The Delicate Balance for Hotel Owners in This Crisis Between Defaulting and Protecting a Portfolio
Photo Credit: Braemar Hotels & Resorts, owner of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota (pictured), says it is having successful talks with lenders in getting forbearance on mortgage debt during the coronavirus crisis. Wikimedia / Markus
Skift Take
Braemar Hotels & Resorts may have a $3 billion lighter mortgage debt load than Ashford Hospitality Trust, but it still needs to find a way to buy time and protect assets, many of which are still temporarily closed.
Not all of Dallas hotelier Monty Bennett’s hospitality companies are in as much debt as Ashford Hospitality Trust. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking for similar financial relief during the coronavirus crisis.
Braemar Hotels & Resorts is part of the trio of Bennett’s companies — the others being Ashford Trust and Ashford Inc. — that collectively were among the biggest beneficiaries of a $660 billion coronavirus relief fund aimed at small businesses. Bennett returned the money after receiving intense scrutiny over whether the cash-rich companies needed the small business loans. Braemar’s leaders looked to protect cashflow by temporarily shutting down 11 of the lodging real estate investment trust’s 13 hotels as well as defaulting loans.
“I’d say when our business started to really slow down, it happened very quickly and there was a lo
