Item 1A. Risk Factors. Risk Factors.

Adverse changes in the U.S. and global economies could negatively impact our financial performance.

Due to a number of factors affecting consumers, the outlook for the lodging industry remains uncertain. These factors have resulted at times in the past and could continue to result in the future in fewer customers visiting, or customers spending less, in San Francisco, as compared to prior periods. The macro-economic situation of a looming US/Global recession has seen business reducing or eliminating typical travel and group meetings in efforts to be conservative in uncertain financial times. Leisure travel and other leisure activities represent discretionary expenditures, and participation in such activities tends to decline during economic downturns, during which consumers generally have less disposable income. As a result, in those times customer demand for the luxury amenities and leisure activities that we offer may decline. Furthermore, during periods of economic contraction, revenues may decrease while some of our costs remain fixed or even increase, resulting in decreased earnings.

Weakened global economic conditions may adversely affect our industry, business and results of operations.

Our overall performance depends in part on worldwide economic conditions which could adversely affect the tourism industry. According to current economic news reports, the United States and other key international economies may be subject to a recession, characterized by falling demand for a variety of goods and services, restricted credit, going concern threats to financial institutions, major multinational companies and medium and small businesses, poor liquidity, declining asset values, reduced corporate profitability, and volatility in credit, equity and foreign exchange markets. These conditions affect discretionary and leisure spending and could adversely affect our customers’ ability or willingness to travel to destinations for leisure and cutback on discretionary business travel, which could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, in a weakened economy, companies that have competing properties may reduce room rates and other prices which could also reduce our average revenues and harm our operating results.

We operate a single property located in San Francisco and rely on the San Francisco market. Changes adversely impacting this market could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation, and fair market value of the Hotel.

Our business in San Francisco and the hospitality industry has a limited base of operations and substantially all of our revenues are currently generated by the Hotel in San Francisco, California. Accordingly, we are subject to greater risks than a more diversified hotel or resort operator and the profitability of our operations is linked to local economic conditions in San Francisco. The combination of a decline in the local economy of San Francisco, reliance on a single location and the significant investment associated with it may cause our operating results to fluctuate significantly and may adversely affect us and materially affect our total profitability.

We face intense local and increasingly national competition which could impact our operations and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We operate in the highly competitive San Francisco hotel industry. The Hotel competes with other high-quality Northern California hotels and resorts. Many of these competitors seek to attract customers to their properties by providing, food and beverage outlets, retail stores and other related amenities, in addition to hotel accommodations. To the extent that we seek to enhance our revenue base by offering our own various amenities, we compete with the service offerings provided by these competitors.

Many of the competing properties have themes and attractions which draw a significant number of visitors and directly compete with our operations. Some of these properties are operated by subsidiaries or divisions of large public companies that may have greater name recognition and financial and marketing resources than we do and market to the same target demographic group as we do. Various competitors are expanding and renovating their existing facilities. We believe that competition in the San Francisco hotel and resort industry is based on certain property-specific factors, including overall atmosphere, range of amenities, price, location, technology infrastructure, entertainment attractions, theme and size. Any market perception that we do not excel with respect to such property-specific factors could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. If we are unable to compete effectively, we could lose market share, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The San Francisco hotel and resort industry are capital intensive; financing our renovations and future capital improvements could reduce our cash flow and adversely affect our financial performance.

The Hotel has an ongoing need for renovations and other capital improvements to remain competitive, including replacement, from time to time, of furniture, fixtures and equipment. We will also need to make capital expenditures to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Renovations and other capital improvements of hotels require significant capital expenditures. In addition, renovations and capital improvements of hotels usually generate little or no cash flow until the project’s completion. We may not be able to fund such projects solely from cash provided from our operating activities. Consequently, we will rely upon the availability of debt or equity capital and reserve funds to fund renovations and capital improvements and our ability to carry them out will be limited if we cannot obtain satisfactory debt or equity financing, which will depend on, among other things, market conditions. No assurances can be made that we will be able to obtain additional equity or debt financing or that we will be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms.

Renovations and other capital improvements may give rise to the following additional risks, among others: construction cost overruns and delays; increased prices of materials due to tariffs; temporary closures of all or a portion of the Hotel to customers; disruption in service and room availability causing reduced demand, occupancy and rates; and possible environmental issues.

As a result, renovations and any other future capital improvement projects may increase our expenses, reduce our cash flows and our revenues. If capital expenditures exceed our expectations, this excess would have an adverse effect on our available cash.

We have substantial debt, and we may incur additional indebtedness, which may negatively affect our business and financial results.

We have substantial debt service obligations. Our substantial debt may negatively affect our business and operations in several ways, including: requiring us to use a substantial portion of our funds from operations to make required payments on principal and interest, which will reduce funds available for operations and capital expenditures, future business opportunities and other purposes; making us more vulnerable to economic and industry downturns and reducing our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions; limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the business and the industry in which we operate; placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt; limiting our ability to borrow more money for operations, capital or to finance acquisitions in the future; and requiring us to dispose of assets, if needed, in order to make required payments of interest and principal.

