Innsuites Hospitality Trust: Form 10-K for the period ended Jan 31, 2023

INTRODUCTION TO OUR BUSINESS

InnSuites Hospitality Trust (the “Trust”) is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and is an unincorporated Ohio real estate investment trust formed on June 21, 1971. The Trust is not taxed as a real estate investment trust for federal taxation purposes but is taxed as a C-corporation. The Trust, with its affiliate RRF Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), owns interests in two hotels, operates and provides management services, and provides trademark license services, for two hotels. At January 31, 2023, and currently, the Trust owns a 75.98% sole general partner interest in the Partnership, which controls a 51.01% interest in the InnSuites hotel located in Tucson, Arizona, and a direct 21.50% interest in the InnSuites hotel located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Tucson and Albuquerque hotels are sometimes referred to as the “Hotels”. We anticipate selling one or both Hotels in the next twelve to thirty-six (12-36) months.

RRF Limited Partnership, a 75.98% majority-owned subsidiary of the Trust, provides management services for the two Trust Hotels. The Trust has approximately 52 full-time employees and approximately 27 part-time employees.

The two Hotels have an aggregate of 270 hotel suites and operate as moderate-service hotels that apply a value studio and two-room suite operating philosophy formulated in 1980 by Mr. James Wirth, President, the Trust’s Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. The Trust hotels offer services such as free hot breakfast plus amenities, such as microwave ovens, refrigerators, coffee makers, and free high-speed Internet access.

For the Fiscal Year 2024 ahead, February 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024, the Trust’s operations are focused on the Trust’s primary business objective which is to maximize returns to its shareholders through increases in asset value and long-term total returns to shareholders, including profitable hotel operations and sale of assets, along with growth of investments. The Trust seeks to achieve this objective through intensive management and marketing of the InnSuites© hotels, by selling hotel real estate at market prices well above book values and benefitting from diversified investments, including UniGen Power, Inc. (UniGen). See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Future Positioning” for a more detailed discussion of the Trust’s strategic objectives.

The Trust has a single class of Shares of Beneficial Interest, without par value, that are traded on the NYSE AMERICAN under the symbol “IHT.” The Partnership has two outstanding classes of limited partnership interests, Class A and Class B, which are identical in all respects. Both Class A and Class B Partnership Units are convertible, at the option of the holder, into one newly issued Share of Beneficial Interest of the Trust.

MANAGEMENT AND LICENSING CONTRACTS

The Trust directly manages the Hotels through the Trust’s majority-owned subsidiary, RRF Limited Partnership. Under the management agreements, RRF manages the daily operations of both Trust Hotels. All Trust managed Hotel expenses, revenues and reimbursements among the Trust, and the Partnership have been eliminated in consolidation. The management fees for the Hotels are 5% of room revenue and a monthly accounting fee of $2,000 per hotel. These agreements have no expiration dates but may be cancelled by either party with 30-days written notice, or potentially sooner in the event the property changes ownership.

The Trust also provides the use of the “InnSuites” trademark to the Hotels and stands ready to offer trademark services through the Trust’s majority-owned subsidiary, RRF Limited Partnership, which is included in the management fee. The InnSuites trademark expires in January 2027.

MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENTS

Each InnSuites Hotel has entered into membership agreements with Best Western International, Inc. (“Best Western”) with respect to each of the two Hotels. In exchange for use of the Best Western name, trademark and reservation system, each Hotel pays marketing and reservation fees to Best Western based on reservations received through the use of the Best Western reservation system, a marketing fee based upon the monthly room revenues, and the number of available suites at the Hotels. The agreements with Best Western are year-to-year. Best Western requires that the Hotels meet certain requirements for room quality, and the two Hotels are subject to removal from the Best Western reservation system if these requirements are not met. During the past year, the two Hotels received significant reservations through the Best Western reservation system. Under these arrangements, fees paid for membership fees and reservations were approximately $173,000 and $160,000, recorded in on the Consolidated Statement of Operations, for Fiscal Years ended January 31, 2023, and 2022, respectively.

COMPETITION IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

The hotel industry is highly competitive. Both the Tucson and Albuquerque hotels experienced record high GOP Profits in the most recent 12 months, substantially higher than both Covid and Pre-Covid GOP Profits. This gross operating profit is growing even more due to stringent cost control measures. The drastic impact of COVID-19 to the world economy and hospitality industry resulted in severely reduced occupancy and significant reduction in room rates, both of which have now fully recovered. Continued competition in corporate, leisure, group, and government business in the markets in which we operate, may affect our ability to maintain room rates and maintain market share. Each of the Hotels faces competition primarily from other mid-market hotels located in its immediate vicinity, but also competes with hotel properties located in other geographic markets, and increasingly from alternative lodging facilities, such as Airbnb. While none of the Hotels’ competitors dominate any of their geographic markets, some of those competitors may have greater marketing and financial resources than the Trust.

Certain additional hotel property refurbishments have been completed by competitors in both Hotels’ markets, and additional hotel property developments may be built in the future. Such hotel developments could have an adverse effect on the revenue of our Hotels in their respective markets.

The Trust’s hotel investments are located in Arizona and New Mexico. With the completed renovations meeting Best Western standards at our Tucson, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico hotel properties, those hotels are expected to see incremental demand during the next 24 months, as supply had been steady in those respective markets, and demand is expected to increase as the economy and travel industry grow. Either an increase in supply, or a decline in demand could result in increased competition, which could have an adverse effect on occupancy, room rates and revenues of our Hotels in their respective markets. The hotels experienced a decrease in demand due to impact of the COVID-19 virus and the related restrictions and reduction of travel after February 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, with increased demand thereafter.

The Trust may not invest further in hotels, but rather diversify into investments such as the investment made by the Trust in December 2019 in the innovative UniGen Power, Inc. (UniGen), efficient clean energy power generation company. This investment is expected to expand over the next 36 months, as the Trust exercises warrants and convertible bonds into UniGen equity. The Trust may continue to seek further diversification through a reverse merger with a larger non-public entity.

