Ashford Hospitality Trust Chairman Emeritus Archie Bennett, Jr. Receives Dallas Business Journal Outstanding Director Award

DALLAS, May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) today announced that Archie Bennett, Jr., Ashford's Chairman Emeritus, has been named an honoree of the Dallas Business Journal's 2013 Outstanding Directors Awards for his many years of service and leadership to the Company.

The award will be presented to Mr. Bennett at an awards dinner which will be held at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on May 30, 2013.  Mr. Bennett will also be featured with all honorees in a special publication in the May 31st issue of the Dallas Business Journal. 

Archie Bennett, Jr. served as Chairman of Ashford since its formation in August 2003 until January 19, 2013, when he assumed the role of Chairman Emeritus which allows him to provide his expertise and insights to the Company on various initiatives and projects.  Today, Ashford has over $4 billion in assets and has outperformed its peer average in total shareholder returns on a trailing basis consistently over the past nine years.

Monty J. Bennett, Ashford's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented "I am pleased that my father, Archie Bennett, Jr., has received this recognition for his many contributions to Ashford's success.  His vast experience and industry acumen have been instrumental to the Company's total shareholder return outperformance versus our peers since our initial public offering in August, 2003.  On behalf of the Company and the Board of Directors, I want to congratulate him on receiving this award and thank him for his contributions and dedication to our continued success."

The award program, in conjunction with the National Association of Corporate Directors and sponsored by Ernst & Young, Bank of America and Haynes and Boone, honors directors from Dallas-based nonprofits, public and private companies.

Ashford is a self-administered real estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure.  Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.ahtreit.com. 

Follow Chairman and CEO Monty Bennett on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBennettAshford or @MBennettAshford.

Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties.  When we use the words "will likely result," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the timing for closing, the impact of the transaction on our business and future financial condition, our business and investment strategy, our understanding of our competition and current market trends and opportunities and projected capital expenditures.  Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford's control.

These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation:  general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common stock; changes in our business or investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general economy; and the degree and nature of our competition.  These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.  EBITDA yield is defined as trailing twelve month EBITDA divided by the purchase price.  EBITDA multiple is defined as the purchase price divided by the annual EBITDA.  A capitalization rate is determined by dividing the property's annual net operating income by the purchase price.  Net operating income is the property's funds from operations minus a capital expense reserve of either 4% or 5% of gross revenues.  Funds from operations ("FFO"), as defined by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") in April 2002, represents net income (loss) computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of properties and extraordinary items as defined by GAAP, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and net of adjustments for the portion of these items related to unconsolidated entities and joint ventures. 

The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release.  Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise.

SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.