Item 1. Business

We are the largest publicly traded lodging REIT, with a geographically diverse portfolio of luxury and upper upscale hotels. As of February 23, 2024, our consolidated lodging portfolio consists of 77 primarily luxury and upper-upscale hotels containing approximately 42,000 rooms, with substantially all located in the United States (five of the hotels are located outside of the U.S. in Brazil and Canada). In addition, we own non-controlling interests in seven domestic and one international joint ventures that focus on the lodging industry, see " - Other Real Estate Interests" for a further description.

Host Inc. was incorporated as a Maryland corporation in 1998 and operates as a self-managed and self-administered REIT. Host Inc. owns hotels 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, 2023. 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.

Business Strategy

Our goal is to be the preeminent owner of high-quality lodging real estate in growing markets in the U.S. and to generate superior long-term risk adjusted returns for our stockholders throughout all phases of the lodging cycle through a combination of appreciation in asset values, growth in earnings and the payment of dividends. The pillars of our strategy to achieve this objective and elevate our growth profile include:

• Geographically diverse portfolio of hotels in the U.S. - Own a diversified portfolio of hotels in the U.S. in major urban and resort destinations. Target markets with diverse demand generators, high barriers to entry, favorable supply and demand dynamics and attractive long-term projected RevPAR growth;

• Strong scale and integrated platform - Utilize our scale to create value through enterprise analytics, asset management and capital investment initiatives, while aiding external growth by leveraging scale as a competitive advantage to acquire assets befitting our strategy. Allocate and recycle capital to seek returns that exceed our cost of capital and actively return capital to stockholders;

• Investment grade balance sheet - Maintain a strong and flexible capital structure that allows us to execute our strategy throughout all phases of the lodging cycle; 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.

Geographically Diverse Portfolio

We seek to have a geographically diversified portfolio in major markets and premier resort destinations in the U.S. We primarily focus on acquisitions and, occasionally, new development opportunities to enhance our portfolio. While we have historically targeted acquisitions in the top 25 U.S. markets, we also consider hotels in other markets, which we believe have high growth potential and diverse demand generators. We focus generally on the following types of assets:

• Resorts in destination locations with limited supply growth. These assets feature superior amenities and unique experiential offerings;

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

• High-end urban hotels that are positioned in prime locations and possess multiple demand drivers for both business and leisure travelers.

As one of the largest owners of Marriott and Hyatt hotels, 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 predominantly on the upper-upscale and luxury chain scales, as we believe these have a broad appeal for both individual and group leisure and business customers. In addition, we own several unbranded or soft-branded hotels that appeal to distinctive customer profiles in certain submarkets.

Strong Scale and Integrated Platform

Enterprise Analytics Platform. Due to the scale of our asset management and business intelligence platform, we believe we are in a unique position to implement value-added real estate decisions and to assist our managers in improving operating performance and profitability. The size and composition of our portfolio and our affiliation with most of the leading brands and operators in the industry allow our enterprise analytics team to benchmark similar hotels and identify revenue-enhancement opportunities and cost efficiencies that can maximize the operating performance, long-term profitability and value of our real estate. We perform independent underwriting of return on investment (“ROI”) projects and potential acquisitions, as well as revenue management analysis of ancillary revenue opportunities. Our goal is to continue to differentiate our hotels within their competitive markets, drive operating performance and enhance the overall value of our real estate through the following:

• Enhance operating performance and profitability by using our business intelligence system to benchmark and monitor hotel performance and cost controls.

• Drive revenue growth by conducting detailed strategic reviews with our managers on markets and business mix to assist them in developing the appropriate group/transient mix, online presence to address a broad customer base, and market share targets for each hotel.

• Work with leading brands, such as Marriott and Hyatt, to take advantage of their worldwide presence and lodging infrastructure. We also have a selection of hotels managed by independent operators where we believe these operators have more flexibility to drive revenues and control costs to maximize profits.

