Item 1. Business

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Host Inc. was incorporated as a Maryland corporation in 1998 and operates as a self-managed and self-administered REIT. Host Inc. owns properties and conducts operations through Host L.P., of which Host Inc. is the sole general partner and of which it holds approximately 99% of the partnership interests (“OP units”) as of December 31, 2016. The remaining partnership interests are owned by various unaffiliated limited partners. Host Inc. has the exclusive and complete responsibility for Host L.P.’s day-to-day management and control.

As of February 20, 2017, our consolidated lodging portfolio consists of 96 primarily luxury and upper-upscale hotels containing approximately 53,500 rooms, with the majority located in the United States, and with 7 of the properties located outside of the U.S. in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. In addition, we own non-controlling interests in two international joint ventures: approximately a 33% interest in a joint venture in Europe, which owns 10 luxury and upper-upscale hotels with approximately 3,900 rooms in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; and a 9% indirect interest, through joint ventures, in five operating hotels and two hotels in the final stages of completion in India. We also hold non-controlling investments in three domestic hotels and a timeshare joint venture in Hawaii.

Business Strategy

Our goal is to be the preeminent owner of high-quality lodging real estate in growing markets and to generate superior long-term returns for our stockholders throughout all lodging cycles through a combination of appreciation in asset values, growth in earnings and dividend distributions. Our strategy to achieve this objective includes:

	•	Superior Portfolio - Own a geographically-diverse portfolio of hotels located in major urban centers and resort destinations;

	•	Disciplined Capital Allocation - Allocate and recycle capital to earn returns that exceed our cost of capital and actively return capital to stockholders;

	•	Strong Asset Management Capabilities - Create value in our existing portfolio through asset management and capital investment;

	•	Powerful and Flexible Capital Structure - Maintain a strong and flexible capital structure that allows us to execute our strategy throughout all lodging cycles; and

	•	Employer of Choice and Responsible Corporate Citizen – Align our organizational structure with our business objectives to be an employer of choice and a responsible corporate citizen.

Portfolio. We seek to have a well-balanced portfolio in major markets and premier resort and convention destinations that we expect will perform well over time. Therefore, we focus on refining our portfolio to include multiple types of hotels in locations which we believe have strong demand generators that appeal to multiple customer segments and achieve premium rates. We will look to acquisitions as well as new development opportunities to enhance our portfolio. We focus generally on the following types of assets:

	•	Resorts in locations with strong airlift and limited supply growth. These assets feature superior amenities and are operated by premier operators;

	•	Convention destination hotels that are group oriented in urban and resort markets. These assets feature extensive and high-quality meeting facilities and are often connected to prominent convention centers;

	•	City-center hotels in urban and coastal markets. Positioned in prime locations, these assets possess multiple demand drivers for both business and leisure travelers; and

	•	Suburban and airport hotels that either are market leaders in prime suburban commercial locations or connected to airport terminals and/or conveniently located on airport grounds.

We strive for diversified exposure within multiple brands, focused asset classes, and favorable locations. As one of the largest owners of Marriott and Hyatt properties, our hotels primarily are operated under brand names that are among the most respected and widely recognized in the lodging industry. Within these brands, we have focused predominately on the upper-upscale and luxury asset classes, as we believe they have a broad appeal for both the individual and group leisure and business customers. We also may invest in other property types which we believe have the potential for strong demand growth, including urban select service. In addition, we have unbranded or soft-branded properties that remain distinctive and appeal to a certain customer profile.

Internationally, our focus is on premium assets in major Western European markets through our European Joint Venture platform. In accordance with this strategy, we actively reduced our exposure to markets in the Asia-Pacific region and in South and Central America.

Capital Allocation. Guided by a disciplined approach to capital allocation, we are positioned to make capital decisions around delivering the greatest value and returning capital to stockholders. Our goal is to allocate and recycle capital to enhance our portfolio and earn returns that exceed our risk-adjusted cost of capital.

We look to refine our portfolio through our disposition strategy. Generally, our dispositions are focused on assets where we believe the potential for growth is constrained or on properties with significant capital expenditures requirements that we do not believe would generate a return on the investment. Prior to the sale of assets, we may look for opportunities to increase the sale price, which can include value-added capital expenditures projects and ground lease extensions. We also look to take advantage of opportunities to capture attractive pricing for hotels that have management contract flexibility. We also may opportunistically dispose of higher-quality assets through direct sales or through the creation of joint ventures.

We focus on creating and mining value from our existing portfolio through capital investments and value enhancement initiatives and by seeking to appropriately match each hotel within its specific market with the best operator and brand to optimize operating performance. These projects may include significant changes to guest rooms, food and beverage outlets, public space and meeting space, as well as a repositioning of the property under a different operator or brand. We work closely with our managers to attempt to schedule these projects to minimize operational disruption and environmental impact.

	•	Value Enhancement Initiatives seek to achieve the highest and best use of our properties. These projects may include the development of timeshare, office space or condominium units on excess land, redevelopment or expansion of existing retail space, and the acquisition of air rights or development entitlements.

	•	Redevelopment and Return on Investment Projects are designed to take advantage of changing market conditions and the favorable location of our properties, while seeking to increase profitability and enhance customer satisfaction. Our capital expenditures projects generally fall into the following categories:

Redevelopment projects. These projects are designed to improve the positioning of our hotels within their markets and competitive set. Redevelopment projects include extensive renovations of guest rooms and bathrooms, lobbies, food and beverage outlets; expanding and/or extensive renovation of ballroom and meeting rooms; major mechanical system upgrades, and green building initiatives and certifications.

Targeted Return on Investment (ROI) projects. These projects often are smaller and focused on increasing space profitability or lowering net operating costs. Typical ROI projects include converting unprofitable or underutilized space into meeting space, adding guestrooms, and implementing energy and water conservation

measures such as LED lighting, boilers, solar power, energy management systems, guestroom water efficient fixtures, and building automation systems.