REGULATION

The Trust is subject to numerous federal, state, and local government laws and regulations affecting the hospitality industry, including usage, building and zoning requirements and the laws and regulations related to the preparation and sale of food and beverage such as health and liquor license laws. A violation of any of those laws and regulations or increased government regulation could require the Trust to make unplanned expenditures which may result in higher operating costs. Compliance with these laws is time intensive and costly and may reduce the Trust’s revenues and operating income.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), all public accommodations are required to meet certain readily achievable federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. In addition to ADA work completed to date, the Trust may be required to remove additional access barriers or make unplanned, substantial modifications to its Hotels to further comply with the ADA or to comply with other changes in governmental rules and regulations, or become subject to claims, fines, and damage awards, any of which could reduce the number of total available rooms, increase operating costs, and/or have a negative impact on the Trust’s results of operations.

Our hotel properties are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental laws that impose liability for contamination. Under these laws, governmental entities have the authority to require us, as the current or former owner of the property, to perform or pay for the clean-up of contamination (including swimming pool chemicals or hazardous substances or biological waste) at or arising from the property and to pay for natural resource damage arising from contamination. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of or caused the contamination. Such liability can be joint and several, so that each covered person can be responsible for all the costs involved, even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination. We can also be liable to private parties for costs of remediation, personal injury, death and/or property damage resulting from contamination at or originating from our hotel properties. Moreover, environmental contamination can affect the value of a property and, therefore, an owner’s ability to borrow funds using the property as collateral or to sell the property on favorable terms or at all. Furthermore, persons who sent waste to a waste disposal facility, such as a landfill or an incinerator, may be liable for costs associated with cleanup of that facility.

The Trust is also subject to laws governing our relationship with employees, including minimum wage requirements, overtime, working conditions and work permit requirements. There are frequent proposals under consideration, at the federal and state levels, to increase the minimum wage. The current labor market is tight, with employees increasingly difficult to recruit and retain. Additional increases to the state or federal minimum wage rate, and employee benefit costs including health care or other costs associated with employees could increase expenses and result in lower operating margins. This has been experienced somewhat due to the fact that industry labor is currently limited and increasingly expensive.

The Trust collects and maintains information relating to its guests for various business purposes, including maintaining guest preferences to enhance the Trust’s customer service and for marketing and promotional purposes. The collection and use of personal data are governed by privacy laws and regulations. Compliance with applicable privacy regulations may further increase the Trust’s operating costs and/or adversely impact its ability to service its guests and market its products, properties, and services to its guests. In addition, non-compliance with applicable privacy regulations by the Trust (or in some circumstances non-compliance by third parties engaged by the Trust) could result in fines or restrictions on its use or transfer of data.

SEASONALITY OF THE HOTEL BUSINESS

The Hotels’ operations historically have been somewhat seasonal. The Tucson, Arizona Hotel typically experiences its highest occupancy in the first Fiscal quarter and, to a lesser extent, the fourth Fiscal quarter (the winter high season). The second Fiscal quarter (summer), tends to be the lowest occupancy period at the Tucson Hotel. The hotel located in Albuquerque, New Mexico historically experiences their most profitable periods during the second and third Fiscal quarters (the summer high season), providing balance to the general seasonality of the Trust’s hotel business.

The seasonal nature of the Trust’s business increases its vulnerability to risks such as labor force shortages and cash flow issues. Further, if an adverse event such as an actual or threatened terrorist attack, viral outbreak or pandemic, international conflict, data breach, regional economic downturn or poor weather conditions should occur during the high season, the adverse impact to the Trust’s revenues could likely be greater as a result of its seasonal business.

OTHER AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We also make available, free of charge, on our Internet website at www.innsuitestrust.com (http://www.innsuitestrust.com), our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Information on our Internet website shall not be deemed incorporated into, or be part of, this report.

The Trust maintains its administrative offices at the InnSuites Hotels Centre, at 1730 E. Northern Avenue, Suite 122, Phoenix, Arizona 85020 in a space leased by the Trust from a third party. The two Hotels are operated as InnSuites Hotels and Suites, and both Hotels are in addition also marketed as Best Western® Hotels. The Hotels operate in the following locations:

• Best Western InnSuites Tucson Foothills Hotel & Suites. 6201 N Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ 85704
• Best Western InnSuites Albuquerque Airport Hotel & Suites. 2400 Yale Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106

In the Fiscal Years ended January 31, 2019, and January 31, 2020, we remodeled 100% of each property’s available suites and public areas. The Trust owns a direct 21.05% interest in the InnSuites Hotel and Suites Albuquerque Airport Best Western Hotel. The Partnership owns a 51.01% interest in the InnSuites Hotel and Suites Tucson Oracle Best Western Hotel. The Trust owns a 75.98% general partner interest in the Partnership.

See “Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – General” below for a discussion of occupancy rates at the Hotels.

See Note 11 to the Trust’s Consolidated Financial Statements – “Mortgage Notes Payable” below for a discussion of mortgages encumbering the Hotels.

See Note 16 to the Trust’s Consolidated Financial Statements – “Leases” for a discussion of the lease for our corporate headquarters and the non-cancellable ground lease to which our Albuquerque Hotel is subject.

The Trust is not a party to, nor are any of its properties subject to, any material litigation or environmental regulatory proceedings. See Note 20 to Trust’s Consolidated Financial Statements – “Commitments and Contingencies”.

GENERAL

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

We are engaged in the ownership and operation of hotel properties. At January 31, 2023, the Trust had two moderate-service hotels, one in Tucson, Arizona and one in Albuquerque, New Mexico with 270 hotel suites. Both of our Trust Hotels are branded through membership agreements with Best Western, and both are also trademarked as InnSuites Hotels and Suites. We are also involved in various operations incidental to the operation of hotels, such as the operation of a limited service restaurant, and bar, as well as meeting/banquet room rentals.