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

Disciplined Capital Allocation. Guided by a disciplined approach to capital allocation, we are equipped to make investment decisions that seek to deliver the greatest value and returns to stockholders. Our goal is to allocate capital to enhance and improve our portfolio, while balancing the importance of prudently returning capital to stockholders.

For 2024, we will continue our disciplined approach to capital allocation and intend to take advantage of our strong balance sheet and overall scale. We are constantly evaluating potential acquisitions of iconic upper-upscale and luxury properties that we believe have sustainable competitive advantages. Similarly, we intend to continue our capital recycling program with strategic and opportunistic dispositions. This may include the sale of assets where we believe the potential for growth is constrained or hotels with significant capital expenditure requirements that we do not believe would generate an adequate return.

We may acquire additional properties or dispose of properties through various structures, including transactions involving single assets, portfolios, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions of the securities or assets of other REITs or distributions of hotels to our stockholders. We anticipate that any acquisitions may be funded by, or through a combination of, proceeds from the sales of hotels, equity offerings of Host Inc., issuances of OP units by Host L.P., incurrence of debt, available cash or advances under our credit facility. We note, however, that the nature and supply of these assets make acquisitions inherently difficult to predict. For these reasons, we can make no assurances that we will be successful in purchasing any one or more hotels that we are reviewing currently, or may in the future review, bid on or negotiate to buy.

We also seek to createand mine value from our existing portfolio through value enhancement initiatives and ROI projects. We believe these investments provide a significant opportunity to achieve returns well in excess of our cost of capital. We work closely with our managers to attempt to schedule these projects to minimize operational disruption and environmental impact. Value enhancement initiatives seek to maximize the value of real estate within our existing portfolio through its highest and best use. These projects may include hotel expansion, timeshare, office space or condominium units on excess land, redevelopment or expansion of existing retail space, and the acquisition of development entitlements. ROI projects are designed to improve the positioning of our hotels within their markets and competitive set. These projects include extensive renovations, including guest rooms, lobbies, food and beverage outlets; expansions and/or extensive renovation of ballroom and meeting rooms; major mechanical system upgrades; and green building initiatives and certifications. Also included are projects focused on increasing space profitability or lowering net operating costs, such as converting unprofitable or underutilized space into meeting space, adding guestrooms, and implementing energy and water conservation measures such as LED lighting, high-efficiency mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment and fixtures, 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 hotels. Typically, renovations occur at intervals of approximately seven to ten years, but the timing may vary based on the type of property, function of area being renovated, hotel occupancy and other factors. These renovations generally are divided into the following types: soft goods, case goods, bathroom and architectural and engineering systems. Soft goods include items such as carpeting, textiles and wall finishes, which may require more frequent updates to maintain brand quality standards. Case goods include dressers, desks, couches, restaurant and meeting room tables and chairs, which generally are not replaced as frequently. Bathroom renovations include the refurbishment or replacement of tile, vanity, lighting and plumbing fixtures. Architectural and engineering systems include the physical plant of the hotel, including the roof, elevators/escalators, façade, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and fire systems.

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 our 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.

Investment Grade Balance Sheet

Our goal is to maintain a flexible capital structure that allows us to execute our strategy throughout the lodging cycle. To maintain its qualification as a REIT, Host Inc. is required to distribute 90% of its taxable income (other than net capital gain) to its stockholders each year and, as a result, generally relies on external sources of capital, as well as cash from operations, to finance growth.

Management believes that astrong balance sheetis a key competitive advantage that affords us a lower cost of debt 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 give us the most consistent access to capital throughout the business cycle.

We seek to structure our debt profile tomaintain financial flexibility and a staggered maturity schedulewith access to different forms of financing, consisting primarily of 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 staggered maturity schedule. Depending on market conditions, we also may utilize variable rate debt which can provide greater protection during a decline in the lodging industry.

