Hersha Hospitality Trust Provides Portfolio Update Related to COVID-19 Outbreak - Seite 2

Mr. Shah continued, "Our Board of Trustees will continue to review the Company’s performance on a quarterly basis until an appropriate time for reinstatement is determined. We anticipate suspending our common and preferred dividend distributions for the balance of the year, generating additional cash liquidity of approximately $72.5 million for 2020 based on last year’s distribution rates. While we are adapting our operations and implementing cost reduction strategies in response to the national crisis, the Company is prioritizing liquidity above all until the operating environment becomes more clear.”

The Company will continue to review taxable income on a regular basis and take measures, if necessary, to ensure that it continues to meet the minimum distribution requirements to maintain its status as a real estate investment trust.

Unpaid dividends on Hersha’s preferred shares shall accrue without interest. No cash dividends may be paid on Hersha’s common shares unless all accrued but unpaid dividends on its preferred shares have been (or contemporaneously are) declared and paid, or declared and a sum sufficient for such payment has been set apart for payment for all past dividend periods.

“Our executive team has navigated three cycles together, including previously unprecedented demand shocks such as September 11, 2001 and the Great Financial Crisis. We expect a very difficult environment throughout 2020 and particularly across the second and third quarters, but we have faith in our healthcare system to expeditiously support the country through this trying time. Our purpose-built portfolio, reconstructed and holistically renovated across the last five years, resides in some of the most valuable urban, gateway markets in the US and is positioned to welcome back all of our loyal and first-time guests when fears abate and the world’s population can resume their love of travel. As active revenue and asset managers we are confident that the strategies we have implemented to reduce expenses and enhance our liquidity will allow us to weather this storm and ultimately lead to value creation as the country recovers from this extraordinary event,” concluded Mr. Shah.