At January 31, 2023, and currently, the Trust owns a 75.98% sole general partner interest in the Partnership, which controls a 51.01% interest in the InnSuites hotel located in Tucson, Arizona, and a direct 21.50% interest in the InnSuites hotel located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Our operations consist of one reportable segment – Hotel Operations & Hotel Management Services. Hotel Operations derives its revenue from the operation of the Trust’s two hotel properties with an aggregate of 270 suites in Arizona and New Mexico. Hotel management services, provides management services for the Trust’s two Hotels. As part of our management services, we also provide trademark and licensing services.

The Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”), Mr. Wirth, CEO of the Trust, has determined that the Trust operations are comprised of one reportable segment, Hotel Ownership Operations & Management Services (continuing operations) segment that has ownership interest in two hotel properties with an aggregate of 270 suites in Arizona and New Mexico.

The Trust has its hotel investments in the southwest region of the United States. The CODM does not review assets by geographical region; therefore, no income statement or balance sheet information by geographical region is provided.

Our results are significantly affected by the overall economy and travel, occupancy and room rates at the Hotels, our ability to manage costs, changes in room rates, and changes in the number of available suites caused by the Trust’s disposition activities. Results are also significantly impacted by overall economic conditions and conditions in the travel industry. Unfavorable changes in these factors, such as the virus-related travel slowdown in the Fiscal Year starting February 1, 2020, can and have negatively impacted hotel room demand and pricing, which reduces our profit margins. Additionally, our ability to manage costs could be adversely impacted by significant increases in operating expenses, resulting in lower operating margins, and higher hourly labor costs. Either a further increase in area hotel supply, hourly labor cost, or a decline in demand could result in increased competition, which could have an adverse effect on the rates, revenue, costs, and profits of the Hotels in their respective markets.

Over time, we expect our UniGen diversification efficient clean energy generation investment to grow and provide a substantial source of income in the foreseeable future.

We expect the current Fiscal Year 2024 to be continued recovery of the travel industry, continued recovery of our Hotel’s occupancy levels, continued recovery of room rates, as well as continuation of current cost control all leading to improved profitability of our hotels. We believe that we have positioned the Hotels to remain competitive through our now fully completed Tucson and Albuquerque hotel refurbishments, by offering fully refurbished studios and two-room suites at each location, and by maintaining complementary guest items, including complimentary breakfast and free Internet access.

Our strategic plan is to continue to obtain the full benefit of our real estate equity, by ultimately obtaining full market value for our two Hotels at market value which is believed by management to be substantially higher than lower book values, over the next 24-36 months. In addition, the Trust is seeking a larger private reverse merger partner that may benefit from a merger that would afford that partner access to our listing on the NYSE AMERICAN.

In the process of reviewing merger opportunities, the Trust identified in December 2019, and invested $1 million in UniGen Power, Inc. (“UniGen”), an innovative efficient clean energy power generation company. The Trust has invested $1 million in debentures convertible into 1 million shares of UniGen Power Inc., and in addition has acquired warrants to purchase approximately an additional 2 million UniGen shares over the next approximately three years, which could result up to 25% ownership in UniGen. For more information on our strategic plan, including information on our progress in disposing of our hotel properties and expanding energy diversification, see “Future Positioning” in this Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

We experienced weak economic conditions during Fiscal Year 2022, ended January 31, 2022, primarily a result of the Covid-19 virus pandemic. We experienced recovery from weak travel and hospitality industry for much of the current Fiscal Year 2023, ending January 31, 2023 due to the recovery of domestic travel. We expect the major challenge for Fiscal Year 2024 to be the economy, continued recovery of the travel industry, rebound of occupancy levels, continued increases in room rates, and cost control. We believe that we have positioned the Hotels to remain competitive through our now completed refurbishment(s), by offering a relatively large number of fully refurbished two-room suites at each location, and by maintaining robust complementary guest items, including complimentary breakfast and free Internet access.

Our strategic plan is to continue to obtain the full benefit from hotel operations, and from our real estate equity, by marketing the remaining two Hotels over the next 12-36 months. In addition, the Trust is seeking a larger private reverse merger partner that may benefit from a merger that would afford that partner access to our listing on the NYSE AMERICAN. In the process of reviewing merger opportunities, the Trust identified and invested $1 million in UniGen Power, Inc. (“UniGen”), an innovative efficient clean energy power generation company. The Trust has invested $1 million debentures convertible into 1 million shares of UniGen Power Inc., has purchased approximately 495,000 UniGen shares, and in addition has acquired warrants to purchase approximately an additional 2 million UniGen shares over the next three years, which could result up to 25% ownership in UniGen. For more information on our strategic plan, including information on our progress in disposing of our hotel properties and expanding energy diversification, see “Future Positioning” in this Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Our expenses consist primarily of property taxes, insurance, corporate overhead, interest on mortgage debt, professional fees, non-cash depreciation of the Hotels and hotel operating expenses. Hotel operating expenses consist primarily of payroll, guest and maintenance supplies, marketing, and utilities expenses. Management believes that a review of the historical performance of the operations of the Hotels, particularly with respect to occupancy, which is calculated as rooms sold divided by total rooms available, average daily rate (“ADR”), calculated as total room revenue divided by number of rooms sold, and revenue per available room (“REVPAR”), calculated as total room revenue divided by number of rooms available, is appropriate for understanding revenue from the Hotels. In Fiscal Year 2023, as compared with Fiscal 2022, occupancy decreased approximately 2.17% to 73.96% from 75.60% in the prior Fiscal Year. ADR increased by $12.32, or 14.78%, to $95.66 in Fiscal Year 2023 from $83.34 in Fiscal Year 2022. The increased ADR resulted in an increase in REVPAR of $7.75, or 12.30%, to $70.75 in Fiscal Year 2023 from $63.00 in Fiscal Year 2022. The increase in ADR and REVPAR reflect the Covid-19 travel lockdown easing and resulting improved economy.

For the Fiscal Year 2023, ending January 31, 2023, we experienced a substantial recovery. For Fiscal 2024, (February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024), we expect continued modest increase in occupancy, substantial further increases in rates, and continued increased record profits and revenues compared to both prior levels.

