Item 8.01 - Other Events.
On
Due to the circumstances related to COVID-19,
The following risk factors explain how the Company's business could be impacted by COVID-19:
The Current COVID-19 Pandemic
The full extent of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business for the foreseeable future cannot be predicted with certainty. As of the date of this Form 8-K, we have suspended some operations at our hotel and significantly reduced staffing levels. The Company will likely also see a significant decrease in revenue from its hotel operations.
The Company's operations for the foreseeable future will continue to be significantly impacted by the pandemic. We expect demand for our hotel to recover slowly and over time until the spread of the virus, the fear of its spread and government-imposed quarantines and restrictions on travel and large gatherings subside. In addition, the Company expects to add cleaning services and systems and take other steps to address customer concerns and to meet any new brand standards in the future, which will require the Company to incur expenditures which may be material.
These and other effects of COVID-19 are materially and adversely affecting our current business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, ability to meet certain financial covenants under financing arrangements, and asset valuations, and they are expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The severity of the impact will depend on the duration of these conditions. We will continue to assess the financial impacts of COVID-19 to our business, which currently is highly uncertain. The disruption to the global economy and to our business caused by COVID-19 may lead to triggering events that may reduce the carrying value of our assets. It may also affect the upcoming assessment under Accounting Standards Codification 205-40 as to whether there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date on which the Company's financial statements are issued. These conditions could also magnify the adverse effects of the other risks.
The financial condition and results of operations of the Company will depend on access to cash flow from operations, sales of assets and additional debt capital, all of which are subject to the performance of our hotel as well as general market and economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control.
The ability of the Company to execute its near and longer-term business strategy depends on access to an appropriate blend of cash flow from our hotel operations, marketable securities, and financing, the availability of which will be affected by the performance of our hotel as well as general market and economic conditions and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in severe volatility and disruption in the financial markets. There can be no guarantee that financing will be available in sufficient amounts, on favorable terms or at all, and any reduction in available financing may materially adversely affect the Company's financial condition and results of operation.
Except as set forth below, during the period ended
The responses by federal, state, and local civil authority to the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material detrimental impact on our business, financial results and liquidity, and such impact could worsen and last for an unknown period of time.
The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is complex and rapidly-evolving, with governments, public institutions and other organizations imposing or recommending, and businesses and individuals implementing, restrictions on various activities or other actions to combat its spread, such as restrictions and bans on travel or transportation, limitations on the size of gatherings, closures of work facilities, schools, public buildings and businesses, cancellation of events, including sporting events, conferences and meetings, and quarantines and lock-downs. The shelter-in-place, physical distancing, city closures and their consequences have dramatically reduced travel, conventions and demand for hotel rooms, which has and will continue to impact our business, operations, and financial results. The extent to which the closures impacts our business, operations, and financial results, including the duration and magnitude of such effects, will depend on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict or assess, including the duration and scope of the closures; the negative impact it has on global and regional economies and economic activity, including the duration and magnitude of its impact on unemployment rates and consumer discretionary spending; its short and longer-term impact on the demand for travel, transient and group business, and levels of consumer confidence; our ability to successfully navigate the impacts of the closures; governments actions, businesses and individuals take in response to the closures, including limiting or banning travel; and how quickly economies, travel activity, and demand for lodging recovers after the closures subsides.
The COVID-19 closures have subjected our business, operations and financial condition to a number of risks, including, but not limited to, those discussed below:
? Risks Related to Revenue: The COVID-19 closures and other imposed restrictions
have negatively impacted and will in the future negatively impact to an extent
we are unable to predict, our revenue from the Hotel. Currently, the Hotel is
not generating revenue sufficient to meet its operating expenses, which is
adversely affecting our net income.
? Risks Related to Operations: Because of the significant decline in the demand
for hotel rooms, Interstate have taken steps to reduce operating costs and
improve efficiency, including furloughing a substantial number of its personnel
and implementing reduced work weeks for other personnel. Such steps, and
further changes we may make in the future to reduce costs, may negatively
impact guest loyalty, or our ability to attract and retain associates, and our
reputation and market share may suffer as a result. For example, if our
furloughed personnel do not return to work with us when the COVID-19 closures
and imposed restrictions are lifted, including because they find new jobs
during the furlough, we may experience operational challenges that impact guest
loyalty and our market share, which could limit our ability to grow revenue and
could reduce our profits. Further, reputational damage from, and the financial
impact of, reduced work weeks could lead associates to depart the company and
could make it harder for us to recruit new associates in the future. We may
also face demands or requests from labor unions that represent our associates,
whether in the course of our periodic renegotiation of our collective
bargaining agreements or otherwise, for additional compensation, healthcare
benefits or other terms as a result of COVID-19 that could increase costs, and
we could experience labor disputes or disruptions as we continue to implement
our COVID-19 mitigation plans.
COVID-19, and the volatile regional and global economic conditions stemming from the pandemic, as well as reactions to future pandemics or resurgences of COVID-19, could also precipitate or aggravate the other risk factors that we identify in our 2019 Form 10-K, which in turn could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations (including revenues and profitability). Further, COVID-19 may also affect our operating and financial results in a manner that is not presently known to us or that we currently do not consider presenting significant risks to our operations.
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