Hersha Sees Q1 Payoff Due to New Focus

PHILADELPHIA-Hersha Hospitality Trust saw a strong Q1 with an increase in consolidated total hotel operating revenues and an increase in revenue per available room. “Overall, we are very pleased with the financial performances of the company in the first quarter of 2007 as we saw a solid contribution from our newly acquired properties and good rate-based RevPAR growth,” said Hersha CEO Jay Shah, during a conference call discussing first quarter earnings.

The total operating revenues for its 56 consolidated hotels increased from $23.9 million in the Q1 2006 to $46.4 million for Q1 of this year, an increase of 94%, Shah said. The increase was due to an increase in room revenues and hotel acquisitions such as the acquisition of the LodgeWorks portfolio which increased its presence in the California and Arizona markets, as GlobeSt.com reported.

There was an increase in net loss applicable to common shareholders for Q1 of $5.4 million, as compared to a net loss of $5.1 million for the Q1 2006, CFO Ashish Parikh said. The increase was due to increased interest expenses and other expenses from Hersha’s property acquisitions.