Continued strength of in-the-quarter-for-the-quarter bookings, and additional tailwinds from the continued ramp of our conversions. As we move into the second half of 26, we expect the incremental contribution from demand growth to continue. As evidenced by July seeing 300 basis points of occupancy growth resulting in slightly higher expense growth moving forward than we had anticipated in our prior outlook. Overall, our first half outperformance is a direct reflection of our positioning in urban markets, which are benefiting from the momentum in BT and a recurring calendar of sports concerts, festivals, conventions, and other events that draw travelers into urban markets year over year.

These factors, along with embedded growth from our capital investments, and the resiliency of the broader economy, give us confidence in our ability to deliver strong relative performance for the remainder of the year. That said, we remain mindful that visibility is limited given the short booking window and the evolving macro backdrop. And we will continue to monitor for any shifts in demand as the year progresses. As we look to 2027, the setup is favorable, with sustained strength expected from the underlying demand trends particularly as it relates to BT.

A favorable holiday calendar, the rotation of major events within urban markets, such as the Super Bowl, the NCAA tournament, the NFL draft, Formula 1, and pre Olympic activity and the ongoing recovery in Northern California. All of which will occur against a constrained supply backdrop. Overall, we are pleased with the setup leading into next year. With that, I will now turn the call over to Nikhil.

Nikhil Bhalla: Thanks, Leslie. To start, our comparable numbers include our 91 hotels owned at the end of the second quarter, Our reported corporate adjusted EBITDA and AFFO include operating results from all sold hotels during RLJ's ownership period. We were pleased with our second quarter results that came in significantly ahead of our expectations, and outperformed relative to the industry. Our second quarter RevPAR of $167 increased by 6.8% versus the prior year. Led by average daily rate increasing by 4.9% to $217 and occupancy increasing ahead of our expectations at 77%, An increase of 130 basis points. RevPAR growth in April actualized at 5.8% May came in at a healthy 2.5% despite difficult comps.

And June achieved an impressive 12.4% RevPAR growth. Driven by strong fundamentals and further aided by the World Cup. Our urban markets once again achieved strong RevPAR growth. Benefiting from accelerating business travel which saw revenues increase by a robust 10% during the second quarter. Building on the 9% growth we achieved in the first quarter, A number of our urban markets saw double digit BT revenue growth. Including Chicago and DC, which grew by 35% each New York, which was up 17%, Houston up 13%, Northern California up 12%, and South Florida up 10%.

In addition to capturing solid BD trends, which was evident in the 6.3% increase in our weekday revenues, our portfolio also benefited from strong urban leisure demand. Which led weekend revenues to grow by 8.1%. Once again demonstrating our portfolio's ideal positioning to benefit from 7-day-a-week demand. The strength in our urban markets contributed to the outsized growth of our nonroom revenues by leveraging the investments we have made in our ROI initiatives. These investments allowed our out-of-room spend to increase by 7.1% or 30 basis points ahead of our RevPAR performance.

Our strong top line growth allowed us to flow results to the bottom line, highlighting the benefits of our lean operating model and allowed us to grow hotel EBITDA by 7%. Despite higher operating costs. On a per occupied room basis, expenses increased by 4.9% largely reflecting variable expense growth associated with a higher transient mix. This drove increased credit card and travel agent commission fees as well as greater spend in F&B outlets which carry a higher expense load. Additionally, energy costs remained elevated. Our fixed costs increased by 6.4%, primarily due to the impact of a tax refund recognized in the prior year. Excluding that prior year tax benefit, fixed cost would have increased just 3.4%.

For the second quarter, our portfolio achieved hotel EBITDA of $119.5 million representing year over year growth of $8 million or 7.1%. And hotel EBITDA margins of 31.3%. Which improved by 10 basis points over the prior year. Or 40 basis points without the prior year tax benefit. These results translated to adjusted EBITDA of $110.4 million and adjusted FFO per diluted share of $0.52 Turning to our balance sheet. At the end of the second quarter, we drew down proceeds under the delayed draw feature of the term loans executed earlier this year to pay off our senior notes that matured on July 1st. Subsequent to this repayment, we have $2.2 billion of debt.

