1、JONATHAN HALKYARDPresident&Chief Executive OfficerTo Our Shareholders2018 was a transformational year for Extended Stay America(“ESA”)as we made significant progress on our growth strategy,supported by solid core operational performance.ESA increased comparable system-wide hotel RevPAR by 2.0%in 201
2、8 and achieved Adjusted EBITDA of$600 million despite selling 72 hotels at very attractive free cash flow multiples during the year.In turn,Adjusted FFO per diluted Paired Share,EPS,and Adjusted Paired Share Income per diluted Paired Share increased 9%,44%and 14%respectively in 20181.Along the way,w
3、e returned approximately$250 million to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases,invested over$200 million in capital expenditures,doubled the cash on our balance sheet and retired approximately$150 million in debt.In 2018,we welcomed franchisees to the ESA family for the first time
4、in our history.We sold 71 hotels to four franchise partners with long term franchise or management agreements and collectively agreed to open an additional 32 ESA franchise hotels in the future.We also signed franchise agreements with other partners for new development,bringing our franchise pipelin
5、e up to 42 hotels at the end of 2018.We also sold a single hotel for$45 million for a re-development opportunity,showcasing the quality of many of our real estate locations around the USA.We acquired 11 sites for development and were excited to break ground on four new hotels during the year our fir
6、st groundbreakings in more than a decade.We also purchased and converted two new extended stay hotels during the year.We believe these new hotels represent very attractive return for our company and for our franchise partners.Our pipeline at the end of 2018 was 57 hotels and 7,000 rooms,or approxima