The debt agreements that govern our outstanding indebtedness due January 2025 could result in our being required to repay these borrowings on their due date. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or are unable to refinance these borrowings, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business model involves high fixed costs, including property taxes and insurance costs, which we may be unable to adjust in a timely manner in response to a reduction in our revenues.

The costs associated with owning and operating the Hotel are significant. Some of these costs (such as property taxes and insurance costs) are fixed, meaning that such costs may not be altered in a timely manner in response to changes in demand for services. Failure to adjust our expenses may adversely affect our business and results of operations. Our real property taxes may increase as property tax rates change and as the values of properties are assessed and reassessed by tax authorities. Our real estate taxes do not depend on our revenues, and generally we could not reduce them other than by disposing of our real estate assets.

Insurance premiums have increased significantly in recent years, and continued escalation may result in our inability to obtain adequate insurance at acceptable premium rates. A continuation of this trend would appreciably increase the operating expenses of the Hotel. If we do not obtain adequate insurance, to the extent that any of the events not covered by an insurance policy materialize, our financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

In the future, our property may be subject to increases in real estate and other tax rates, utility costs, operating expenses, insurance costs, repairs and maintenance and administrative expenses, which could reduce our cash flow and adversely affect our financial performance. If our revenues decline and we are unable to reduce our expenses in a timely manner, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Risk of declining market values in marketable securities.

The Company invests from time to time in marketable securities. As a result, the Company is exposed to market volatility in connection with these investments. The Company’s financial position and financial performance could be adversely affected by worsening market conditions or stagnant performance of such investments.

Illiquidity risk in nonmarketable securities.

Nonmarketable securities are, by definition, instruments that are not readily salable in the capital markets, and when sold are usually at a substantial discount. Thus, the holder is limited to return on investment from any income producing feature of the instrument, as any sale of such an instrument would be subject to a substantial discount. Thus, a holder may need to hold such instruments for long period of time and not be able to realize a return of their cash investment should there be a need to liquidate to obtain cash at any given time.

Litigation and legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and thus negatively affect our financial results.

We are a party, from time to time, to various litigation claims and legal proceedings, government and regulatory inquiries and/or proceedings, including, but not limited to, intellectual property, premises liability and breach of contract claims. Material legal proceedings are described more fully in Note 15, Commitments and Contingencies, to our consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Litigation is inherently unpredictable and defending these proceedings can result in significant ongoing expenditures and the diversion of our management’s time and attention from the operation of our business, which could have a negative effect on our business operations. Our failure to successfully defend or settle any litigation or legal proceedings could result in liabilities that, to the extent not covered by our insurance, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, revenue and profitability.

The threat of terrorism could adversely affect the number of customer visits to the Hotel.

The threat of terrorism has caused, and may in the future cause, a significant decrease in customer visits to San Francisco due to disruptions in commercial and leisure travel patterns and concerns about travel safety. We cannot predict the extent to which disruptions in air or other forms of travel as a result of any further terrorist act, outbreak of hostilities or escalation of war would adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The possibility of future attacks may hamper business and leisure travel patterns and, accordingly, the performance of our business and our operations.

We depend in part, on third party management companies for the future success of our business and the loss of one or more of their key personnel could have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business and operate successfully and competitively or could be negatively perceived in the capital markets.

The Hotel is managed by Aimbridge. Their ability to manage the Hotel and to operate successfully and competitively is dependent, in part, upon the efforts and continued service of their managers. The departure of key personnel of current or future management companies could have an adverse effect on our business and our ability to operate successfully and competitively, and it could be difficult to find replacements for these key personnel, as competition for such personnel is intense.

Seasonality and other related factors such as weather can be expected to cause quarterly fluctuations in revenue at the Hotel.

The hotel and resort industry are seasonal in nature. This seasonality can tend to cause quarterly fluctuations in revenues at the Hotel. Our quarterly earnings may also be adversely affected by other related factors outside our control, including weather conditions and poor economic conditions. As a result, we may have to enter into short-term borrowings in certain quarters in order to offset these quarterly fluctuations in our revenues.

The hotel industry is heavily regulated and failure to comply with extensive regulatory requirements may result in an adverse effect on our business.

The hotel industry is subject to extensive regulation and the Hotel must maintain its licenses and pay taxes and fees to continue operations. Our property is subject to numerous laws, including those relating to the preparation and sale of food and beverages, including alcohol. We are also subject to laws governing our relationship with our employees in such areas as minimum wage and maximum working hours, overtime, working conditions, hiring and firing employees and work permits. Also, our ability to remodel, refurbish or add to our property may be dependent upon our obtaining necessary building permits from local authorities. The failure to obtain any of these permits could adversely affect our ability to increase revenues and net income through capital improvements of our property. In addition, we are subject to the numerous rules and regulations relating to state and federal taxation. Compliance with these rules and regulations requires significant management attention. Furthermore, compliance costs associated with such laws, regulations and licenses are significant. Any change in the laws, regulations or licenses applicable to our business or a violation of any current or future laws or regulations applicable to our business or gaming license could require us to make substantial expenditures or could otherwise negatively affect our gaming operations. Any failure to comply with all such rules and regulations could subject us to fines or audits by the applicable taxation authority.