And no maturities due until 2029. Overall, our balance sheet remains well positioned with solid liquidity of approximately $1 billion including $600 million of undrawn capacity on our corporate revolver. 83 of our 91 hotels are unencumbered by debt an attractive weighted average interest rate of 4.8%, and 72% of our debt either fixed or hedged. At the end of the second quarter. With respect to capital allocation, during the quarter, we opportunistically sold 1 hotel at a highly accretive multiple of 29.2x hotel EBITDA. Including required capital expenditures.

Additionally, we are unlocking embedded portfolio value and further enhancing our lifestyle orientation as we execute our high value conversions in Pittsburgh, Boston, and the addition of Margaritaville to our brand portfolio in Key West. While remaining committed to returning capital to shareholders through a well covered dividend of $0.15 per share. We will continue to make prudent capital allocation decisions to position our portfolio to drive growth. While maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet. Turning to our full year outlook. Our updated guidance reflects the sale of the Hyatt Place Fremont Silicon Valley, Our strong second quarter outperformance and the continuation of the current operating and macroeconomic environment.

For 2026, we now expect comparable RevPAR growth to range between 3.5% to 4.5%. Comparable hotel EBITDA range between $369 million and $389 million Corporate adjusted EBITDA range between $336 million and $356 million and adjusted FFO per diluted share to be between $1.37 and $1.50 Our outlook assumes no additional acquisitions, dispositions, or balance sheet activity beyond what has been completed today.

We continue to estimate capital expenditures, will be in the range of $80 million to $90 million Cash G&A will be in the range of $33.5 million to $34.5 million and expect net interest expense will be in the range of $101 million to $103 million We also expect the relationship between top line growth and expense growth during the second half to be similar to the first half of this year. With respect to the cadence for the remainder of the year, we expect our third quarter performance to be stronger than the fourth quarter.

As such, we expect the contribution of adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter to be about 100 basis points higher than last year's third quarter. Finally, please refer to our press release from last evening for additional details on our outlook. And to our schedule of supplemental information which will include comparable 2026 and 2025 quarterly operating results for our 91-hotel portfolio. Thank you. And this concludes our prepared remarks. We will now open the line for Q&A. Operator?

Operator: Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For portions of the conference, please press the star key. 1 moment please while we poll for questions. Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Michael Bellisario with Baird. Please proceed.

Michael Bellisario: Thanks. Good afternoon, everyone. Afternoon. I wanna ask on the BT that you referenced, are you seeing this demand come through the GDS, or is it more local negotiated accounts? And then any specific industries and notable booking patterns to call out would be helpful. Thank you.

Leslie D. Hale: Yeah, hey, Mike. The strength on BT, I think it is important to point out. I mean, this is the second consecutive quarter that we saw BT revenues increased by 10%. And room nights were up 6% in the second quarter, which I think is an important data point. We also saw midweek trends up 6%, and it is really been broad based. As Nikhil mentioned, were a number of markets that saw double digit growth in BT. And it is coming from our national accounts in GDS and it is industries like tech, you know, finance, defense. I am also remind you that this is our highest rated customer who is coming back.

So this is benefiting us on rate and also benefiting us in, in F&B as well. So we feel really good about the strength we are seeing in BT and the ability for it to continue.

Thomas J. Bardenett: Only other thing I would offer, Mike, is it is increasing in the total mix when we think about transient. It moved up another 1% because of the demand that Leslie was talking about in regards to room nights. And we are also getting the average rate increases based on the RFP season with success from last year. The other thing that I would add too is when you think about where they are booking through and your spot on the GDS side, that also increased from a percentage standpoint, as Leslie stated, which is encouraging because that is where that channel tends to book the clientele that travels from a BT standpoint.

