Hersha Hospitality Trust's EarthView® Sustainability Program Awarded NAREIT's 2015 Leader in the Light Award

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Hersha Hospitality Trust HT ("Hersha" or the "Company") announced that the Company was recognized with NAREIT's 2015 Lodging & Resorts Leader in the Light Award. The award, presented annually by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), recognizes Hersha and its EarthView® program for superior and sustainable portfolio-wide energy use practices and sustainability initiatives. Hersha has received the Leader in the Light Award in three out of the past four years and is this year's co-winner, sharing the top spot with Maryland-based Host Hotels & Resorts.

Steven A. Wechsler, NAREIT's President & Chief Executive Officer, recognized Hersha's leadership in sustainability and presented Neil H. Shah, President and Chief Operating Officer of Hersha Hospitality Trust, with the Leader in the Light Award at REITWorld 2015, NAREIT's Annual Convention, held this month in Las Vegas. The award recognizes NAREIT member companies across eight property sectors that best demonstrate superior sustainability practices. Hersha was distinguished as the leader within Lodging, alongside other sector winners, including AvalonBay Communities, Boston Properties, Prologis and Vornado Realty Trust.

Hersha's internally-created EarthView program was launched in 2010 and is fully implemented across Hersha's 53-hotel portfolio. The program provides value to the business and its guests by focusing on three core areas of sustainability – positive financial impact, environmental stewardship and community engagement. In 2014, EarthView reported a 13% reduction in carbon emissions, an 8% reduction in water consumption and a 42% reduction in waste sent to landfills across the portfolio.

"We are honored to be recognized as the 2015 NAREIT Lodging and Resorts Leader in the Light," stated Jay H. Shah, Hersha's Chief Executive Officer. "The success of EarthView positively impacts the community and environment while achieving measurable positive financial results for shareholders, thereby positioning Hersha as the leading institution for sustainable hospitality."

Applicants to the 2015 Leader in the Light competition were required to complete the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) survey, which takes a data-driven approach to evaluating the sustainability performance of real estate companies and measures the environmental performance of property portfolios around the world.

For more information about EarthView, please view EarthView's 2014 Sustainability Report here.

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 53 hotels totaling 8,508 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 under the ticker "HT".

About EarthView

EarthView is a program developed and implemented by The Hersha Group that is dedicated to fully-integrated environmental and community policies that aim to make sustainable hospitality a genuine reality. EarthView delivers environmental and conservation programs that positively impact a hotel operation's bottom line while simultaneously improving the well-being of our guests, our employees, our communities, and our planet.

About NAREIT

NAREIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, is the worldwide representative voice of REITs and listed real estate companies with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets. NAREIT's members are REITs and other businesses that own, operate, and manage income-producing real estate, as well as those firms and individuals who advise, study, and service those businesses.

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, 2014, filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.

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