Violations of laws could result in, among other things, disciplinary action. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements, this may result in an adverse effect on our business.

Uninsured and underinsured losses could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

There are certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes and floods or terrorist acts, which may be uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be subject to insurance coverage limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. We will use our discretion in determining amounts, coverage limits, deductibility provisions of insurance and the appropriateness of self-insuring, with a view to maintaining appropriate insurance coverage on our investments at a reasonable cost and on suitable terms. Uninsured and underinsured losses could harm our financial condition and results of operations. We could incur liabilities resulting from loss or injury to the Hotel or to persons at the Hotel. Claims, whether or not they have merit, could harm the reputation of the Hotel or cause us to incur expenses to the extent of insurance deductibles or losses in excess of policy limitations, which could harm our results of operations.

In the event of a catastrophic loss, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover the full current market value or replacement cost of our lost investment. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occur, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we have invested in the Hotel, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the property. In that event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the Hotel. In the event of a significant loss, our deductible may be high, and we may be required to pay for all such repairs and, as a consequence, it could materially adversely affect our financial condition. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors might also keep us from using insurance proceeds to replace or renovate the Hotel after it has been damaged or destroyed. Under those circumstances, the insurance proceeds we receive might be inadequate to restore our economic position on the damaged or destroyed property.

It has generally become more difficult and expensive to obtain property and casualty insurance, including coverage for terrorism. When our current insurance policies expire, we may encounter difficulty in obtaining or renewing property or casualty insurance on our property at the same levels of coverage and under similar terms. Such insurance may be more limited and for some catastrophic risks (for example, earthquake, flood and terrorism) may not be generally available at current levels. Even if we are able to renew our policies or to obtain new policies at levels and with limitations consistent with our current policies, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain such insurance at premium rates that are commercially reasonable. If we were unable to obtain adequate insurance on the Hotel for certain risks, it could cause us to be in default under specific covenants on certain of our indebtedness or other contractual commitments that require us to maintain adequate insurance on the Hotel to protect against the risk of loss. If this were to occur, or if we were unable to obtain adequate insurance and the Hotel experienced damage which would otherwise have been covered by insurance, it could materially adversely affect our financial condition and the operations of the Hotel.

In addition, insurance coverage for the Hotel and for casualty losses does not customarily cover damages that are characterized as punitive or similar damages. As a result, any claims or legal proceedings, or settlement of any such claims or legal proceedings that result in damages that are characterized as punitive or similar damages may not be covered by our insurance. If these types of damages are substantial, our financial resources may be adversely affected.

You may lose all or part of your investment.

There is no assurance that the Company’s initiatives to improve its profitability or liquidity and financial position will be successful.

The price of the Company’s common stock may fluctuate significantly, which could negatively affect the Company and holders of its common stock.

The market price of the Company’s common stock may fluctuate significantly from time to time as a result of many factors, including: investors’ perceptions of the Company and its prospects; investors’ perceptions of the Company’s and/or the industry’s risk and return characteristics relative to other investment alternatives; difficulties between actual financial and operating results and those expected by investors and analysts; changes in our capital structure; trading volume fluctuations; actual or anticipated fluctuations in quarterly financial and operational results; volatility in the equity securities market; and sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of the Company’s common stock.

The concentrated beneficial ownership of our common stock and the ability it affords to control our business may limit or eliminate other shareholders’ ability to influence corporate affairs.

As of June 30, 2024, InterGroup owns 75.7% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. Because of this concentrated stock ownership, the Company’s largest shareholders will be able to significantly influence the election of the Company’s board of directors and all other decisions on all matters requiring shareholder approval. As a result, the ability of other shareholders to determine the management and policies of the Company is significantly limited. The interests of these shareholders may differ from the interests of other shareholders with respect to the issuance of shares, business transactions with or sales to other companies, selection of officers and directors and other business decisions. This level of control may also have an adverse impact on the market value of our shares because our largest shareholders may institute or undertake transactions, policies or programs that may result in losses, may not take any steps to increase our visibility in the financial community and/or may sell enough shares to significantly decrease our price per share.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

The Company maintains cyber risk management designed to preserve the security of data and technology infrastructure. On annual basis we conduct assessments to identify cyber risks and have developed plans on how to address any such risks for remediation of vulnerabilities.

Risk management and strategy

We engage and implement risk management strategies for identification and management of material risks rising from cybersecurity threats and alerts. Our method involves a systematic evaluation of all potential threats reported and discovered, vulnerabilities, and their possible impacts on the Company’s operations, data, and systems health. Our cybersecurity risk management strategy includes:

Management and Board Oversight

Management team is responsible for the oversight and administration of cyber security protocols. Our management team relies on our third-party providers on administrating cybersecurity assessments to identify, manage, mitigate, and respond to cybersecurity threats. Management updates the Board as necessary, regarding any significant cybersecurity occurrences.