PALM BEACH, FL-Innkeekpers USA Trust is suspending payments on second quarter  2010 dividends on its 8% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares. The company has suspended these payments going back to December 2008, says a spokesperson for the company. Dennis Craven, chief financial officer for the company, was not available for comment by press time.

In April, Innkeepers USA announced that it had not made certain scheduled monthly interest payments on select debt obligations and that it might not make future payments on certain of its debt and franchisor obligations. At the time, Innkeepers’ management said that it had hired financial and legal advisors to assist in an evaluation of financial alternatives, including the possible restructuring of the company’s balance sheet.

Innkeepers, a REIT, has interests in 73 hotels with 10,000 rooms in 19 states and Washington, DC, according to the company website. It focuses on acquiring and developing Extended Stay properties, including Hampton Inns and Residence Inns by Marriott. When it was acquired by the Apollo Investment Corp. in 2007, it took on several hundred million dollars worth of debt, which it is now struggling to repay.