Renewal and Replacement Capital Expenditures are designed to maintain the quality and competitiveness of our hotel properties. Typically, room renovations occur at intervals of approximately seven years, but the timing may vary based on the type of property and equipment being renovated. These renovations generally are divided into the following types: soft goods, case goods, bathroom and infrastructure. Soft goods include items such as carpeting, bed spreads, curtains and wall vinyl and may require more frequent updates in order to maintain brand quality standards. Case goods include items such as dressers, desks, couches, restaurant and meeting room chairs and tables; which generally are not replaced as frequently. Bathroom renovations include the replacement of tile, vanity, lighting and plumbing fixtures. Infrastructure includes the physical plant of the hotel, including the roof, elevators/escalators, façade, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and fire systems.

Asset Management. We believe we are in a unique position to work with our managers to drive operating performance and implement value-added real estate decisions. The size and composition of our portfolio and our affiliation with most of the leading brands and operators in the industry allow our asset managers to benchmark similar hotels and identify best practices and efficiencies that can improve long-term profitability. Our asset managers are supported by our enterprise analytics group, which provides independent underwriting of ROI and value-enhancement projects, business intelligence, revenue management and analysis of restaurant and bar operations. We also monitor and evaluate our property agreements, including management and franchise agreements, for opportunities to obtain additional contract flexibility over provisions such as sale rights and fee structures. Our goal is to differentiate our assets within their competitive market, drive operating performance and enhance the value of the real estate.

	•	Enhance profitability by using our business intelligence system to benchmark and monitor hotel performance and cost controls and complete deep-dive analytic reviews across brands and properties to seek to identify new opportunities that could increase profit.

	•	Drive revenue growth by conducting detailed strategic reviews with our managers on market pricing and segment mix in order to develop the appropriate group/transient mix and market share targets for each property. We work with our managers to ensure that their brands’ on-line presence addresses a broad customer base.

	•	Work with leading brands, as well as independent operators, in the lodging industry, we look to capitalize on situations where we have management agreement flexibility to appropriately match a hotel and its operator, brand and contract terms, including new or expanded relationships with independent operators. Our frequent evaluations of brands and operators help us to improve allocation of sales resources by our managers and allow us to help guide their digital and e-commerce strategies in an effort to drive RevPAR growth and reduce operating costs.

	•	Improve contract flexibility through the extension or purchase of ground leases or the restructuring of management agreements.

Financing Strategy. Our goal is to maintain a flexible capital structure that allows us to execute our strategy throughout the lodging cycle. In order to maintain its qualification as a REIT, Host Inc. is required to distribute 90% of its taxable income (other than net capital gain, including taxable income recognized for federal income tax purposes but with regard to which we do not receive cash) to its stockholders and, as a result, generally relies on external sources of capital, as well as cash from operations, to finance growth. We use a variety of debt and equity instruments to fund our external growth, including senior notes and mortgage debt, exchangeable debentures, common and preferred stock offerings, issuances of OP units and joint ventures/limited partnerships to take advantage of the prevailing market conditions.

	•	Management believes that a strong balance sheet is a key competitive advantage that affords us a lower cost of capital and positions us for external growth. While we may issue debt at any time, we will target a net debt-to-earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) ratio, (or “Leverage Ratio,” as defined in our credit facility) that allows us to maintain an investment grade rating on our senior unsecured debt. We believe an investment grade rating will deliver the most consistent access to capital.

	•	We seek to structure our debt profile to maintain financial flexibility and a balanced maturity schedule with access to different forms of financing; primarily senior notes and exchangeable debentures, as well as mortgage debt. Generally, we look to minimize the number of assets that are encumbered by mortgage debt, minimize near-term maturities and maintain a balanced maturity schedule. We may issue debt in foreign currencies to match the proceeds thereof with their intended use in order to reduce the potential costs of investing in foreign properties in terms of foreign currency fluctuation and local taxes. Depending on market conditions, we also may utilize variable rate debt which can provide greater protection during a decline in the lodging industry.

	•	We expect to continue to utilize joint ventures to finance external growth. We believe joint ventures provide a significant means to access external capital and spread the inherent risk of hotel ownership.

	•	Throughout the lodging cycle, to the extent that we are unable to find appropriate investment opportunities that meet our return requirements, we will focus on returning capital to stockholders through dividends or common stock repurchases. Significant factors we review to determine the level and timing of the returns to stockholders include the current stock price compared to our determination of the underlying value of our assets, current and forecast operating results and the completion of hotel sales.

Corporate Responsibility. Our corporate responsibility strategy focuses on a set of complementary objectives across three themes:

	•	Responsible Investment: During the acquisition of properties, we assess both capital investments that may include sustainability opportunities and climate change related risks as part of our due diligence process. During the ownership of our properties, we seek to invest in proven sustainability practices in our redevelopment and ROI projects that can enhance asset value while also improving environmental performance.

	•	Environmental Stewardship: We seek to improve the environmental footprint of our properties. We have established measurable goals to reduce energy consumption, water usage and carbon emissions from across our portfolio and will continue to report on actual performance in our environmental disclosures. In our redevelopment and ROI projects, we may target specific environmental efficiency projects, equipment upgrades and replacements that reduce energy and water consumption and offer appropriate returns on investment.

	•	Corporate Citizenship: We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and strengthening our local communities through financial support, community engagement, volunteer service, and industry collaboration. Our approach is reinforced by our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and periodic engagement with key stakeholders to understand their corporate responsibility priorities.