For the 2022 Fiscal Year (February 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022), which was adversely affected by the Covid pandemic, InnSuites and the entire hotel industry in general experienced strong declines and reduced travel, resulting in much lower revenues and profits. For the 2023 Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2023, InnSuites experienced substantial recovery of post Covid revenues and profits. Fiscal Year 2023, ended January 31, 2023 continued this upward trend achieving record profits.

The following table shows certain historical financial and other information for the periods indicated:

8

No assurance can be given that occupancy, ADR and/or REVPAR will or will not increase or decrease as a result of changes in national or local economic or hospitality industry conditions.

We enter into transactions with certain related parties from time to time. For information relating to such related party transactions see the following:

• For a discussion of management and licensing agreements with certain related parties, see “Item 1 – Business – Management and Licensing Contracts.”
• For a discussion of guarantees of our mortgage notes payable by certain related parties, see Note 11 to our Consolidated Financial Statements – “Mortgage Notes Payable.”
• For a discussion of our equity sales and restructuring agreements involving certain related parties, see Notes 3, and 4 to our Consolidated Financial Statements – “Sale of Ownership Interests in Albuquerque Subsidiary,” and “Sale of Ownership Interests in Tucson Hospitality Properties Subsidiary,” respectively.
• For a discussion of other related party transactions, see Note 19 to our Consolidated Financial Statements – “Other Related Party Transactions.”

Results of operations of the Trust for the Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2023 compared to the Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2022.

Overview

A summary of total Trust operating results for the Fiscal Years ended January 31, 2023 and 2022 is as follows:

REVENUE

For the twelve months ended January 31, 2023, we had total revenue of approximately $7,146,000 compared to approximately $6,410,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022, an increase of approximately $736,000, or 53%.

We realized a 12% increase in room revenues during Fiscal Year 2023 as room revenues were approximately $6,974,000 for the Fiscal Year ending January 31, 2023 as compared to approximately $6,208,000 for the Fiscal Year ending January 31, 2022. While room revenue increased, our food and beverage revenue remained flat for Fiscal Year 2023 at approximately $53,000 during Fiscal Years 2023 and 2022. We also realized an approximate 82% decrease in management and trademark fee revenues during Fiscal Year 2022 to approximately $21,000 as compared to approximately $115,000 during Fiscal Year 2021. Management and trademark fee revenues decreased during Fiscal Year 2021 as a result of the loss of management fees due to the sale of the Tempe hotel in December, 2020. The Tempe hotel was owned outside of the Trust, and only an affiliate. It was not part of the Trust consolidation. Management fees associated with the management of the Tempe Hotel were revenues received by the Trust, prior to its sale. Management fees remained unchanged year on year at 5%.

EXPENSES

Total expenses before interest expense, employee retention credit, sales and occupancy taxes and income tax provision were approximately $7,443,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 reflecting an increase of approximately $730,000 compared to total expenses before interest expense, employee retention credit, sales and occupancy taxes and income tax provision of approximately $6,713,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in room expenses and general and admirative expenses. Specific expense comparisons to the prior Fiscal Year are detailed in the following categories.

Room expenses consisting of salaries and related employment taxes for property management, front office, housekeeping personnel, reservation fees and room supplies were approximately $2,222,000 for the Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2023 compared to approximately $2,011,000 in the prior year period for an increase of approximately $211,000, or 11%. Room expenses increased as occupancy at the hotels increased, and increased expenses were incurred with the increased occupancy.

General and administrative expenses include overhead charges for management, accounting, shareholder, and legal services. General and administrative expenses of approximately $2,227,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023, increased approximately $395,000 from approximately $1,832,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022 primarily due to increases in minimum wage laws affecting a majority of our employees, creating higher personnel costs along with increased employment taxes, accordingly.

Sales and marketing expense increased approximately $52,000, or 13%, to approximately $451,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately $399,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. Filled positions for sales and marketing resources accounted for the increase.

Repairs and maintenance expense increased by approximately $20,000, or 5%, to approximately $413,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately $392,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. Having completed the property improvements at our Tucson, Arizona hotel Management anticipates the improvements which complies with the increasing Best Western standards, will (after the adverse effects of travel restrictions and slowdown), lead to improvement in guest satisfaction and will drive additional revenue growth through increased occupancy and increased rates in the year ahead.

Hospitality expense increased by approximately $135,000, or 58%, to approximately $368,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately $233,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to the increased occupancy and increased breakfast offerings at the hotel properties due to previous pandemic restrictions no longer in effect.

Utility expenses increased approximately $45,000, or 12%, to approximately $428,000 reported for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately $383,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022.

Hotel property depreciation expenses decreased by approximately $23,000 to approximately $702,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately $725,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. Decreased depreciation resulted from the capital expenditures being fully depreciated, and thus less expense was incurred and recorded.

Real estate and personal property taxes, Insurance and Ground Rent expenses decreased approximately $72,000, or 14%, to approximately $429,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately $501,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022.

Sales and occupancy tax expenses increased approximately $798,000, or 100%, to $0 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 from approximately ($798,000) for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. The 2022 activity represents a reversal of liability arising from an occupancy tax discrepancy generated from our Tucson Oracle and Albuquerque hotels from prior periods, as the liabilities had been assumed by a related party. These additional amounts were due for Hotel sales and occupancy expenses and are not expected to be recurring, since the Trust collects and remits all necessary occupancy taxes to the state monthly. No additional assessments have transpired since September 2020. Management has assessed the materiality of the discrepancy on prior reported periods and has concluded it is qualitatively immaterial to the readers of our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Employment Tax Refunds and Credits, for the two previously filed calendar years 2020, and 2021, respectively, resulted in the Employment Retention Tax Credit. As a result, the Trust conservatively placed an amount equal to approximately 12% of this total as a Tax Credit Receivable and Tax Refund on the Balance Sheet and Income statement, respectively, for the Fiscal Years ended January 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Trust has further conservatively recognized an additional 12% each Fiscal Quarter, approximately, of the total anticipated Tax Credit receivable for the Quarter ended January 31, 2023. This recognition began in Fiscal Year 2022. The amount recognized increased from approximately $350,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022 to approximately $1,400,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023. This increase was a result of recognizing equal amounts quarterly of approximately $350,000 throughout Fiscal Year 2023, as opposed to only one Quarter of recognition in Fiscal Year 2022.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Overview – Hotel Operations & Hotel Management Services

