RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call February 28, 2023 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Nikhil Bhalla – Senior Vice President-Finance and Treasurer

Leslie Hale – President and Chief Executive Officer

Sean Mahoney – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Tom Bardenett – Chief Operating Officer

Conference Call Participants

Austin Wurschmidt – KeyBanc Capital Markets

Michael Bellisario – Baird

Floris van Dijkum – Compass Point

Gregory Miller – Truist Securities

Chris Darling – Green Street

Anthony Powell – Barclays

Operator

Welcome to the RLJ Lodging Trust Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the call over to Nikhil Bhalla, RLJ's Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Nikhil Bhalla

Thank you, operator. Good morning and welcome to RLJ Lodging Trust 2022 fourth quarter and full year earnings call. On today's call, Leslie Hale, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will discuss key highlights for the quarter; Sean Mahoney, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will discuss the company's financial results; Tom Bardenett, our Chief Operating Officer, will be available for Q&A.

Forward-looking statements made on this call are subject to numerous risks and 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-K 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, it may be helpful to review the reconciliations to GAAP located in our press release. Finally, please refer to the schedule of supplemental information, which was posted to our website last night, which includes pro forma operating results for our current hotel portfolio for 2019, 2021 and 2022.

I will now turn the call over to Leslie.

Leslie Hale

Thanks, Nikhil. Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We were pleased that lodging fundamentals strengthened throughout last year with significant improvement across all segments of demand, demonstrating the resiliency of the industry. Against this positive backdrop, we successfully executed on our key priorities, including capturing strong operating performance driven by the accelerating recovery in urban markets, successfully launching all three of our transformative conversions, including the Zachari Dunes at Mandalay Beach and the iconic Mills House in Charleston, both of which joined the Hilton Curio collection, and the Pierside in Santa Monica, which was rebranded as an independent hotel acquiring a high quality hotel in Nashville, an attractive growth market. Further strengthening our balance sheet by addressing our 2023 maturities and exiting all COVID restrictions and returning capital to our shareholders through an increased dividend and disciplined share repurchases. The successful execution has positioned us to realize incremental EBITDA from our embedded growth catalyst in 2023 and beyond, and underscores our ability to leverage the optionality our strong balance sheet provides.