Corporate Responsibility

We are committed to creating long-term value through investing responsibly in our business, environment, people and community. Our Corporate Responsibility ("CR") program is centered around the concept of responsible investment—an overarching strategy that guides our focus and actions across our three main themes of Environmental Stewardship, Social Responsibility and Governance.

We believe that a disciplined and proactive approach to addressing critical environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics enables us to create long-term value for our stockholders and helps us to optimize our portfolio and human capital investments, while maintaining our position as a sustainability leader in the lodging REIT sector. Our management approach is driven by people, culture, policies, targets and performance monitoring to improve the value from our investments of time, talent and financial resources. This approach directly supports Host’s business strategy and goals.

• Environmental Stewardship: We are investing in solutions that conserve and restore natural capital to assist us in mitigating climate change and biodiversity impacts with the goal of achieving best-in-class returns.

• Social Responsibility: We are committed to advancing health, well-being and opportunity for all of our stakeholders, including investors, employees, partners and communities.

• Governance: Our responsible investment strategies are guided by executive and board-level oversight, our EPIC values of Excellence, Partnership, Integrity and Community, our ethical standards, and a disciplined approach to risk management and sustainable value creation.

The Real Estate Sustainability Accounting Standard issued by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) (now maintained by the International Sustainability Standards Board under the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation) outlines the disclosure topics and accounting metrics for the real estate industry. The energy and water management metrics that best correlate with our industry include total energy consumed (“Total Energy Consumption”) and total water withdrawn (“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.

The charts below detail our third-party verified Total Energy Consumption and Total Water Consumption for 2020 through 2022, the last three fiscal years for which data is available(1). The increases in Total Energy Consumption and Total Water Consumption for 2021 and 2022 reflect the return of business at our hotels as compared to the loss of occupancy from the COVID-19 pandemic in prior years:

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(1)Energy and water metrics relate to our consolidated hotels owned for the entire year presented.

Our latest Corporate Responsibility Report, which was issued in September 2023, details our CR program and responsible investment strategy; along with our environmental, social and governance performance and our new 2030 environmental and social targets that will serve as the initial roadmap for achieving our aspirational vision of becoming net positive by 2050. The Corporate Responsibility Report also includes Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and full SASB disclosures, as well as an EEO-1 report. The contents of our Corporate Responsibility Report are not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K and do not form a part of this Form 10-K.

The Lodging Industry

The lodging industry in the United States consists of private and public entities that operate in a 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 hotels 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 hotels 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 hotels 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 by 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 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 operations 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. 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. Trends in economic indicators such as gross domestic product

(“GDP”) growth, business investment, corporate profits and employment growth are key indicators of the relative strength of lodging demand. Lodging demand also will be affected by changes to international travel patterns.

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 several 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, as new supply may be planned during an upcycle but such supply may open for business in a weaker economy. Therefore, as illustrated in the charts below for the U.S. lodging industry, at different points in the cycle, demand growth may accelerate when supply growth is very low, or supply may accelerate while demand growth is slowing. Online short-term rentals are a source of non-traditional supply for the industry, in both urban and resort destinations, including as a flexible option for apartment buildings and vacation homes. Though not reported through official industry statistics, 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. Local legislation has the potential to limit supply growth for these online short-term rentals in many top markets, though the growth of professional management for legal rentals remains a key trend.

Our portfolio primarily consists of upper upscale and luxury hotels and, accordingly, its performance is best understood in comparison to the luxury and upper upscale categories rather than the entire industry. The charts below detail the historical supply, demand and revenue per available room (“RevPAR”) growth for the U.S. lodging industry and for the U.S. luxury and upper upscale categories for 2018 to 2023.