Michael Bellisario: that is helpful. And then just my follow-up on margins and flow through. And sort of asking this ex some of the onetime items that you noted, but how are you thinking about sort of the underlying growth run rate for both fixed and variable expenses on a go forward basis? And that is all for me. Thank you.

Leslie D. Hale: Yes, let me sort of frame the second quarter expense growth. As Nikhil mentioned, our fixed expenses were up 6.4%. If you adjust that for taxes, it is 3.5% a POR perspective, we were up 4.9%. And there is a couple of things that are sort of driving that. 1, we had higher occupancy than we had anticipated. And with higher occupancy growth versus rate growth, there is a higher cost associated with that. Additionally, we had higher transient contribution And with that, you have higher transaction costs, such as TA and credit card revenue related costs that Nikhil mentioned. Additionally, we had a shorter length of stay this quarter which has higher checkouts.

And so with a portfolio of 50% suites, that has some level of impact. And I would also say that the transient mix we had this quarter had a higher spend within our F&B outlets as opposed to our banquets, and outlets have a higher expense load relative to the banquet F&B. So that was a little different this quarter as well. And then lastly, there is 2 other things worth noting. 1 is that because we have better performance year to date, you know, we did have some bonus accruals at the properties for the staff. In addition to the energy costs that Nikhil mentioned as well.

So when we look at expense growth for the back half of the year, our guidance implies 3% at the midpoint and 4% at the top end. So there is a deceleration from the second quarter. Very helpful. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Austin Wurschmidt with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please proceed.

Austin Wurschmidt: Great. Thanks. Good afternoon. Leslie, appreciate all the details you gave on July. I guess as you look forward, though, I mean, you talk a little bit about the booking pace for the months ahead and just how you are thinking about the relative performance between the 3 business segments given the strength, especially, that you are seeing within BT?

Leslie D. Hale: Yeah, sure, Austin. I would say that our change in guidance reflects 2 things. 1 is a change, obviously reflects the better performance in second quarter, but also assumes an improvement in the back of the year. And that improvement is being driven by the continued strength of BT remaining strong in terms of who is traveling, the frequency and the length of stay related to that demand that we just talked about. We expect leisure demand to remain healthy. We expect group to actualize at its current pace. We are looking at, you know, pace for about a 104% for the full year, 110% in the third quarter. And all of those segments are going to benefit urban markets.

And keep in mind that we still expect our renovations and our conversions to continue to ramp. And I think about the back half of the year from a cadence perspective, as Nikhil mentioned, we expect third quarter to be better than fourth quarter. But if I were to break that down, third quarter is obviously off to a strong start with July being up 11%. I would say August is expected to be relatively flat. And September is gonna benefit from the Salesforce, but we do have labor days later in that month. And when I think about the fourth quarter, we see that because Salesforce shifted, our pace for the fourth quarter is actually down year over year.

And while we do expect to benefit from the lapse of the government shutdown, it will be offset by the election. The other thing that I would point out for us in the back half of the year is that we are starting our conversion renovations for Boston and Key West. I think it is important to understand that we believe that fundamentals remain healthy and that fundamentals are keeping with the momentum we see today. But there are some puts and takes on the back half that from a timing perspective of how things shifted.

And so October being significant contribution month for the fourth quarter, the pace in that month is down because Salesforce moved from October to September. And so we still believe that, you know, BT is going to continue to show good strength.

Austin Wurschmidt: I appreciate all the details there. And then just some clarifications on the expense side. Did you say 3% expense for the full year? And is that total expense or on a per occupied room basis? And what does the back half assume for expenses on a per occupied room basis? Thank you.

Nikhil Bhalla: Yes, and just to clarify, that implied 3% was for the back half of the year, Austin, from that. And so it was implied 3% for the back half of the year. At the midpoint and implied 4% for the back half of the year at the high end of guidance. That answer your question?

Austin Wurschmidt: Is that total expense growth on a year over year basis or per occupied room basis?

Nikhil Bhalla: That is total expense. Per occupied room basis, Austin, it is going to be very similar to that. Great. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Gregory Miller with Truist Securities. Please proceed.

