The rise was driven primarily by growth in room revenues andacquisitions. The REIT acquired 100% ownership in six propertiesand interests in another two during the quarter. RevPAR for theconsolidated portfolio of 41 properties increased 20.5%year-over-year to $62.73. That was driven by a 12% increase in ADRto $97.89 and a 7.6% rise in occupancy to 64.1%. At the same time,gross operating profit margins rose to 36.7%, up from 30.3% in thesame quarter of 2005.

Same store RevPAR, which encompasses 27 hotels, increased 10.2%to $63.30. The performance was driven by a 4.4% increase in ADR to$97.27 and a 5.6% increase in occupancy to 65.1%. During aconference call, Jay H. Shah, CEO, noted that first quarter "is ourseasonally weakest quarter, given our concentration of hotels inthe Northeast."

He confirmed that the company will continue to focus on theNortheast. The Hersha board, he says, has approved the listing ofthe company's Atlanta portfolio for sale in order to acquire anddevelop additional properties between Boston and Washington, DC.During the call, Ashish Parikh, CFO, said the estimated net valueof the Atlanta properties is "in the $18-million to $20-millionrange, and the properties have debt of roughly $10 million."