Two principal sources of cash to meet our cash requirements, include monthly management fees from our two hotels and distributions to our investors of our share of the Partnership’s cash flow of the Tucson hotel, and quarterly distributions from the Albuquerque, New Mexico properties. Potential future real estate hotel sales is another future source of cash. The Partnership’s principal source of revenue is hotel operations for the hotel property it owns in Tucson, Arizona. Our liquidity, including our ability to make distributions to our shareholders, will depend upon our ability, and the Partnership’s ability, to generate sufficient cash flow from hotel operations, from management fees, and from the potential sale and/or refinance of the hotel, and to service our debt and the source of repayment of intercompany loan from Tucson and Albuquerque.

Hotel operations were significantly affected by occupancy and room rates at the Hotels in the Fiscal Year 2022. We anticipate occupancy will continue to climb modestly in Fiscal 2023, while room rates continue to climb aggressively in Fiscal 2023, and the related economic and travel rebound which started in Fiscal 2022 will continue in Fiscal 2023 (February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023). Capital improvements are expected to remain substantially down in Fiscal 2023, based on the extensive prior refurbishments completed in Fiscal 2021.

With approximately $2,111,000 of cash as of January 31, 2023 and the availability of a $250,000 bank lines of credit, an up to $2,000,000 related party Demand/Revolving Line of Credit/Promissory Note, and the availability of repayment of Advances to Affiliate credit facilities and available Bank line of Credit, we believe that we will have enough cash on hand to meet all of our financial obligations as they become due for at least the next twelve months from the issuance date of the these consolidated financial statements. In addition, our management is analyzing other strategic options, including additional asset sales. However, such transactions may not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all.

IHT and InnDependent Boutique Collections Hotels (IBC), agreed to extend the payment schedule on IBC’s note receivable by 18 months, extending the first payment from November 2021 to May 2023. The reason for the extension is in support of IBC’s cash requirements; related to IBC’s realization of fully benefiting from a travel industry continued rebound of rate, occupancy and travel. These potential benefits in turn improve IHT’s secured position on its note receivable from IBC. Management also believes that even with an additional extension repayment term due to COVID-19 that the future collectability of the current carrying value of the note is probable and not subject to further impairment, or allowance for the year ended January 31, 2023.

Refer to Note 6 – “Note Receivable” for information related to the Sale of IBC Hospitality Technologies (IBC).

There can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising additional or replacement funds, or that these funds may be available on terms that are favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional or replacement funds, we may be required to refinance or sell certain of our assets to meet our liquidity needs, which may not be on terms that are favorable.

We anticipate no material additional competitive new-build hotel supply during the remaining Fiscal Year 2024, and accordingly we anticipate steady hotel supply in our markets and increased travel demand as the industry rebounds with recovery of revenues and operating margins. We expect the challenge for the upcoming current Fiscal Year to be the continued economic and travel recovery of leisure, corporate, group, and government business in the markets in which we operate, which may affect our ability to recover occupancy and increase room rates while maintaining and/or building market share.

Positive cash provided by operating activities totaled approximately $54,000 during the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 as compared to net cash provided of approximately $263,000 during the twelve months ended January 31, 2022. Consolidated net income was approximately $737,000 for the twelve months ended January 31, 2023 as compared to consolidated net income for the twelve months ended January 31, 2022 of approximately $1,540,000. A decrease in each Fiscal Year was PPP loan forgiveness offset by and the employee retention credit. Explanation of the differences between these Fiscal Years are explained above in the results of operations of the Trust.

On November 15, 2021, the Trust received a letter from the NYSE American indicating it did not meet certain financial requirements to remain listed, and set a timeframe of 18 months to May 2023, to once again meet those standards of earnings, capitalization, and/or profitability. The Trust provided the required Plan by December 15, 2021, and the NYSE American granted the additional 18 months to execute the Plan.

On April 30, 2022, the Trust requested and was granted an extension for their annual Form 10-K. As a result, the NT 10-K filed (Form 12b-25 Filing Extension), granted a fifteen-day extension for the Trust to file its’ annual Form 10-K. Subsequently, the Trust completed and filed its’ annual 10-K and corresponding press release on May 25, 2022, and is considered to be in compliance currently.

On June 23, 2022, the Trust received communication from the NYSE AMERICAN indicating a Late-Filer Notification would be issued, provided it’s current quarterly 10-Q for the period ended April 30, 2022 would be considered delinquent if not filed on or before June 29, 2022. The Trust is now current and compliant, and was able to complete their 10-Q for the period ended April 30, 2022, filing it on June 28, 2022, thus avoiding any delinquency status and adhering to this timeline.

The Trust’s Management received communication from the NYSE-American on August 29, 2022, indicating IHT is fully compliant with all of the Continued Listing Standards Equity Requirements set forth in Part 10 of the NYSE American Company Guide, of the NYSE-American.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The following non-GAAP presentations of earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) and funds from operations (“FFO”) are made to assist our investors in evaluating our operating performance.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest expense, amortization of loan costs, interest income, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and non-controlling interests in the Trust. We present Adjusted EBITDA because we believe these measurements (a) more accurately reflect the ongoing performance of our hotel assets and other investments, (b) provide more useful information to investors as indicators of our ability to meet our future debt payments and working capital requirements, and (c) provide an overall evaluation of our financial condition. Adjusted EBITDA as calculated by us may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA reported by other companies that do not define Adjusted EBITDA exactly as we define the term. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent cash generated from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to (a) GAAP net income or loss as an indication of our financial performance or (b) GAAP cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity.

