Hersha Hospitality Trust Announces Opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Midtown East-Manhattan

Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE: HT) (“Hersha” or the “Company”), owner of upscale hotels in urban gateway markets, today announced that the Company has opened the brand new 205-room Hilton Garden Inn Midtown East.

“We are extremely pleased to add this high quality hotel on 52nd Street off Third Avenue to our portfolio. This hotel complements the quality and net asset value of Hersha’s New York City hotel portfolio and will be immediately accretive to our earnings. The hotel is ideally located within a dynamic office market, totaling approximately 20 million square feet, while proximate to landmarks such as the United Nations, Grand Central Station and Rockefeller Center, thereby appealing to both corporate and leisure travelers,” stated Mr. Jay H. Shah, Hersha’s Chief Executive Officer.

Based on the Company’s forecasts, the development represents a first full-year economic capitalization rate of approximately 8.1% and a hotel EBITDA multiple of 11.2x. On a stabilized basis, the investment represents an economic capitalization rate of 11.0% and a hotel EBITDA multiple of 8.4x.

Hersha Hospitality Trust (HT) is a self-advised real estate investment trust in the hospitality sector, which owns and operates high quality upscale hotels in urban gateway markets. The Company's 52 hotels totaling 8,403 rooms are located in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Miami and select markets on the West Coast. The Company's shares are traded on The New York Stock Exchange-Euronext under the ticker 'HT'.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statement. For a description of these factors, please review the information under the heading “Risk Factors” included in Hersha Hospitality Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.