Gregory Miller: Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. I would like to start off with the Compass Key West conversion. it is interesting to hear. Personally do not know as much about the brand as well. I think perhaps that is the same for some of the listeners and my knowledge learned that many of them have compared to the core brand Margaritaville.

Leslie D. Hale: Hey, Gregory. Hi, Gregory. We cannot hear you.

Gregory Miller: You are-- you got your-- you are very muddled. I apologize. I will try to call back in. Sorry about that.

Operator: Okay. All right. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Rich Hightower with Barclays. Please proceed.

Analyst: Hi, thanks very much for taking the question. You announced a $250 million share repurchase authorization earlier this year. So I was just kind of wondering if you could give some color on how you are currently thinking about share repurchases relative to acquisitions or disposition activity.

Leslie D. Hale: Yes, sure. Good afternoon. Look, we are always focused on optimizing the tools that we have. To drive shareholder value. And we are very pleased with where our balance sheet sits today, particularly after we have addressed our maturing bonds. Most recently, and we have ample liquidity. The strong results that we are seeing from our high impact renovations and our conversions are delivering strong results, are demonstrating the effectiveness of the investments we have made. Keep in mind for our high impact renovations grew EBITDA by 50% this quarter. For conversions, we grew EBITDA by 11%. You know, we are excited about the next 2 conversions that we have.

Down the pipe, and we are also excited about how the Arrott is going to ramp up. At the same time, you know, we continue to believe that our stock is undervalued. And we remain constructive on the transaction side and we expect to continue to be active on all of them with dispositions. And so our balance sheet gives us optionality to look at all of these tools and exercise them the right window. We are gonna continue to be disciplined. Thanks very much.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Chris Darling with Green Street Capital. Please proceed.

Analyst: Just maybe speaking of the transaction market, we have seen pretty strong pricing at the top end of the market. I am curious if you can discuss how pricing has evolved in the more select service or you know, your segment of the business and if that gives you more opportunity as a seller. To, effectuate transactions.

Leslie D. Hale: Yes, look, I would say that we are in a place where pricing is asset by asset, case by case basis. What I would say about the overall transaction market is that it is more constructive today in that there are more transactions in the pipeline I would say that the debt market continues to be very competitive with a number of capital providers. there is better fundamentals, is allowing potential buyers to underwrite with more conviction. The buyer pool has widened today, particularly as performance continues to improve. And we are seeing, owner-operators continue to play a role in the transaction market. We are also starting to see family and a little bit of private equity as well.

And so it is still focused on single assets, as opposed to portfolios. But we do see the overall transaction market improving. But I would generally say that we are starting to sort of see pricing converge, and it is really to a case by case basis in this climate. You know, we recently sold, as you mentioned, you know, an asset in Fremont, and that was an asset where the dynamics of that market had moved away from its trajectory from the rest of what is happening in Northern California. And the pending capital did not make sense for us.

And so we ran a small process and we had a regional operator pay a multiple on that existing asset. Understood. And maybe just a follow-up on the conversion opportunities. I am just curious to understand where you guys are in the window in San Diego. Assuming, you know, the Margaritaville conversion does not preclude any, conversion in conversion at that asset, Is there any, you know, advancement with that property or are there other conversion opportunities that you have had identified, in recent months? Mean, we have a healthy pipeline of conversions. We have and continue to be on a pace of delivering 2 conversions per year.

And with the announcement of Key West, we are continuing down that path. Super excited about the Margaritaville, which I am going to let Tom talk related to your specific question on San Diego, what I would say is that we are making great progress on that and working with the port. We are in the process of executing, a, our extension. Part of that process is around finalizing our design of the transformative repositioning of that asset, and, you know, we expect to make meaningful progress through the balance of the remainder of the year in San Diego.