A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss attributable to controlling interests for the Fiscal Years ended January 31, 2023 and 2022 approximate follows:

FFO is calculated on the basis defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”), which is net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders, computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding gains or losses on sales of properties, asset impairment adjustments, and extraordinary items as defined by GAAP, plus non-cash depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and after adjustments for unconsolidated joint ventures and non-controlling interests in the operating partnership. NAREIT developed FFO as a relative measure of performance of an equity REIT to recognize that income-producing real estate historically has not depreciated on the basis determined by GAAP. The Trust is an unincorporated Ohio business investment, (real estate investment trust); however, the Trust is not a real estate investment trust for federal taxation purposes. Management uses this measurement to compare itself to REITs with similar depreciable assets. We consider FFO to be an appropriate measure of our ongoing normalized operating performance. We compute FFO in accordance with our interpretation of standards established by NAREIT, which may not be comparable to FFO reported by other companies that either do not define the term in accordance with the current NAREIT definition or interpret the NAREIT definition differently than us. FFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities as determined by GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to (a) GAAP net income or loss as an indication of our financial performance or (b) GAAP cash flows from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity, nor is it indicative of funds available to satisfy our cash needs, including our ability to make cash distributions. However, to facilitate a clear understanding of our historical operating results, we believe that FFO should be considered along with our net income or loss and cash flows reported in the consolidated financial statements.

A reconciliation of FFO to net income (loss) attributable to controlling interests for Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2023 and 2022 are as follows:

The Trust reported Consolidated Net Loss from operations of approximately $298,000 for the Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2023 compared to Consolidated Net Loss from operations of approximately $304,000 for the Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2022. Fiscal 2022 and 2021 Consolidated Net Loss from operations included non-cash depreciation of approximately $702,000 and $725,000, respectively. Fiscal 2023 Consolidated Net Loss from operations before non-cash depreciation was approximately $404,000 as compared to Consolidated Net Loss from operations before non-cash depreciation of approximately $421,000 for Fiscal 2022. Fiscal 2023 Consolidated Net Loss from continuing operations were approximately $7,146,000 as compared with Fiscal 2022 Revenues of approximately $6,410,000.

FUTURE POSITIONING

In viewing the hotel industry cycles, recently reconfirmed by the COVID-19 disruption of travel and hospitality, the Board of Trustees determined that it was appropriate to continue to actively seek buyers for our two remaining Hotel properties. We continue to make our Tucson Hotel and Albuquerque Hotel available for sale at market value, on the website www.suitehotelsrealty.com (http://www.suitehotelsrealty.com).

The table below provides book values, mortgage balances and Estimated Market Asking Price for the Hotels.

The “Estimated Market Asking Price” is the amount at which we believe may sell each of the Hotels and is adjusted to reflect hotel sales in the Hotels’ areas of operation and projected upcoming 12 month earnings of each of the Hotels. The Estimated Market Asking Price is not based on appraisals of the properties.

We have from time to time listed hotel properties with a long time highly successful local real estate hotel broker who has successfully sold four of our hotel properties. We believe that each of the assets have an estimated market asking price that is reasonable in relation to its current fair market value. We plan to sell our remaining two Hotel properties within 24-36 months. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to sell either or both of the Hotel properties on terms favorable to us or within our expected time frame, or at all.

Although believed feasible, we may be unable to realize the asking price for the individual Hotel properties or to sell and/or refinance one or both. However, we believe that the asking price values are reasonable based on upturn local market conditions, comparable sales, and anticipated continued upturns in occupancy, rates, and profits per hotel. Changes in market conditions have in part resulted, and may in the future result, in our changing one or all of the asking prices.

Our long-term strategic plan is to obtain the full benefit of our real estate equity, to benefit from our UniGen Power, Inc., (UniGen) clean energy operation diversified investment, and to pursue a merger with another company, likely a private larger entity that seeks to go public to list on the NYSE AMERICAN Exchange.

SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

For information on the Trust’s Share Repurchase Program, see Part II, Item 5. “Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.” We plan to continue the stock and unit buy backs in the current Fiscal Year 2023.

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

We do not have any off-balance sheet financing arrangements or liabilities. We do not have any majority-owned or controlled subsidiaries that are not included in our consolidated financial statements.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

As a partial offset to the current hotel industry Virus induced drop in demand pressure, the Trust looks to benefit from, and expand, its UniGen clean energy operation diversification investments in the months, and years ahead. See Note 7 of the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for discussion on UniGen.

Asset Impairment

We believe that the policies we follow for the valuation of our hotel properties, which constitute the majority of our assets, are our most critical policies. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued authoritative guidance related to the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets, codified in ASC Topic 360-10-35, which we apply to determine when it is necessary to test an asset for recoverability. On an events and circumstances basis, we review the carrying value of our hotel properties. We will record an impairment loss and reduce the carrying value of a property when anticipated undiscounted future cash flows and the current market value of the property do not support its carrying value. In cases where we do not expect to recover the carrying cost of hotel properties held for use, we will reduce the carrying value to the fair value of the hotel, as determined by a current appraisal or other acceptable valuation methods. We did not recognize a hotel properties impairment loss in Fiscal Years 2022 or 2021. As of January 31, 2023, our management does not believe that the carrying values of any of our hotel properties are impaired. The Trust did take a reserve for bad debt as of January 31, 2022 reflecting its concern with the collectability of the Obasa note receivable, related to the sale of the IBC technology segment.

Sale of Hotel Assets

Management believes that our currently owned Hotels are valued at prices that are reasonable in relation to their current fair market value. At this time, the Trust is unable to predict when, and if, either of its Hotel properties will be sold. The Trust seeks to sell one hotel per year or both over the next 12-36 months. We believe that each of the assets is available at a price that is reasonable in relation to its current fair market value. The plan is to work to sell the remaining two hotel properties over the next 12-36 months, and if needed beyond.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues are primarily derived from the following sources and are recognized as services are rendered and when collectability is reasonably assured. Amounts received in advance of revenue recognition are considered deferred liabilities.

Revenues primarily consist of room rentals, food and beverage sales, management and trademark fees and other miscellaneous revenues from our properties. Revenues are recorded when rooms are occupied and when food and beverage sales are delivered. Management and trademark fees from non-affiliated hotels include a monthly accounting fee and a percentage of hotel room revenues for managing the daily operations of the Hotels and the one hotel owned by affiliates of Mr. Wirth until December 2020.

