Commitments and Contingencies
As of December 31, 2025, we had outstanding commitments under third-party contracts of approximately $110 million for capital expenditures at our properties, of which $32 million relates to the transformative renovation at the Royal Palm, $18 million relates to guestroom, lobby, pool and exterior renovations at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort and $15 million relates to guestroom renovations at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Our contracts contain clauses that allow us to cancel all or some portion of the work. If cancellation of a contract occurred, our commitment would be any costs incurred up to the cancellation date, in addition to any costs associated with the discharge of the contract.
We are involved in litigation arising from the normal course of business, some of which includes claims for substantial sums, and may make certain indemnifications or guarantees to select buyers of our hotels as part of a sale process. Currently, we are in active litigation with a ground lessor who alleges breach of a ground lease(s) related to the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, DoubleTree Hotel San Diego - Mission Valley and/or DoubleTree Hotel Durango and against whom we allege, among other things, breach of the same ground lease(s). We are also involved in claims and litigation that is not in the ordinary course of business in connection with the spin-off from Hilton. The spin-off agreements provide that Hilton will indemnify us from certain of these claims as well as require us to indemnify Hilton for other claims. In addition, losses related to certain contingent liabilities could be apportioned to us under the spin-off agreements. In connection with our obligation to indemnify Hilton under the spin-off agreements, we have reserved approximately $8 million as of December 31, 2025 related to litigation with respect to an audit by the Australian Tax Office (“ATO”) of Hilton related to the sale of the Hilton Sydney in June 2015. This amount could change as the litigation of the ATO’s claim progresses.
Additionally, as of December 31, 2025, Hilton remains subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations from 2011 through 2017, the year of our spin-off. Various income tax returns for Hilton filed with state, local and foreign jurisdictions remain subject to examination by the applicable taxing authorities.
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.