In March 2016, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) issued the provisional standard, Real Estate Owners, Developers & Investment Trusts Sustainability Accounting Standard. The provisional standard outlines proposed disclosure topics and accounting metrics for the real estate industry. The recommended energy and water management metrics that best correlate with our industry include energy consumption data coverage as a percentage of floor area (“Energy Intensity”); total energy consumed by portfolio area (“Total Energy Consumption”); water withdrawal as a percentage of total floor area, or number of units (for our calculation we use occupied rooms) (“Water Intensity”); and total water withdrawn by portfolio area (“Total Water Consumption”). The energy and water data we use is collected and reviewed by third-parties who compile the data from property utility statements. These metrics enable us to track the effectiveness of water and energy reduction ROI projects.

We reference key aspects and metrics of our sustainability efforts through the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) Index, in accordance with the GRI framework and, beginning in 2015, contracted with a third-party to provide further verification of our energy and water consumption data. The charts below detail our Energy Intensity, Total Energy Consumption, Water Intensity and Total Water Consumption for 2013 through 2015, the last three fiscal years for which data is available(1):

	(1)	Energy and water metrics relate to our consolidated domestic hotels owned for the entire year presented. The water data excludes one domestic hotel in 2013, 2014 and 2015, as reliable utility data was not available.

The Lodging Industry

The lodging industry in the United States consists of private and public entities that operate in an extremely diversified market under a variety of brand names. The lodging industry has several key participants:

	•	Owners—own the hotel and typically enter into an agreement for an independent third party to manage the hotel. These properties may be branded and operated under the manager’s brand or branded under a franchise agreement and operated by the franchisee or by an independent hotel manager. The properties also may be operated as an independent hotel by an independent hotel manager.

	•	Owner/Managers—own the hotel and operate the property with their own management team. These properties may be branded under a franchise agreement, operated as an independent hotel or operated under the owner’s brand. We are prohibited from operating and managing hotels under applicable REIT rules.

	•	Franchisors—own a brand or brands and strive to grow their revenues by expanding the number of hotels in their franchise system. Franchisors provide their hotels with brand recognition, marketing support and centralized reservation systems for the franchised hotels.

	•	Franchisor/Managers—own a brand or brands and also operate hotels on behalf of the hotel owner or franchisee.

	•	Managers—operate hotels on behalf of the hotel owner, but do not, themselves, own a brand. The hotels may be operated under a franchise agreement or as an independent hotel.

The hotel manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the hotel, including the employment of hotel staff, the determination of room rates, the development of sales and marketing plans, the preparation of operating and capital expenditures budgets and the preparation of financial reports for the owner. The hotel manager typically receives fees based on the revenues and profitability of the hotel.

Supply and Demand Trends. Our industry is influenced by the cyclical relationship between the supply of and demand for hotel rooms. Lodging demand growth typically is related to the vitality of the overall economy, in addition to local market factors that stimulate travel to specific destinations. In particular, trends in economic indicators such as GDP growth, business investment and employment growth are key indicators of the relative strength of lodging demand. Lodging demand also will be affected by changes to international travel.

Lodging supply growth generally is driven by overall lodging demand, as extended periods of strong demand growth tend to encourage new development. However, the rate of supply growth also is influenced by a number of additional factors, including the availability of capital, interest rates, construction costs and unique market considerations. The relatively long lead-time required to complete the development of hotels makes supply growth easier to forecast than demand growth, but increases the volatility of the cyclical behavior of the lodging industry. A recent source of supply for the industry has been the rapid growth of on-line short-term rentals. However, the impact on the hotel industry and the availability of these outlets is more variable than typical changes in supply from hotel construction and tends to be very market specific. As illustrated in the charts below for the U.S. lodging industry, at different points in the cycle, demand may increase when there is no new supply or supply may grow when demand is declining.

Our portfolio primarily consists of upper upscale hotels and, accordingly, its performance is best understood in comparison to the upper upscale segment rather than the entire industry. Following the market downturn in 2008 and 2009, new supply within this segment was limited and remained well below historic levels and, as a result, demand increased at a greater rate than supply, leading to RevPAR growth. However, as the market has strengthened, supply has increased, particularly in many of the major urban markets in which we compete. The supply growth rate is expected to continue to increase in 2017. The charts below detail the historical supply, demand and RevPAR growth for the U.S. lodging industry and for the U.S. upper upscale segment for 2012 to 2016 and forecast data for 2017:

U.S. Lodging Industry Supply, Demand and RevPAR Growth

U.S. Upper Upscale Supply, Demand and RevPAR Growth

Managers and Operational Agreements

All of our hotels are managed by third parties pursuant to management or operating agreements, with some of such hotels also subject to separate franchise or license agreements addressing matters pertaining to operation under the designated brand. Under these agreements, the managers generally have sole responsibility and exclusive authority for all activities necessary for the day-to-day operation of the hotels, including establishing room rates, securing and processing reservations, procuring inventories, supplies and services, providing periodic inspection and consultation visits to the hotels by the managers’ technical and operational experts and promoting and publicizing the hotels. The managers provide all managerial and other employees for the hotels, review the operation and maintenance of the hotels, prepare reports, budgets and projections, and provide other administrative and accounting support services to the hotels. These support services include planning and policy services, divisional financial services, product planning and development, employee staffing and training, corporate executive management and certain in-house legal services. We have certain approval rights over budgets, capital expenditures, significant leases and contractual commitments, and various other matters.