Thomas J. Bardenett: And just to give a little bit more color on Key West because we are excited, obviously, of making that announcement today. This is 1 of the highest ADR markets in the country. And it is the most iconic island destination if you think about South Florida. And the origins of Key West are perfect for Margaritaville because that is where they opened their first store and restaurant a while ago. So we are excited about bringing another asset into that lifestyle consumer that is attracted to that.

And as Leslie described in her prepared remarks, when you arrive at this hotel, you are going to have the opportunity to be greeted by the Provisions Marketplace and gives everybody really a license to chill. The diverse food and beverage offerings, I think that is where Gregory was probably going in regards to just, you know, what are the deliverables of this Margaritaville. it is really like a sunny side up complimentary made to order breakfast in the morning. Then when you get into the afternoon, we are really excited about a featured cabana bar called 5 O'Clock Somewhere. With an expanded pool and entertainment concept that really will elevate the experience.

And so we are most excited about the fact that it is a family of brands. Margaritaville has done a great job with restaurants, resorts, vacation club, residential real estate, vacation homes. And even the cruise line at the port of call going down to Key West. So we believe not only for our guests who will be coming in to enjoy it, but we think the locals will really enjoy the chance to have an opportunity to experience this hotel in Key West because there is really a lack of supply there. And we are really excited about the opportunity to grow rate and profitability at this asset.

Leslie D. Hale: I would just add on that, obviously, Tom mentioned a number of thoughtful F&B ideas that we are going be executing on with Margaritaville. But that is just a continuation of the strategy that we have had across all of our conversions. We talked about before Mills House, Mandalay Beach, and Monica, all of which are contributing to the 7% out-of-room spend that we achieved this past quarter. Tom just mentioned what we are doing in Key West in terms of the pool bar. I remind you that in Boston, we are going to be opening the archive and in Pittsburgh, the drafting room, and the Fulton premium lounge that we are gonna have there as well.

All of these, you know, extra aligned with our strategy of being able to have thoughtful F&B that is that is fabric centric, and that not only attracts guests that are in our hotel, but it also attracts guests that are outside of our hotel. And that is contributing to the strong, outer room spend that we have had for consecutive quarters now.

Analyst: Appreciate the thoughts. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Floris Van Dijkum with Ladenburg Thalmann. Please proceed.

Analyst: Hey. I am excited to go test out your Margaritaville. Offering once it gets completed. I am just curious. Can you quantify the capital that you plan to spend? And I think you have historically, you know, averaged you know, something along the lines of north of 20% returns on those conversion projects. Maybe if you can give us a little bit more of a financial impact. And how much, because Margaritaville assets are unique, and they are, you know, particularly their alcohol sales are just off the charts. How much are you factoring in there, and how will this asset compete with the DiamondRock hotel that is not that far away. it is also a Margaritaville.

Leslie D. Hale: Yeah, I would generally say that the way that we thought about the returns is a function of return on the capital that we are putting in that is incremental in order to convert the assets. We generally have achieved returns that are north of 40% relative to the incremental capital. What I would also say is we have also pointed out the EBITDA growth across the assets. We have talked about previously in Boston, we think there is 40% upside on the EBITDA of that asset.

I would say in Key West, we think there is about a 50% upside in the EBITDA of that asset given that Tom mentioned sort of how high rated that market is and the opportunity to up brand in this particular asset. I would also say in Pittsburgh, we think there is 35% upside in that EBITDA. And, you know, keep in mind the rates that we have demonstrated on these 7 assets we have already completed. So we feel very good about the return on the capital that we are investing, you know, in these in these assets.

Thomas J. Bardenett: And, Floris, I know we have spent some time in Key West. So you know exactly where the location is. it is on the way to Duval. We are a lot of the activity is. And we truly believe, you know, understanding the island experience and to your point about the other Margaritaville, think we will be able to tuck underneath based on our location compared to the other 1.

And most importantly, because of the experience we are going to have around the pool, as well as the beverage experience, we think locals are gonna be really attracted to this, because there is just not a lot of supply, which is why the average rate, if you can believe it, almost mirrors New York City's average rates in regards to what happens down here. On an annual basis. So we are pleased to know that this can take us to a different level within the lifestyle consumer And certainly Margaritaville is what everybody Googles when you go to Key West in regards to the atmosphere and what you are looking for.