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

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

Our Customers.Our customers fall into three broad groups: transient business, group business and contract business. Similar to the majority of the lodging industry, we further categorize business within these broad groups based on characteristics they have in common as follows:

Transient business broadly represents individual business and/or leisure travelers. Historically, business travelers have made up the majority of transient demand at our hotels; however, leisure drove the majority of our demand during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 through 2022, with business transient seeing a recovery in the second half of 2022 and through 2023. The four key subcategories of rates offered to the transient business group are:

• Retail: This is the benchmark rate that a hotel publishes and offers to the public. It typically is the rate charged to travelers that do not have access to negotiated or discounted rates. It includes the “rack rate,” which typically is applied to rooms during high demand periods and is the highest rate category available. Retail room rates will fluctuate more freely depending on anticipated demand levels (e.g., seasonality and weekday vs. weekend stays).

• Non-Qualified Discount: This category includes special rates offered by the hotels, including packages, advance-purchase discounts and promotional offers. It also includes rooms booked through online travel agencies (OTAs).

• Special Corporate: This is a negotiated rate offered to companies and organizations that provide significant levels of room night demand to the hotel or to hotel brands generally. These rates typically are negotiated annually at a discount to the anticipated retail rate. In addition, this category includes rates offered at the prevailing per diem for approved government travel.

• Qualified Discount: This category encompasses all discount programs, such as AAA and AARP discounts, rooms booked through wholesale channels, frequent guest program redemptions, and promotional rates and packages offered by a hotel.

Group business represents clusters of guestrooms booked together, usually with a minimum of 10 rooms. The three key sub-categories of the group business category are:

• Association: group business related to national and regional association meetings and conventions.

• Corporate: group business related to corporate meetings (e.g., product launches, training programs, contract negotiations, and presentations).

• Other: group business predominately related to social, military, education, religious, fraternal and youth and amateur sports teams, otherwise known as SMERF business.

Contract business refers to blocks of rooms sold to a specific company for an extended period at significantly discounted rates. Airline crews are typical generators of contract demand for our airport hotels. Contract rates may be utilized by hotels that are in markets that are experiencing consistently lower levels of demand.

Managers and Operational Agreements

All 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 operations under the designated brand. Under these agreements, the managers 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 employ all managerial and other employees for the hotels, review hotel operations with a focus on improving revenues and managing expenses, review the 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.

General Terms and Provisions – Agreements governing our hotels that are managed by brand owners (Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Four Seasons and AccorHotels) 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 Hotels”), the base management fee is only 1% of annual gross revenues, but that amount is supplemented by license fees payable under a separate license agreement (as described below).

• License services. In the case of the Starwood 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 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 (for instance, in the event the hotel is operated by an independent operator). 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, as noted above.

• 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 4-5%) 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. For certain hotels, we have negotiated flexibility with the manager that reduces the funding commitment required as follows:

◦For certain of our Marriott-managed hotels, we have entered into an agreement with Marriott to allow for such expenditures to be funded from one pooled reserve account, rather than periodic reserve fund contributions being deposited into separate reserve accounts at each of the subject hotels, with the minimum required balance maintained on an ongoing basis in that pooled reserve account being significantly less than the amount that would have been maintained otherwise in such separate hotel reserve accounts. Upon sale, a hotel-level reserve account would be funded (either by the purchaser or by us, as the seller) in the full amount of the reserve balance associated with the subject hotel.

◦For certain of the Starwood Hotels, periodic reserve fund contributions, which otherwise would be deposited into reserve accounts maintained by managers at each hotel, are distributed to us and we are responsible for providing funding of expenditures which otherwise would be funded from reserve accounts for each of the subject hotels. Upon sale, a hotel-level reserve account would be funded in the amount of the subject hotel’s pro rata share, if any, of the consolidated pooled reserve balance.