As of February 20, 2017, our hotels are managed by the following hotel management companies:

Manager		# of hotels				Brands
Marriott International, Inc.			68			Ritz-Carlton®, JW Marriott®, Marriott Marquis®, Marriott®, Courtyard by Marriott®, Residence Inn by Marriott®, W®, Westin®, Sheraton®, Luxury Collection®, St. Regis®
Hyatt Hotels Corporation			8			Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®
AccorHotels			4			ibis®, Novotel®, Fairmont®, Swissôtel®
HEI Hotels & Resorts			3			Westin®, Sheraton®
Hilton Hotels & Resorts			2			Hilton®, Embassy Suites®
Crestline Hotels & Resorts			2			Marriott®, Hilton®
Sage Hospitality			2			Marriott®, Curio - A Collection by Hilton®
Kokua Hospitality			2			Axiom Hotel®, Hyatt Place®
Destination Hotels			2			Autograph Collection by Marriott®, YVE Hotel Miami®
Davidson Hotels & Resorts			3			Marriott®, Sheraton®, The Don CeSar®
		96

These management agreements can affect the value of the property associated with it based on the pricing and flexibility of the agreement. We often will seek to negotiate the terms of an agreement, including termination rights, in order to provide greater value to the associated asset. In certain instances, such termination rights may only be exercisable after the payment of a fee or upon sale of a property. In other instances, the exercise of such termination rights may be conditioned upon a requirement that the property remain subject to a franchise agreement, or may be limited as to the number of management agreements that can be terminated within a given year. Currently, 31 of our properties include termination rights that provide us with additional flexibility. We have an additional ten properties currently operating under agreements that will end within the next 20 years, with no further extension options exercisable by the manager. See “Performance Termination Rights” and “Special Termination Rights” described below.

General Terms and Provisions – Agreements governing our hotels managed by brand owners (Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and AccorHotels, above) typically include the terms described below:

	•	Term and fees for operational services. The initial term of our management and operating agreements generally is 10 to 25 years, with one or more renewal terms at the option of the manager. The majority of our management agreements condition the manager’s right to exercise options for specified renewal terms upon the satisfaction of specified economic performance criteria. The manager typically receives compensation in the form of a base management fee, which is calculated as a percentage (generally 2-3%) of annual gross revenues, and an incentive management fee, which typically is calculated as a percentage (generally 10-20%) of operating profit after the owner has received a priority return on its investment in the hotel. In the case of our hotels operating under the W®, Westin®, Sheraton®, Luxury Collection® and St. Regis® brands and managed by Marriott following its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. on September 23, 2016 (collectively, the “Starwood-Branded Hotels”), the base management fee is only 1% of annual gross revenues, but that amount is supplemented by license fees payable to Marriott under a separate license agreement (as described below).

	•	License services. In the case of the Starwood-Branded Hotels, operations are governed by separate license agreements addressing matters pertaining to the designated brand, including rights to use trademarks, service marks and logos, matters relating to compliance with certain brand standards and policies, and the provision of certain system programs and centralized services. Although the term of these license agreements with Marriott generally is coterminous with the corresponding operating agreements, the license agreements contemplate the potential for continued brand affiliation even in the event of a termination of the operating agreement. As noted above, the Marriott licensors receive compensation in the form of license fees (generally 5% of gross revenues attributable to room sales and 2% of gross revenues attributable to

		food and beverage sales), which amounts supplement the lower base management fee of 1% of gross revenues received by Marriott under the operating agreements.

	•	Chain or system programs and services. Managers are required to provide chain or system programs and services generally that are furnished on a centralized basis. Such services include the development and operation of certain computer systems and reservation services, regional or other centralized management and administrative services, marketing and sales programs and services, training and other personnel services, and other centralized or regional services as may be determined to be more efficiently performed on a centralized, regional or group basis rather than on an individual hotel basis. Costs and expenses incurred in providing these chain or system programs and services generally are allocated on a cost reimbursement basis among all hotels managed by the manager or its affiliates or that otherwise benefit from these services.

	•	Working capital and fixed asset supplies. We are required to maintain working capital for each hotel and to fund the cost of certain fixed asset supplies (for example, linen, china, glassware, silver and uniforms). We also are responsible for providing funds to meet the cash needs for hotel operations if at any time the funds available from working capital are insufficient to meet the financial requirements of the hotels. For certain hotels, the working capital accounts which would otherwise be maintained by the managers for each of such hotels are maintained on a pooled basis, with managers being authorized to make withdrawals from such pooled account as otherwise contemplated with respect to working capital in accordance with the provisions of the management or operating agreements.

	•	Furniture, fixtures and equipment replacements. We are required to provide the managers with all furniture, fixtures and equipment (“FF&E”) necessary for the operation of the hotels (including funding any required FF&E replacements). On an annual basis, the managers prepare budgets for FF&E to be acquired and certain routine repairs and maintenance to be performed in the next year and an estimate of the necessary funds, which budgets are subject to our review and approval. For purposes of funding such expenditures, a specified percentage (typically 5%) of the gross revenues of each hotel is deposited by the manager into an escrow or reserve account in our name, to which the manager has access. In the case of the Starwood-Branded Hotels, our operating agreements contemplate that this reserve account also may be used to fund the cost of certain major repairs and improvements affecting the hotel building (as described below). For certain of our Marriott-managed hotels (excluding the Starwood-Branded Hotels), we have entered into an agreement with Marriott to allow for such expenditures to be funded from one pooled reserve account, rather than funds being deposited into separate reserve accounts at each hotel, with the minimum required balance maintained on an ongoing basis in that pooled reserve account being significantly below the amount that would have been maintained otherwise in such separate hotel reserve accounts. For certain of the Starwood-Branded Hotels, the periodic reserve fund contributions, which otherwise would be deposited into reserve accounts maintained by managers for each hotel, are distributed to us and, as to this pool of hotels, we are responsible for providing funding of expenditures which otherwise would be funded from reserve accounts for each of the subject hotels.