Analyst: No, I am looking forward to my next trip out there with you with you, Tom. I think that will be fun. But to the point about and, Leslie, I appreciate your returns are have been, you know, exceptionally high on the on these redevelopments. Is there any thoughts from you to do more than 2 projects a year because, you know, frankly, the returns are so attractive?

Leslie D. Hale: Yes, I would say we have tried to be thoughtful to make sure that we manage the displacement that is caused by these. We also look at the catalyst behind the franchise expiration, such as the case in Key West. And so we have to time it, you know, according to a couple factors that we are balancing floors. But we think that, you know, 2 to 3 is the right cadence. Thanks.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Chris Woronka with Deutsche Bank. Please proceed.

Chris Woronka: Hey. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for taking the questions. there is been a lot of focus across the hotel REITs this earning season about costs. You guys provide kind of some similar similarly directional commentary, I think, to your peers. And, Leslie, I think you mentioned that second half, your you are going to continue to build and maybe be a little bit more slanted toward occ on the RevPAR. So the question is, you know, is the industry maybe falling behind a little bit on rate again? there is been some nice gains, but it seems like expenses are pretty stubborn. And when we get more, we get more labor.

Do you think there is some kind of delayed catch up in rates coming as you as you look out? Do you see in your-- you know, maybe 2, 3 quarters out what you are booking now, you see another jump up in room rates. Thanks.

Leslie D. Hale: Yeah, look, I would say that rate has been, you know, relatively, you know, healthy and we have seen meaningfully rate growth over the last several quarters. I think from our perspective, we are really focused on growing the bottom line. there is lots of ways to achieve that. Keep in mind, we grew the bottom line by 7% this quarter for the second consecutive quarter. You know, our strategy is sort of broad based. We have been aligning that against focusing on cap capturing consumer demand trends in the lifestyle oriented segment. We have been really thoughtful around our revenue management and balancing between rate and ops.

And keep in mind that, you know, occupancy, you know, bring means, you know, higher demand, and higher demand helps your out-of-room spend, which, again that we have seen strong growth in auto room spend for several consecutive quarters. And so we think that our mix is aligned with the strategy that we have been focused on.

Chris Woronka: Okay. Helpful. And then I think you are now down to 2 Hyatt Place hotels after the sale of, Fremont. But, you know, I know there is there is been some changes at Hyatt, and I know they are kind of the strategy to have the select brand on top of that or as a solution to so is there gonna be any changes in your in your Hyatt portfolio that you see coming that are maybe related to know, CapEx or positioning?

Leslie D. Hale: Yeah, I mean, look, our decision to sell a couple of assets has nothing to do with the Hyatt brand. We believe in the Hyatt brand. It is produced for us for many years. In this particular case, it was just that the market had moved away from the demand of that particular hotel relative to what we are seeing across the rest of Northern California. And so when we looked at the capital and the potential return on those it did not align with our view on a go forward basis, and it was the right thing to do for us. that is nothing to do with the Hyatt brand.

You know, we are good partners with Hyatt and believe in the value that their brands bring.

Thomas J. Bardenett: An example of that, Christopher, as you know, we have a good footprint in Silicon Valley. And both our Hyatt houses in Santa Clara and San Jose have had great numbers. Obviously, we are right across from the know, Santa Clara where they held the Super Bowl as well as many concerts We love those locations and the contribution that we get from Hyatt in addition to the other asset in Palo Alto. And so we really love certain markets within Silicon Valley. This just happened to be a market that we believe was not gonna recover to the same degree that our other ones did.

Chris Woronka: Okay. Very good. Thanks. Thanks, Tom. Thanks, Leslie.

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

Leslie D. Hale: Thank you, everybody, for joining us. We hope that everybody has a great summer. We look forward to seeing you guys in the fall.

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