• 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 over 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 our agreements with Marriott in respect of the Starwood Hotels contemplate that certain such expenditures also may be funded from the FF&E 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 some of our Marriott-managed hotels (excluding the Starwood 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 Hotels, as well as with certain capital expenditures projects at some of our other hotels, is to treat such owner funding as an increase to our investment in the hotel, resulting in an increase to the 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 FF&E 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 such hotels by the requirement that the transferee assumes the related management agreements and meets 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 for us to terminate on the basis of the manager’s failure to meet certain performance-based metrics, typically including a specified threshold return on the 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 manager 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 hotel may increase its value, 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 several 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; or termination without sale or other conditions, which may require the payment of a fee.

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 respect 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 room 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 its assets are owned 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, 2023. 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, by 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 unaffiliated limited partners other than Host Inc. is redeemable, at the option of the limited partner, 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 limited partner 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, 2023, unaffiliated limited partners owned 9.5 million OP units, which were convertible into 9.7 million Host Inc. common shares.

Assuming that all OP units held by unaffiliated limited partners were converted into common shares, there would have been 713.3 million common shares of Host Inc. outstanding at December 31, 2023.

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 our consolidated hotels to certain of our subsidiaries designated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) for federal income tax purposes. Our TRS are subject to federal and state corporate 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 activities that produce non-qualifying income, such as the development of timeshare or condominium units and the generation of asset management fees, subject to certain restrictions. The difference between the hotels’ net operating cash flow and the aggregate rents paid to Host L.P. is retained or incurred by our TRS as taxable income or loss. Accordingly, the net effect of the TRS leases is that a portion of the net operating cash flow from our hotels is subject to federal, state and, if applicable, foreign corporate income tax.

Our Consolidated Hotel Portfolio

As of February 23, 2024, we owned a portfolio of 77 hotels, of which 72 are in the United States and five are located in Brazil and Canada. Our consolidated hotels located outside the United States collectively have approximately 1,500 rooms. Approximately 2% of our revenues in 2023, and approximately 1% of our revenues in both 2022 and 2021 were attributed to the operations of these five foreign hotels.

The lodging industry is viewed as consisting of six different categories, each of which caters to a discrete set of customer tastes and needs: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and economy. Our portfolio primarily consists of luxury and upper upscale properties, which are operated under internationally recognized brand names such as Marriott, Westin, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Four Seasons and Hilton. There are also specialized, smaller boutique hotels that are customized towards a particular customer profile. Generally, these hotels 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 most of its independent identity (which we refer to as “soft-branded” hotels).

Revenues earned at our hotels consist of three broad categories: rooms, food and beverage, and other revenues. While approximately 61% of our revenues in 2023 were generated from rooms sales, the majority 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.

Our consolidated portfolio includes 28 hotels that have more than 500 rooms. The average age of our properties is 36 years, although substantially all of them have benefited from significant renovations or major additions, as well as regularly scheduled renewal and replacement expenditures and other capital improvements. In our consolidated portfolio, approximately 88% of our hotels, by room count, are managed by their own brand managers, and 12% are managed by independent managers as a franchise or as an independent brand.

By Brand. The following table details our consolidated hotel portfolio by brand as of February 23, 2024:

Brand	Numberof Hotels	Rooms	Percentage of Revenues ⁽¹⁾
Marriott:
Marriott	26	19,033	37.6	%
Ritz-Carlton	5	1,917	7.6	%
Autograph Collection	1	223	0.4	%
Tribute Portfolio	1	173	0.4	%
JW Marriott	4	1,909	3.5	%
AC Hotels	1	165	0.2	%
W	1	424	0.6	%
St. Regis	1	232	0.4	%
Luxury Collection	1	645	3.7	%
Westin	8	3,970	7.6	%
Sheraton	1	370	0.4	%
Total Marriott	50	29,061	62.4	%
Hyatt:
Alila	1	59	0.9	%
Andaz	1	320	1.9	%
Grand Hyatt	4	3,633	8.0	%
Hyatt Place	1	426	0.6	%
Hyatt Regency	6	3,866	8.7	%
Total Hyatt	13	8,304	20.1	%
Hilton:
Curio	2	591	1.7	%
Hilton	1	223	0.3	%
Embassy Suites	1	455	0.6	%
Total Hilton	4	1,269	2.6	%
AccorHotels:
Swissôtel	1	662	1.1	%
Fairmont	1	450	2.3	%
ibis	1	256	0.1	%
Novotel	1	149	0.1	%
Total AccorHotels	4	1,517	3.6	%
Four Seasons	2	569	5.2	%
Other/Independent	4	1,252	6.1	%
	77	41,972	100.0	%