	•	Building alterations, improvements and renewals. The managers are required to prepare an annual estimate of the expenditures necessary for major repairs, alterations, improvements, renewals and replacements to the structural, mechanical, electrical, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, plumbing and elevators of each hotel, along with alterations and improvements to the hotel as are required, in the manager’s reasonable judgment, to keep the hotel in a competitive, efficient and economical operating condition that is consistent with brand standards. We generally have approval rights as to such budgets and expenditures, which we review and approve based on our manager’s recommendations and on our judgment. Expenditures for these major repairs and improvements affecting the hotel building typically are funded directly by owners, although (as noted above) our agreements with Marriott in respect of the Starwood-Branded Hotels contemplate that certain such expenditures may be funded from the reserve account.

	•	Treatment of additional owner funding. As additional owner funding becomes necessary either for expenditures generally funded from the FF&E replacement funds, or for any major repairs or improvements to the hotel building which may be required to be funded directly by owners, most of our agreements provide for an economic benefit to us through an impact on the calculation of incentive management fees payable to our managers. One approach frequently utilized at our Marriott-managed hotels (excluding the Starwood-Branded Hotels) is to provide such owner funding through loans which are repaid, with interest, from operational revenues, with the repayment amounts reducing operating profit available for payment of incentive management fees. Another approach that is used at the Starwood-Branded Hotels, as well as with certain capital expenditures projects at some of our other Marriott-managed hotels, is to treat such owner funding as an increase to our investment in the hotel, resulting in an increase to owner’s priority return with a corresponding reduction to the amount of operating profit available for payment of incentive management fees. For the hotels that are subject to the pooled arrangement described above, the amount of any additional reserve account funding is allocated to each of such hotels on a pro rata basis, determined with reference to the net operating income of each hotel and the total net operating income of all such pooled hotels for the most recent operating year.

	•	Territorial protections. Certain management and operating agreements impose restrictions for a specified period which limit the manager and its affiliates from owning, operating or licensing a hotel of the same brand within a specified area.

		The area restrictions vary with each hotel, from city blocks in urban areas to up to a multi-mile radius from the hotel in other areas.

	•	Sale of the hotel. Subject to specific agreements as to certain hotels (see below under “Special Termination Rights”), we generally are limited in our ability to sell, lease or otherwise transfer the hotels by the requirement that the transferee assume the related management agreements and meet specified other conditions, including the condition that the transferee not be a competitor of the manager.

	•	Performance Termination Rights. In addition to any right to terminate that may arise as a result of a default by the manager, most of our management and operating agreements include reserved rights by us to terminate on the basis of the manager’s failure to meet certain performance-based metrics, typically including a specified threshold return on owner’s investment in the hotel, along with a failure of the hotel to achieve a specified RevPAR performance threshold established with reference to other competitive hotels in the market. Typically, such performance-based termination rights arise in the event the operator fails to achieve these specified performance thresholds over a consecutive two-year period, and are subject to the manager’s ability to “cure” and avoid termination by payment to us of specified deficiency amounts (or, in some instances, waiver of the right to receive specified future management fees). We have agreed in the past, and may agree in the future, to waive certain of these termination rights in exchange for consideration from a manager or its affiliates, which consideration may include cash compensation or amendments to management agreements.

	•	Special Termination Rights. In addition to any performance-based or other termination rights set forth in our management and operating agreements, we have specific negotiated termination rights as to certain management and operating agreements. While the brand affiliation of a property may increase the value of a hotel, the ability to dispose of a property unencumbered by a management agreement, or even brand affiliation, also can increase the value for prospective purchasers. These termination rights can take a number of different forms, including termination of agreements upon sale that leave the property unencumbered by any agreement; termination upon sale provided that the property continues to be operated under a license or franchise agreement with continued brand affiliation; as well as termination without sale or other condition, which may require the payment of a fee. These termination rights also may restrict the number of agreements that may be terminated over any annual or other period; impose limitations on the number of agreements terminated as measured by EBITDA; require that a certain number of properties continue to maintain the brand affiliation; or be restricted to a specific pool of assets.

In addition to hotels managed by brand owners, we have both branded hotels and non-branded hotels operated by independent managers. Our management agreements with independent managers, while similar in operational scope to agreements with our brand managers, typically have shorter initial terms, no renewal rights, more flexible termination rights, and more limited system-wide services. However, while we have additional flexibility with regard to these operators, certain of those hotels remain subject to underlying franchise or licensing agreements. These franchise or licensing agreements allow us to engage independent managers to operate our hotels under the applicable brand names and to participate in the brands’ reservation and loyalty-rewards systems. Under these agreements, we pay the brand owners a franchise or licensing fee equal to a specified percentage of gross rooms revenues, as well as other system fees and reimbursements. In addition, we are obligated to maintain applicable brand standards at our franchised hotels.

Operating Structure

Host Inc. operates through an umbrella partnership structure in which substantially all of its assets are held by Host L.P., of which Host Inc. is the sole general partner and holds approximately 99% of the OP units as of December 31, 2016. A REIT is a corporation that has elected to be treated as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and that meets certain ownership, organizational and operating requirements set forth under the Code. In general, through payments of dividends to stockholders, a REIT is permitted to reduce or eliminate federal income taxes at the corporate level. Each OP unit owned by holders other than Host Inc. is redeemable, at the option of the holder, for an amount of cash equal to the market value of one share of Host Inc. common stock multiplied by the current conversion factor of 1.021494. Host Inc. has the right to acquire any OP unit offered for redemption directly from the holder in exchange for 1.021494 shares of Host Inc. common stock instead of Host L.P. redeeming such OP unit for cash. Additionally, for every share of common stock issued by Host Inc., Host L.P. will issue .97895 OP units to Host Inc. in exchange for the consideration received from the issuance of the common stock. As of December 31, 2016, non-controlling limited partners held 8.6 million OP units, which were convertible into 8.7 million Host Inc. common shares. Assuming that all OP units held by non-controlling limited partners were converted into common shares, there would have been 746.5 million common shares of Host Inc. outstanding at December 31, 2016.

