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

Other financial highlights included:

• A RevPAR increase of 7.7% for all hotels in the HighlandHospitality portfolio, driven by a 6% increase in ADR and a 110basis point increase in occupancy
• A RevPAR increase of 3.4% for all Legacy hotels in continuingoperations, 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 tocommon 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 $20million
• Ashford's pro rata share of capex invested in the quarter forthe Highland Hospitality portfolio at $11.9 million
• A $200 million refinance of its sole remaining 2013 debtmaturity. The new loan provides for a floating interest rate ofLIBOR + 3.50%, with no LIBOR floor and continues to be secured bythe Capital Hilton in Washington, DC and the Hilton La Jolla TorreyPines in La Jolla, CA.
• A series of agreements with the City of Nashville and DavidsonCounty concerning the 673-room Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Theagreement involved converging the joint venture's leaseholdinterest in the hotel, which was set to expire in 2087, to feesimple ownership, extending the current lease term of some adjacentfacilities to 2112, and entering into a new, 30-year lease for80,000 square feet of meeting space and pre-function space locatedat the adjacent Nashville Convention Center
• An agreement to acquire the 142-room Pier House Resort and Spain Key West, FL for $90 million.