A Retrospective

Marriott Corporation was renamed Host Marriott Corporation on October 8, 1993, as a result of a tax-free spin-off of Marriott Corporation, creating two separate and distinct companies: Host Marriott Corporation and Marriott International, Inc. Host Marriott retained Marriott’s lodging real estate and airport/toll road concessions business, while Marriott International took over management of the lodging and contract service businesses.

By year end 1996, we had solidified our long-term strategy of “acquiring high quality, full service hotels with the potential for significant capital appreciation.” – Host Marriott Corporation Annual Report, 1996. In the three years from 1994 through 1996, Host Marriott acquired a total of 55 hotels with an aggregate investment value of $2.8 billion. Host Marriott also held a minority interest in 25 lodging partnerships, which owned 31 full service hotels and 220 limited service hotels. At the same time, we divested of our airport and toll road concessions business through the spin-off of Host Marriott Services in December of 1995 and completed the sale/leaseback of all of our remaining Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn hotels.

During 1998, we significantly expanded our portfolio through the acquisition of 12 world-class hotels with 5,000 rooms for $1.5 billion from the Blackstone Group — launching a brand diversification strategy by acquiring luxury and upper upscale hotels that included brand names such as Ritz-Carlton and Hyatt. We also gained nearly 100% control over 28 hotels, some of which had previously been unconsolidated, by exchanging limited partner interest for units in our balance sheet.

Through several major transactions, Host Marriott qualified as a Real Estate Investment Trust effective January 1, 1999.

Always at the forefront of the Lodging REIT Industry, in 2001 Host Marriott repurchased the leases for our hotels from Crestline Capital Corporation and established our taxable REIT subsidiary structure. As a result, we were able to consolidate 100% of the revenue stream from our hotels and became a Fortune 500 Company. At this point, we were the only Lodging REIT within the Fortune 500.

We acquired a portfolio of 34 hotels from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., including six hotels in Europe, which were acquired by us in a joint venture in which our partners included Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd (GIC) and APG Strategic Real Estate Pool NV. This acquisition increased our scale, adding $3.5 billion of value; established our international presence; and improved our operator diversification, as Starwood became our second largest operator. Due to this dramatic change in our brand mix, our name changed from Host Marriott Corporation to Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., to reflect our new multi-branded portfolio.

Recognizing the growth and stability provided by our high-quality real estate assets and flexible balance sheet, Host was included within the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which allowed us to significantly expand our investor base. Additionally, Host was in the middle of a three-year $1.8 billion capital expenditures program to enhance the competitiveness of our properties and keep them at best-in-class levels.

Our unwavering commitment to our financial strength is recognized as Moody’s Investors Services and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services upgraded our senior unsecured debt rating to investment grade in 2012 and 2013 respectively. We succeeded in lowering our leverage ratio, as defined by our credit facility, by 270 basis points over a five-year period and it remains within our stated goal of 2.5x to 3.0x. In 2014, Host also received its first Leader in the Light Award for the Lodging/Resort property sector by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts in recognition of its sustainable real estate practices. 

With the goal of generating best-in-class EBITDA growth to drive robust long-term, risk-adjusted returns for our stockholder, our strategy is to own the most geographically diverse portfolio of iconic and irreplaceable hotels in the United States. We leverage our scale, integrated investment platform and investment-grade balance sheet to grow through organic initiatives and disciplined acquisitions.

We began 2020 with $1.6 billion of cash and the strongest balance sheet in the company’s history, following years of prudent capital allocation that emphasized maximizing balance sheet capacity and liquidity towards the end of the cycle. In 2020, we navigated an unprecedented downturn, which made us more agile and innovative. We achieved best in class amendments to our $2.5 billion credit facility that preserved our liquidity and enhanced our balance sheet flexibility. We have been working with our operators to redefine our hotel operating model and continue to invest in our portfolio. And we continued to be recognized as a global industry leader in sustainability and corporate responsibility. We are excited about our internal and external growth prospects through the recovery and believe we are very well-positioned to create significant long-term value for our stockholders