DALLAS-Ashford Hospitality REIT recently came out with Q1 2013 earnings showing that the sector, in general, and the REIT, in particular, are right on track. The numbers showed that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased $7.3 million (or 10%) year over year, while adjusted funds for operations per share increased 25%. Additionally, revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 4.3% across the entire portfolio.

Other financial highlights included:

• A RevPAR increase of 7.7% for all hotels in the Highland Hospitality portfolio, driven by a 6% increase in ADR and a 110 basis point increase in occupancy
• A RevPAR increase of 3.4% for all Legacy hotels in continuing operations, driven by a 3.3% increase in ADR
• Net loss attributable to common shareholders at $23.2 million ($0.34 per diluted share), compared with net loss attributable to common shareholders of $29.5 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter
• Capex invested in the quarter for the Legacy portfolio at $20 million
• Ashford's pro rata share of capex invested in the quarter for the Highland Hospitality portfolio at $11.9 million
• A $200 million refinance of its sole remaining 2013 debt maturity. The new loan provides for a floating interest rate of LIBOR + 3.50%, with no LIBOR floor and continues to be secured by the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC and the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA.
• A series of agreements with the City of Nashville and Davidson County concerning the 673-room Renaissance Nashville Hotel. The agreement involved converging the joint venture's leasehold interest in the hotel, which was set to expire in 2087, to fee simple ownership, extending the current lease term of some adjacent facilities to 2112, and entering into a new, 30-year lease for 80,000 square feet of meeting space and pre-function space located at the adjacent Nashville Convention Center
• An agreement to acquire the 142-room Pier House Resort and Spa in Key West, FL for $90 million.