RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call August 2, 2024 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

Michael Bellisario – Baird
Gregory Miller – Truist Securities
Tyler Batory – Oppenheimer & Company
Dori Kesten – Wells Fargo
Floris van Dijkum – Compass Point
Chris Woronka – Deutsche Bank
Chris Darling – GreenStreet

Operator

Welcome to the RLJ Lodging Trust Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. As a reminder, all participants are in a 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 Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Nikhil Bhalla

Thank you, operator, good morning and welcome to RLJ Lodging Trust 2024 second quarter earnings call. On today’s call, Leslie Hale, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will discover 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-Q 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 includes pro forma operating results for our current hotel portfolio.

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 encouraged to see the industry’s RevPAR growth sequentially improve during the second quarter. Despite a choppy backdrop, the urban and top 25 markets once again led the way, which enabled us to achieve solid operating performance.

Additionally, during the second quarter, we were active on a number of fronts, including acquiring Hotel Teatro in Denver, progressing on our 2024 conversions, as well as recycling proceeds from the sale of a noncore asset into opportunistic share repurchases, while increasing our quarterly dividend. Overall, we were pleased with our results. Specifically, for the quarter, we achieved RevPAR growth of 2.6%, which was driven by gains in both occupancy and ADR. May was the strongest month of the quarter with 6.9% RevPAR growth, while June achieved positive RevPAR growth.