Company: DRH-PA
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001298946-25-000015
Chunk: 23

Company: DiamondRock Hospitality Co
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 23
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 and we could incur significant costs to obtain new franchise licenses, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and profitability as well as limit or slow our future growth. 

The terms of our franchise and brand management agreements generally require us to meet specified operating standards and other terms and conditions, and compliance with such standards may be costly. Failure by us, or any hotel management company that we engage, to maintain these standards or other terms and conditions could result in a franchise license being canceled or the franchisor requiring us to undertake a costly property improvement program. If a franchise license is terminated due to our failure to make required improvements or to otherwise comply with its terms, we also may be liable to the franchisor for a termination payment, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and profitability.

If we were to lose a brand license, the underlying value of a particular hotel could decline significantly from the loss of associated name recognition, marketing support, participation in guest loyalty programs and the centralized reservation system provided by the franchisor or brand manager, which could require us to recognize an impairment on the hotel. Furthermore, the loss of a franchise license at a particular hotel could harm our relationship with the franchisor or brand manager, which could impede our ability to operate other hotels under the same brand, limit our ability to obtain new franchise licenses or brand management agreements from the franchisor or brand in the future on favorable terms, or at all, and cause us to incur significant costs to obtain a new franchise license or brand management agreement for the particular hotel. Accordingly, if we lose one or more franchise licenses or brand management agreements, it could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and profitability as well as limit or slow our future growth.

Our business may be adversely affected by consolidation in the lodging industry.

Consolidation among companies in the lodging industry may reduce our bargaining power in negotiating management agreements and franchise agreements due to decreased competition among major brand companies. We believe this could provide the major brand companies with leverage when negotiating for property improvement plans where the franchisor or hotel brand requires renovations to bring the physical condition of a hotel into compliance with the specifications and standards each franchisor or hotel brand has developed. 

Industry consolidation could also result in the lack of differentiation among the brands, which could impact the ability to drive higher rates in those brands.  In addition, to the extent that consolidation among hotel brand companies adversely affects the loyalty reward program offered by one or more of our hotels, customer loyalty to those hotels may suffer and demand for guestrooms may decrease.