___________

(1)Based on our 2023 revenues; no individual hotel contributed more than 6% of total revenues in 2023. Hotels that are not considered upper upscale or luxury constitute approximately 1% of our revenues.

By Location. The following table details the locations and numbers of rooms at our consolidated hotels as of February 23, 2024:

Location	Rooms	Location	Rooms
Arizona		Hawaii
AC Hotel Scottsdale North	165	Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort	320
The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort, Scottsdale	645	Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui	450
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa	735	Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach	426
California		Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa	810
Alila Ventana Big Sur	59	Illinois
Axiom Hotel	152	Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile	455
Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa ⁽¹⁾	300	Swissôtel Chicago	662
Grand Hyatt San Francisco	669	The Westin Chicago River North	445
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport	790	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⁾	1,366	Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center	284
San Francisco Marriott Fisherman's Wharf	285	Massachusetts
San Francisco Marriott Marquis ⁽¹⁾	1,500	Boston Marriott Copley Place ⁽¹⁾	1,145
Santa Clara Marriott ⁽¹⁾	766	The Westin Waltham Boston	351
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey ⁽¹⁾	304	Minnesota
The Westin South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa ⁽²⁾	393	Minneapolis Marriott City Center	585
Colorado		New Jersey
Denver Marriott Tech Center	605	Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott ⁽¹⁾	591
Denver Marriott West ⁽¹⁾	305	Sheraton Parsippany Hotel	370
The Westin Denver Downtown	430	New York
Florida		New York Marriott Downtown	515
1 Hotel South Beach	433	New York Marriott Marquis	1,971
Baker's Cay Resort Key Largo, Curio Collection by Hilton	200	Ohio
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort	444	The Westin Cincinnati ⁽¹⁾	456
Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront/Palm Beaches Resort	223	Pennsylvania
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa	462	Philadelphia Airport Marriott ⁽¹⁾	419
Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay	600	The Logan Philadelphia, Curio Collection by Hilton	391
Orlando World Center Marriott	2,004	Texas
Tampa Airport Marriott ⁽¹⁾	298	Hotel Van Zandt	319
The Don CeSar	348	Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush Intercontinental ⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾	573
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island	446	Houston Marriott Medical Center/Museum District ⁽¹⁾	398
The Ritz-Carlton, Naples	474	Hyatt Regency Austin	448
The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón	295	JW Marriott Houston by The Galleria	516
Georgia		Marriott San Antonio Riverwalk	512
The Alida, Savannah, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel	173	San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter ⁽¹⁾	1,000
Grand Hyatt Atlanta In Buckhead	439	The Laura Hotel, Houston Downtown, Autograph Collection	223
JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead	371	The St. Regis Houston	232

Virginia		Wyoming
Hyatt Regency Reston	518	Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole	125
The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner ⁽¹⁾	398	Brazil
Washington		ibis Rio de Janeiro Parque Olimpico	256
The Westin Seattle	891	JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro	245
W Seattle	424	Novotel Rio de Janeiro Parque Olimpico	149
Washington, D.C.		Canada
Grand Hyatt Washington	897	Calgary Marriott Downtown Hotel	388
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill	838	Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre ⁽¹⁾	461
JW Marriott Washington, D.C.	777	Total	41,972
The Westin Georgetown, Washington D.C.	269
Washington Marriott at Metro Center	459