Each room night consumed by a guest with a cancellable reservation represents a contract whereby the Trust has a performance obligation to provide the room night at an agreed upon price. For cancellable reservations, the Trust recognizes revenue as each performance obligation (i.e., each room night) is met. Such contract is renewed if the guest continues their stay. For room nights consumed by a guest with a non-cancellable reservation, the entire reservation period represents the contract term whereby the Trust has a performance obligation to provide the room night or nights at an agreed upon price. For non-cancellable reservations, the Trust recognizes revenue over the term of the performance period (i.e., the reservation period) as room nights are consumed. For these reservations, the room rate is typically fixed over the reservation period. The Trust uses an output method based on performance completed to date (i.e., room nights consumed) to determine the amount of revenue it recognizes on a daily basis if the length of a non-cancellable reservation exceeds one night since consumption of room nights indicates when services are transferred to the guest. In certain instances, variable consideration may exist with respect to the transaction price, such as discounts, coupons and price concessions made upon guest checkout.

In evaluating its performance obligation, the Trust bundles the obligation to provide the guest the room itself with other obligations (such as free Wi-Fi, grab and go breakfast, access to on-site laundry facilities and parking), as the other obligations are not distinct and separable because the guest cannot benefit from the additional amenities without the consumed room night. The Trust’s obligation to provide the additional items or services is not separately identifiable from the fundamental contractual obligation (i.e., providing the room and its contents). The Trust has no performance obligations once a guest’s stay is complete.

We are required to collect certain taxes and fees from customers on behalf of government agencies and remit these back to the applicable governmental agencies on a periodic basis. We have a legal obligation to act as a collection agent. We do not retain these taxes and fees and, therefore, they are not included in revenues. We record a liability when the amounts are collected and relieve the liability when payments are made to the applicable taxing authority or other appropriate governmental agency.

SEASONALITY

See Item 1 for related discussion of seasonality.

INFLATION

We rely entirely on the performance of the Hotels and InnSuites ability to increase revenue to keep pace with inflation. Operators of hotels in general, and InnSuites in particular, can change room rates quickly, but competitive pressures may limit InnSuites ability to raise rates as fast as or faster than inflation. During Fiscal Year 2023, ended January 31, 2023, InnSuites did experience substantial increases in rates to offset the inflationary increase labor and other expenses.

INVESTMENT IN UNIGEN POWER, INC.

On December 16, 2019, the Trust entered into a Convertible Debenture Purchase Agreement with UniGen Power Inc. (“UniGen”). InnSuites Hospitality Trust (IHT) made an initial $1 million diversification investment in late Fiscal Year 2020 and early Fiscal Year 2021. UniGen is in the process of developing a patented high profit potential new efficient clean energy generation innovation. The initial investment was made December 16, 2019, with positive progress to date despite the virus, economic, travel disruptions, cost overruns, and delays. The investment includes warrants convertible to UniGen stock upon election of the Trust. The investment is valued at fair value (level 3), as defined in Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. There is no Investment Commitment to UniGen requiring any restriction of cash.

The Trust purchased secured convertible debentures (“Debentures”) in the aggregate amount of $1,000,000 (the “Loan Amount”) (the “Loan”) at an annual interest rate of 6% (approximately $15,000 per quarter). The Debentures are convertible into 1,000,000 Class A shares of UniGen Common Stock at an initial conversion rate of $1.00 per share.

UniGen issued the Trust common stock purchase warrants (the “Debenture Warrants”) including to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock. The Debenture Warrants are exercisable at an exercise price of $1.00 per share of Class A Common Stock.

UniGen, also, issued the Trust additional common stock purchase warrants (“Additional Warrants”) to purchase up to 500,000 shares of Class A Common Stock. The Additional Warrants are exercisable at an exercise price of $2.25 per share of Class A Common Stock.

UniGen has agreed to allow IHT to fund a $500,000 line of credit at the option of IHT convertible into 500,000 shares of UniGen stock at $1 per share. Currently, there is no outstanding balance at this time.

The total of all stock ownership upon conversion of the note receivable and exercise of warrants could total up to 3 million UniGen shares, which amounts to approximately 25% of fully diluted UniGen equity.

On the Trust’s balance sheet, the investment of the $1,588,750 consists of approximately $700,000 in note receivables, approximately $300,000 as the fair value of the warrants issued with the Trust’s investment in UniGen, and $588,750 of UniGen Common Stock (495,000 shares), at cost. The value of the premium related to the fair value of the warrant will accrete over the life of the debentures.

UniGen has confirmed that prototype design engineering for the UPI 1000 NG engine is now complete. Parts and tooling have arrived, and continue to arrive weekly.

Engineering work is on hold, while UniGen concentrates on its next round of capital raising.

UniGen is a high risk investment offering high potential investment return when successful.

Based on a 96 core “super computer “ simulated test together with advanced software, UniGen has confirmed that the UPI 1000 NG engine with the addition of recent technological advancements, is approximately 33% more fuel efficient than first estimated and will emit only approximately 25% of the maximum admissions allowed by CARB, the strictest of the regulatory standards issued by the state of California.

The UniGen design is to produce generators fueled not only with relatively clean natural gas but also with other even cleaner fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen (that emits only water).

James Wirth (IHT President) and Marc Berg (IHT Executive Vice President) both lack significant UniGen control. They have two of the six UniGen Board of Directors seats or 33% and were elected in December 2019 to serve on the board of UniGen to closely monitor and assist in the success of this potentially power industry disruptive relatively clean energy generation innovation.