Our operating structure is as follows:

As a REIT, certain tax laws limit the amount of “non-qualifying” income that Host Inc. and Host L.P. can earn, including income derived directly from the operation of hotels. As a result, we lease substantially all of our consolidated properties to certain of our subsidiaries designated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) for federal income tax purposes or to third party lessees. Our TRS are subject to income tax and are not limited as to the amount of non-qualifying income they can generate, but they are limited in terms of their value as a percentage of the total value of our assets. Our TRS enter into agreements with third parties to manage the operations of the hotels. Our TRS also may own assets engaging in other activities that produce non-qualifying income, such as the development of timeshare or condominium units, subject to certain restrictions. The difference between the hotels’ net operating cash flow and the aggregate rents paid to Host L.P. is retained by our TRS as taxable income. Accordingly, the net effect of the TRS leases is that a portion of the net operating cash flow from our properties is subject to federal, state and, if applicable, foreign income tax.

Our Consolidated Hotel Portfolio

As of February 20, 2017, we owned a portfolio of 96 hotel properties, of which 89 are located in the United States and 7 are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. Our consolidated hotels located outside the United States collectively contain approximately 2,000 rooms. Approximately 3%, 4%, and 5% of our revenues were attributed to the operations of these foreign properties in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. See Note 15 Geographic and Business Segment Information in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on revenues in the geographic regions in which we operate.

The lodging industry is viewed as consisting of six different segments, each of which caters to a discrete set of customer tastes and needs: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale (with and without food and beverage service) and economy. Our portfolio primarily consists of luxury and upper upscale properties, which are operated under internationally recognized brand names such as Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, Hyatt and Hilton. There also has been a trend towards specialized, smaller boutique hotels that are customized towards a particular customer profile. Generally, these properties will be operated by an independent third party and either will have no brand affiliation, or will be associated with a major brand, while maintaining the majority of its independent identity (which we refer to as “soft-branded” properties). We have expanded our investments to include six independent and soft-branded properties where we believe it is the best fit for the hotel.

Revenues earned at our hotels consist of three broad categories: rooms, food and beverage, and other revenues. While approximately 64% of our revenue is generated from room sales, many of our properties feature a variety of amenities that help drive demand and profitability. Our hotels typically include meeting and banquet facilities, a variety of restaurants and lounges, swimming pools, exercise facilities and/or spas, gift shops and parking facilities, the combination of which enable them to serve business, leisure and group travelers.

Thirty nine of our consolidated hotels, representing approximately 64% of our revenues, have in excess of 500 rooms. The average age of our properties is 34 years, although substantially all of the properties have benefited from significant renovations or major additions, as well as regularly scheduled renewal and replacement expenditures and other capital improvements.

By Brand. The following table details our consolidated hotel portfolio by brand as of February 20, 2017:

		Number								Percentage of
Brand		of Hotels				Rooms				Revenues (1)
Marriott:
Marriott			38				22,974				38.9	%
Ritz-Carlton			6				2,403				7.5
Autograph Collection			1				277				0.3
JW Marriott			5				2,221				4.0
W			3				1,390				2.9
St. Regis			1				232				0.5
Luxury Collection			1				643				2.1
Westin			13				6,912				11.9
Sheraton			6				5,418				9.0
Residence Inn			1				299				0.3
Courtyard			1				337				0.3
Hyatt:
Grand Hyatt			3				2,964				5.9
Hyatt Place			1				426				0.6
Hyatt Regency			5				3,421				6.5
Hilton:
Curio			1				391				0.8
Hilton			2				607				0.9
Embassy Suites			1				455				0.7
AccorHotels:
Swissôtel			1				661				1.1
Fairmont			1				450				2.1
ibis			1				256				0.1
Novotel			1				150				0.1
Other/Independent			3				742				0.4
			96				53,629				97	%
___________

(1)	Based on our 2016 revenues; sold hotels accounted for the remaining 3% of our revenues. No individual property contributed more than 7% of total revenues in 2016.

By Location. The following table details the location and number of rooms at our consolidated hotels as of February 20, 2017:

Location		Rooms				Location		Rooms
Arizona						Illinois (continued)
Scottsdale Marriott Suites Old Town			243			Chicago Marriott Suites O’Hare			256
Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains			266			Courtyard Chicago Downtown/River North			337
The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort			643			Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown
The Camby Hotel			277			Magnificent Mile			455
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa			732			Swissôtel Chicago			661
California						The Westin Chicago River North			429
Axiom Hotel			152			Indiana
Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa (1)			300			Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel at Keystone Crossing			395
Costa Mesa Marriott			253			The Westin Indianapolis			575
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport			789			Louisiana
Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego (1)			1,628			New Orleans Marriott			1,333
Marina del Rey Marriott (1)			370			Maryland
Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina (1)			1,360			Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center			284
Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa			532			Massachusetts
Newport Beach Marriott Bayview			254			Boston Marriott Copley Place			1,144
San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf			285			Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Overlooking Boston			470
San Francisco Marriott Marquis (1)			1,500			Sheraton Boston Hotel			1,220
San Ramon Marriott (1)			368			The Westin Waltham Boston			351
Santa Clara Marriott (1)			759			Minnesota
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina (1)			1,053			Minneapolis Marriott City Center			583
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey (1)			304			New Jersey
The Westin Los Angeles Airport (1)			740			Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott (1)			591
The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa			512			Sheraton Parsippany Hotel			370
The Westin South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa (2)			390			New York
Colorado						New York Marriott Downtown			513
Denver Marriott Tech Center			605			New York Marriott Marquis			1,966
Denver Marriott West (1)			305			Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel			1,780
The Westin Denver Downtown			430			The Westin New York Grand Central			774
Florida						W New York			696
Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront/Palm Beaches						W New York – Union Square			270
Resort			223			Ohio
Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay (1)			600			The Westin Cincinnati (1)			456
Orlando World Center Marriott			2,004			Pennsylvania
Tampa Airport Marriott (1)			298			Philadelphia Airport Marriott (1)			419
The Don CeSar			347			The Logan			391
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island			446			Tennessee
The Ritz-Carlton, Naples			450			Sheraton Memphis Downtown			600
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples			295			Texas
YVE Hotel Miami			243			Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush
Georgia						Intercontinental (1) (3)			573
Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown (1)			254			Houston Marriott Medical Center (1)			395
Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead			439			JW Marriott Houston			516
JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead			371			San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter (1)			1,001
The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead			510			San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk (1)			512
The Westin Buckhead Atlanta			365			The St. Regis Houston			232
Hawaii						Virginia
Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui			450			Hyatt Regency Reston			518
Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach			426			Key Bridge Marriott			582
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa			806			Residence Inn Arlington Pentagon City			299
Illinois						The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner (1)			398
Chicago Marriott Suites Downers Grove			254			Washington Dulles Airport Marriott (1)			368