___________

(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 Location: With our geographically diverse portfolio, no individual market represents more than 9% of total revenues. The following chart summarizes the composition of our consolidated hotels as of February 23, 2024 by each market location based on its percentage of 2023 revenues:

Other Real Estate Interests

We own non-controlling interests in several entities that, as of February 23, 2024, owned, or owned an interest in, 35 properties and a vacation ownership development. Due to the ownership structure and economic or participating rights

of our partners, we do not consolidate the operations of the properties owned by these entities and they are included in equity in earnings in our consolidated results of operations. Our investments in these entities include the following:

Noble Joint Venture. While our primary focus is the upper-upscale and luxury chain scales, we also seek opportunities to elevate our growth profile through investment in select service hotels, extended stay hotels and new development deals. Accordingly, in 2022, we entered into definitive agreements with Noble Investment Group, LLC, a leading private hospitality asset manager in the upscale, select service and extended stay chain scales, and certain other entities and persons related to Noble Investment Group, LLC, to acquire a minority equity interest in Noble Management Holdings, LLC and Noble Investment Holdings, LLC representing 49% of (a) the net fee income of the Noble Investment Group business in respect of existing and future Noble Investment Group funds and other revenue-based activities, (b) 40% of the gross carried interest earned on the funds formed after closing, and (c) proceeds earned by the general partner on commitments to future funds. As part of our investment, we have made a $211.5 million capital commitment to Noble Hospitality Fund V, L.P. ("Noble Fund V"), which represents a 21.15% ownership interest in the fund. As of December 31, 2023, we have funded $33 million to Noble Fund V, which currently owns 25 select service and extended stay hotels and two land sites to be developed.

Upon certain triggers being met, we have the ability to acquire up to 100% of Noble Management Holdings, LLC and Noble Investment Holdings, LLC. To the extent certain triggers are met and we have not exercised our call right, Noble Investment Group, LLC has a one-time ability, but not the obligation, to exercise its put right to cause us to purchase up to an additional 26% of Noble Management Holdings, LLC and Noble Investment Holdings, LLC.

Maui Joint Venture. We own a 67% interest in a joint venture with an affiliate of HV Global Group, a subsidiary of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, that owns a 131-unit vacation ownership development in Maui, Hawaii adjacent to our Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa.

Hyatt Place Joint Venture. We own a 50% interest in a joint venture with White Lodging Services that owns the 255-room Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown in Tennessee. The joint venture has a $60 million mortgage loan that is non-recourse to us.

Harbor Beach Joint Venture. We own a 49.9% interest in a joint venture with R/V-C Association that owns the 650-room Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Florida. In December 2023, the joint venture completed the refinancing of the mortgage loan on the hotel with an initial draw of $152.5 million, the proceeds of which were used to repay the outstanding balance of $150 million. Additional advances of $32.5 million are available until December 31, 2025 to fund capital expenditures. The mortgage debt is non-recourse to us.

Asia/Pacific Joint Venture. We have a 25% interest in a joint venture with RECO Hotels JV Private Limited, an affiliate of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd. The agreement may be terminated by either partner at any time, which would trigger the liquidation of the joint venture. The commitment period for equity contributions to the joint venture has expired. Certain funding commitments remain, however, related to its existing investments in India.

As of December 31, 2023, this joint venture has invested approximately $109 million (of which our share is $27 million) in a separate joint venture in India with Accor S.A. and InterGlobe Enterprises Limited, in which it holds a 36% interest. This joint venture owns seven hotels and an office building in Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, India, totaling approximately 1,718 rooms. The hotels are managed by AccorHotels under the Pullman, ibis and Novotel brands.

For additional information see Part II Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 4. Investments in Affiliates.”