The Trust has valued UniGen investment as a level 3 fair value measurement, for the following reasons: The investment does not qualify for level 1 since there are no identical actively traded instruments or level 2 identical or similar unobservable markets.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this Form 10-K, including statements containing the phrases “believes,” “intends,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “predicts,” “projects,” “will be,” “should be,” “looking ahead,” “may” or similar words, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created by such Acts. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations in respect of (i) the declaration or payment of dividends; (ii) the leasing, management or operation of the Hotels; (iii) the adequacy of reserves for renovation and refurbishment; (iv) our financing plans; (v) our position regarding investments, acquisitions, developments, financings, conflicts of interest and other matters; (vi) our plans and expectations regarding future sales of hotel properties; and (vii) trends affecting our or any Hotel’s financial condition or results of operations.

These forward-looking statements reflect our current views in respect of future events and financial performance, but are subject to many uncertainties and factors relating to the operations and business environment of the Hotels that may cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Examples of such uncertainties include, but are not limited to:

• Virus Pandemic and its effect on the Travel Industry;
• potential risk of investments, including the investment in UniGen;
• inflation and economic recession;
• terrorist attacks or other acts of war;
• local, national or international, political economic and business conditions, including, without limitation, conditions that may, or may continue to, affect public securities markets generally, the hospitality industry or the markets in which we operate or will operate;
• available cash, supply chain issues, and increased labor costs for diversified clean energy development and production;
• fluctuations in hotel occupancy rates;
• changes in room rental rates that may be charged by InnSuites Hotels in response to market rental rate changes or otherwise;
• seasonality of our hotel operations business;
• our ability to sell any of our Hotels at market value, or at all;
• interest rate fluctuations;
• changes in, or reinterpretations of, governmental regulations, including, but not limited to, environmental and other regulations, the Americans with Disability Act, Covid-19 restrictions, and federal income tax laws and regulations;
• competition including supply and demand for hotel rooms and hotel properties;
• availability of credit or other financing;
• our ability to meet present and future debt service obligations;
• our ability to refinance or extend the maturity of indebtedness at, prior to, or after the time it matures;
• any changes in our financial condition or operating results due to acquisitions or dispositions of hotel properties;
• concentration of our investments in the InnSuites Hotels® brand;
• loss of membership contracts;
• the financial condition of franchises, brand membership companies, travel related companies, and receivables from travel related companies;
• ability to develop and maintain positive relations with “Best Western” and potential future franchises or brands;
• real estate and hospitality market conditions;
• hospitality industry factors;
• our ability to carry out our strategy, including our strategy regarding diversification and investments;
• the Trust’s ability to remain listed on the NYSE American;
• effectiveness of the Trust’s software and cyber security;

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• the need to periodically repair and renovate our Hotels at a cost at or in excess of our standard 4% reserve;
• tariffs and health travel restrictions may affect trade and travel;
• our ability to cost effectively integrate any acquisitions with the Trust in a timely manner;
• increases in the cost and availability of labor, energy, healthcare, insurance and other operating expenses as a result of inflation, or changed or increased regulation, or otherwise;
• terrorist attacks or other acts of war;
• outbreaks of communicable diseases attributed to our hotels or impacting the hotel industry in general;
• natural disasters, including adverse climate changes in the areas where we have or serve hotels;
• airline strikes;
• transportation and fuel price increases;
• adequacy of insurance coverage and increases in cost for health care coverage for employees and potential government regulation with respect to health care coverage;
• data breaches or cybersecurity attacks, including breaches impacting the integrity and security of employee and guest data; and
• loss of key personnel and uncertainties in the interpretation and application of ever-changing tax laws.

We do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as may be required by law. Pursuant to Section 21E(b)(2)(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the qualifications set forth hereinabove are inapplicable to any forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K relating to the operations of the Partnership.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this report, we conducted an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and our Chief Financial Officer (CFO), concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were fully effective as of January 31, 2023.

Our management, including our CEO and CFO, do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal controls will prevent all error or fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Due to the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of the Trust’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and effected by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Assessment of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 31, 2022. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013). Based on management’s assessment, management concluded our internal control over financial reporting was fully effective as of January 31, 2023.

Management’s Remediation Initiatives

In an effort to remediate past deficiencies and enhance the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting, the Trust previously increased its technical accounting expertise by hiring a new Chief Financial Officer, and in Fiscal 2023 a Corporate Assistant Controller, and Two Staff Accountants to assist with the Trust’s technical accounting and internal control issues. The CFO has extensive public company reporting experience, to further assist with the Trust’s technical accounting and internal controls.

We need to take appropriate and reasonable additional steps to make necessary improvements to our Accounting staff and internal control over financial reporting, which will require management to support the hiring and training of sufficient personnel with appropriate training and expertise in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. This increase to staffing and training will allow us to make the necessary improvements, including:

• Continuing to improve the control environment through (i) being staffed with sufficient number of personnel to address segregation of duties issues, ineffective controls and to perform control monitoring activities, (ii) increasing the level of GAAP knowledge by retaining additional technical accountants, (iii) implementing formal process to account for non-standard transactions, and (iv) implementing and formalizing management oversight of financial reporting at regular intervals;
• Continuing to update the documentation of our internal control processes, including implementing formal risk assessment processes and entity level controls;
• Implementing control activities that address relevant risks and assure that all transactions are subject to such control activities; Ensure systems that impact financial information and disclosures have effective information technology controls;
• Implementing plan to increase oversight and review of ad hoc spreadsheets while also working to reduce their use;
• We are in the process of further enhancing the supervisory procedures to include additional levels of analysis and quality control reviews within the accounting and financial reporting functions; and
• IHT previously filled the previously vacant position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), to assist with the Trust’s internal controls oversight.
• IHT created and filled the position of Assistant Controller, to further assist with the Trust’s internal controls oversight, and process accounting.

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We believe that the remediation measures described above have and will continue to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting and remediate any material weaknesses that may be identified. These remediation efforts were implemented throughout Fiscal Year 2023. Additional strengthening is expected in the current Fiscal Year 2024, as well.

Despite the deficiencies reported above, our management believes that our financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended January 31, 2023 fairly present in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented and that this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the periods covered by this report.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recently completed Fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. We had significant turnover in our accounting department over the last 24 months, with the several new additions aforementioned above. These new additions should assist with the Trust’s stability, technical accounting, and internal control issues.