Virginia (continued)						Australia
Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles			336			Hilton Melbourne South Wharf (1) (3)			384
Washington						Brazil
The Westin Seattle			891			ibis Rio de Janeiro Parque Olimpico			256
W Seattle			424			JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro			245
Washington, D.C.						Novotel Rio de Janeiro Parque Olimpico			150
Grand Hyatt Washington			897			Canada
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill			838			Calgary Marriott Downtown			388
JW Marriott Washington DC			777			Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel (1)			461
The Westin Georgetown, Washington, D.C.			267			Mexico
Washington Marriott at Metro Center			459			JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City (3)			312
						Total			53,629
___________

(1)	The land on which this hotel is built is leased from a third party under one or more lease agreements.

(2)	The land, building and improvements are leased from a third party under a long-term lease agreement.

(3)	This property is not wholly owned.

By Market: The following table summarizes the composition of our consolidated hotels as of February 20, 2017 by market based on percentage of 2016 revenues:

		Number				Percentage of
		of Hotels				Revenues (1)
Northeast
Boston			4				6	%
New York			8				16	%
			12				22	%
Mid-Atlantic/Southeast
Washington, D.C.			12				10	%
Atlanta			5				3	%
Florida			9				11	%
			26				24	%
Central
Chicago			6				3	%
Denver			3				1	%
Houston			4				2	%
			13				6	%
West
Seattle			2				2	%
San Francisco			6				7	%
Phoenix			5				5	%
Los Angeles			7				5	%
San Diego			4				9	%
Hawaii			3				5	%
			27				33	%
Other Domestic			11				9	%
International
Asia-Pacific			1				1	%
Canada			2				1	%
Latin America			4				1	%
			7				3	%
___________			96				97	%

	(1)	Our disposed hotels accounted for the remaining 3% of our 2016 revenues.

By Class: We have focused on investing in the upper-upscale and luxury asset classes, as we believe they have broad appeal for both the leisure and business customer. We also may invest in other property types which we believe have the potential for strong demand growth, including urban select service. The following graph summarizes the composition of the 96 hotels in our consolidated portfolio based on the percentage of 2016 revenues represented by our luxury, upper upscale and other categories:

By Type: Our focus has been on major markets in urban and resort/conference destinations. The following graph summarizes the composition of the 96 hotels in our consolidated portfolio based on the percentage of 2016 revenues represented by our property type categories:

Other Real Estate Interests

We own non-controlling interests in several entities that, as of February 20, 2017, owned, or owned an interest in, 18 hotel properties, as detailed below. The operations of the properties owned by these entities are not consolidated and are included in equity in earnings in our consolidated results of operations. See Part II Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 3. Investments in Affiliates.”

European Joint Venture. We own a general and limited partnership interest in a joint venture in Europe (“Euro JV”) with APG Strategic Real Estate Pool NV, an affiliate of a Dutch Pension Fund (“APG”), and Jasmine Hotels Pte Ltd, an affiliate of the real estate investment company of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd (“GIC RE”). The Euro JV consists of two funds, which we refer to as Euro JV Fund I and Euro JV Fund II, in which we hold an approximate one-third interest through both general and limited partner interests. A subsidiary of Host L.P. acts as the asset manager for the hotels owned by the Euro JV in exchange for a fee. As of February 20, 2017, the Euro JV owns the following hotels:

Hotel		City		Country		Rooms/Units
Fund I:
Hotel Arts Barcelona		Barcelona		Spain			483
The Westin Palace, Madrid		Madrid		Spain			467
Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place		Brussels		Belgium			221
Fund I total rooms							1,171
Fund II:
Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center		Paris		France			757
Renaissance Paris La Defense Hotel		Paris		France			327
Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel		Paris		France			97
Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel		Amsterdam		The Netherlands			402
Le Méridien Piccadilly		London		United Kingdom			283
Sheraton Stockholm Hotel		Stockholm		Sweden			465
Sheraton Berlin Grand Hotel Esplanade		Berlin		Germany			394
Fund II total rooms							2,725
Total European joint venture rooms							3,896

Asia/Pacific Joint Venture. We own a 9% indirect interest through joint ventures (the “Asia/Pacific JV”), which own five operating hotels and two hotels in the final stages of completion in India, totaling 1,750 rooms. The seven hotels in India are or will be operated under the Pullman, Novotel and ibis brands.

Other U.S. Real Estate Investments. Our other domestic real estate investments include the following:

	•	We have a non-controlling 50% interest in a joint venture with White Lodging Services that owns the 255-room Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown in Tennessee.