Competition

The lodging industry is highly competitive. Competition often is specific to individual markets and is based on several 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 categories, each of which caters to a discrete set of customer tastes and needs: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and economy. The classification of a hotel 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 1 Hotels®, Alila®,Andaz®, Fairmont®, Four Seasons®,Grand Hyatt®, JW

Marriott®, Ritz-Carlton®, St. Regis®, The Don Cesar®, The Luxury Collection® and W®, or as upper upscale properties under such brand names as Autograph Collection®, Curio – A Collection by Hilton®, Embassy Suites by Hilton ®, Hilton®, Hyatt Regency®, Marriott®, Marriott Marquis®, Sheraton®, Swissôtel®,Tribute Portfolio® and Westin®. While our hotels compete primarily with other hotels in the luxury and upper upscale category, they also may compete with hotels in other lower-tier categories. A recent source of supply for the lodging industry has been the rapid growth of online short-term rentals, including as a flexible option for apartment buildings. Our hotels also may compete with these short-term rentals in certain markets. In addition, many management contracts for our hotels do not prohibit our managers from converting, franchising or developing other hotels in our markets. As a result, our hotels compete with other hotels that our managers may own, invest in, manage or franchise.

We also compete with other REITs and other public and private investors for the acquisition of new properties and investment opportunities 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 hotel and the region. Hotel sales for our consolidated portfolio were approximately 26%, 26%, 23% and 25% for the first, second, third and fourth calendar quarters, respectively, in 2023.

Environmental, Governmental 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 the 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 way 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.

Our hotels also are subject to various other forms of regulation, including Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), building codes and regulations pertaining to fire and life safety. Under the ADA, all public accommodations are required to meet certain federal rules related to access and use by disabled persons and we have in the past and may in the future incur capital expenditures to make our hotels accessible. These and other building laws and regulations may be changed from time to time, or new regulations adopted, resulting in additional costs of compliance, including potential litigation. A determination that we are not in compliance with these laws and regulations could result in a court order to bring the hotel into compliance, the imposition of civil penalties in cases brought by the Justice Department or an award of attorneys’ fees to private litigants. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require substantial capital expenditures.

Human Capital Resources

As of February 23, 2024, we had 163 employees, all of whom work in the United States, including our regional office in Miami. The current average tenure of our employees is more than 13 years, and the voluntary and total turnover rates in 2023 were 5% and 7%, respectively. Our human capital objectives include encouraging individual contributions, reinforcing Host’s EPIC values and culture, maximizing employee engagement and retention and minimizing organizational disruption through succession action plans. Our employees are given the opportunity to participate in training and education programs such as external training, professional certifications, executive and leadership coaching, continuing education and professional memberships. Additionally, all employees receive annual performance reviews that incorporate our EPIC values and our competencies, which include adaptability, communication, teamwork and complete thinking. We encourage regular and ongoing feedback tied to performance and career development. In order to ensure that

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.

we are meeting our human capital objectives, we conduct employee surveys to obtain feedback on various topics, informing how we execute on specific programs.

Our CEO is a part of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative to continue to advance diversity and inclusion within our workplace, along with our formal diversity and inclusion initiative. We also provide unconscious bias training to our employees. As of December 31, 2023, our total workforce consists of 42% men and 58% women, with 46% of management positions held by women. Our workforce also consists of 39% minorities, with 23% of management positions held by minorities.

The number of employees referenced above does not include the hotel employees of our three hotels in Brazil, which, while technically Host employees, are under the direct supervision and control of our third-party hotel manager in Brazil. The employees at all of our U.S. and Canadian hotels are employees of our third-party hotel managers, who are responsible for hiring and maintaining employees.

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. Employees of our third-party hotel managers at 17 of our hotels, representing approximately 26% of our total room count, 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.” None of Host’s employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Where to Find Additional Information

The address of our principal executive office is 4747 Bethesda Ave, Suite 1300, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814. 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 SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers 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, which contain important information about us, and we update those presentations periodically. The website has a Corporate 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 Culture and Compensation Committee and the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility 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., 4747 Bethesda Ave, Suite 1300, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814, 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.

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