	•	We have a non-controlling 67% interest in a joint venture with HV Global Group, a subsidiary of Interval Leisure Group, to operate the Hyatt Ka’anapali Beach, A Hyatt Residence Club, a 131-unit vacation ownership development in Maui, Hawaii adjacent to our Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa.

	•	We have a non-controlling 11% interest in a joint venture that owns the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown following our January 10, 2014 sale of an 89% interest in the property.

	•	We have a non-controlling 49.9% interest in a joint venture with R/V-C Association that owns the 650-room Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa in Florida.

Competition

The lodging industry is highly competitive. Competition often is specific to individual markets and is based on a number of factors, including location, brand, guest facilities and amenities, level of service, room rates and the quality of accommodations. The lodging industry is viewed as consisting of six different segments, each of which caters to a discrete set of customer tastes and needs: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale (with and without food and beverage service) and economy. The classification of a property is based on lodging industry standards, which take into consideration many factors such as guest facilities and amenities, level of service and quality of accommodations. Most of our hotels operate in urban and resort markets either as luxury properties under such brand names as Fairmont®, Grand Hyatt®, JW Marriott®, Ritz-Carlton®, St. Regis®, Autograph Collection®, Curio – A Collection by Hilton®, The Luxury Collection® and W®, or as upper upscale properties under such brand names as Embassy Suites®, Hilton®, Hyatt®, Le Méridien®, Marriott®, Marriott Marquis®, Marriott Suites®, Pullman®, Renaissance®, Sheraton®, Swissôtel® and Westin®. We also may selectively invest in upscale and midscale properties such as Courtyard by Marriott®, Hyatt Place®, ibis®, Novotel® or Residence Inn by Marriott®, particularly in international markets. (1) While our hotels primarily compete with other hotels in the luxury and upper upscale segments, they also may compete with hotels in other lower-tier segments. In addition, many management contracts for our hotels do not prohibit our managers from converting, franchising or developing other hotel properties in our markets. As a result, our hotels compete with other hotels that our managers may own, invest in, manage or franchise.

We believe our properties enjoy competitive advantages associated with the hotel brands under which they operate. The international marketing programs and reservation systems of these brands, combined with the strong management systems and expertise they provide, should enable our properties to perform favorably in terms of both occupancy and room rates. In addition, repeat guest business is enhanced by guest reward or guest recognition programs offered by most of these brands.

We also compete with other REITs and other public and private investors for the acquisition of new properties and investment opportunities, both in domestic and international markets, as we attempt to position our portfolio to best take advantage of changes in markets and travel patterns of our customers.

Seasonality

Our hotel sales traditionally have experienced moderate seasonality, which varies based on the individual property and the region. Hotel sales for our consolidated portfolio averaged approximately 25%, 27%, 24% and 24% for the first, second, third and fourth calendar quarters, respectively, in 2016.

Environmental and Regulatory Matters

Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances. These laws may impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. In addition, certain environmental laws and common law principles could be used to impose liability for release of hazardous or toxic materials, and third parties may seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury associated with exposure to released hazardous or toxic materials. Environmental laws also may impose restrictions on the manner in which property may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require corrective or other expenditures. In connection with our current or prior ownership or operation of hotels, we potentially may be liable for various environmental costs or liabilities. Although currently we are not aware of any material environmental claims pending or threatened against us, we can offer no assurance that a material environmental claim will not be asserted against us in the future.

Employees

As of February 20, 2017 we had 220 employees, of which 211 work in the United States, including our regional offices in Miami and San Diego. We had 9 employees located in our offices in London and Amsterdam. None of Host’s employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. The number of employees referenced above does not include the hotel employees of our 4 hotels in Brazil and Australia, which, while technically Host employees, are under the direct supervision and control of our third-party hotel managers. Our third-party managers are responsible for hiring and maintaining the labor force at each of our hotels. Although we do not manage employees at our consolidated hotels, we still are subject to many of the costs and risks generally associated with the hotel labor force, particularly those hotels with unionized labor. For a discussion of these relationships, see Part I Item 1A. “Risk Factors—We are subject to risks associated with the employment of hotel personnel, particularly with hotels that employ unionized labor.”

(1) This annual report contains registered trademarks that are the exclusive property of their respective owners, which are companies other than us. None of the owners of these trademarks, their affiliates or any of their respective officers, directors, agents or employees, has or will have any responsibility or liability for any information contained in this annual report.

Employees at certain of our third-party managed hotels are covered by collective bargaining agreements that are subject to review and renewal on a regular basis. For a discussion of these relationships, see Part I Item 1A. “Risk Factors—We are subject to risks associated with the employment of hotel personnel, particularly with hotels that employ unionized labor.”

Where to Find Additional Information

The address of our principal executive office is 6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 1500, Bethesda, Maryland, 20817. Our phone number is 240-744-1000. We maintain an internet website at: www.hosthotels.com. Through our website, we make available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed electronically with, or furnished to, the SEC, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The public also may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Our website also is a key source of important information about us. We routinely post to the Investor Relations section of our website important information about our business, our operating results and our financial condition and prospects, including, for example, information about material acquisitions and dispositions, our earnings releases and certain supplemental financial information to our earnings releases. We also post to our website copies of investor presentations and we update those presentations periodically, which also contain important information about us. The website has a Governance page in the Our Company section that includes, among other things, copies of our Bylaws, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters for each standing committee of Host Inc.’s Board of Directors, which currently include the Audit Committee, the Compensation Policy Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Copies of these charters and policies, Host Inc.’s Bylaws and Host L.P.’s partnership agreement also are available in print to stockholders and unitholders upon request to Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., 6903 Rockledge Drive, Suite 1500, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, Attn: Secretary. Please note that the information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document, unless expressly incorporated by reference therein.