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 Less than two months before Hospitality Properties Trust HPT 
 was to begin annual director elections for its entire board of directors 
 – for the first time in its history - the board abruptly reversed 
 course, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000094539417000023%2F0000945394-17-000023-index.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=reinstating+multi-year%2C+staggered+terms+for+directors&amp;index=1&amp;md5=bed3e9fb9cf1c80789f33707af946fbd" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">reinstating 
 multi-year, staggered terms for directors</a>.
 
 
 HPT's move comes as a slap in the face to investors who voted for five 
 years in support of annual director elections, then voted for three 
 years to protect this right from a Maryland state law loophole.
 
 
 Last week, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2Ffinance%2Fhistorical%3Fcid%3D658212%26startdate%3DMay%2B10%252C%2B2017%26enddate%3DMay%2B10%252C%2B2017%26num%3D30%26ei%3DsGobWcnnKYbcjAG6-YOICA&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=HPT+shares+dropped+3.9+%25+intraday&amp;index=2&amp;md5=e6977178265347f654ae6724218fbc7d" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">HPT 
 shares dropped 3.9 % intraday</a> after reporting a <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fseekingalpha.com%2Fnews%2F3265681-hospitality-properties-misses-0_01-misses-revenue&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=slight+earnings+miss&amp;index=3&amp;md5=66060f469be125e762d4fb04c0411e2e" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">slight 
 earnings miss</a>. According to Wells Fargo (4/24/17 Room Service 
 Weekly), the lodging industry has entered a cyclical downturn.
 
 
 The need for annual director elections at HPT has been a point of 
 consensus among its investors: large majorities of voting shareholders (<a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000110465909047848%2Fa09-18473_110q.htm%23Item4_SubmissionOfMattersToAVoteO_104808&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=75&amp;index=4&amp;md5=070d0758cff03bfc5851d6b64944d5e5" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">75</a>-<a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000110465910020756%2Fa10-8364_18k.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=91&amp;index=5&amp;md5=6af3b74654e6e60ec683eea7e9abb803" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">91</a>% 
 of votes cast) supported a <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F919079%2F000117152009000288%2Feps3388.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=CalPERS+proposal&amp;index=6&amp;md5=3a88478322dee160d5d2eb49e106be6b" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">CalPERS 
 proposal</a> to declassify HPT's board every 
 year between 2009 and 2013. HPT&#39;s board did not initiate 
 declassification of its Board <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000110465914045641%2Fa14-15175_18k.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=until+2014&amp;index=7&amp;md5=fcdeafd58362883dfa3be0141f1755d4" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">until 
 2014</a>.
 
 
 To protect the hard-won right to annual director elections at HPT, UNITE 
 HERE submitted a shareholder proposal recommending the Board opt out of <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Flaw.justia.com%2Fcodes%2Fmaryland%2F2016%2Fcorporations-and-associations%2Ftitle-3%2Fsubtitle-8%2F&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Maryland%27s+Unsolicited+Takeovers+Act+%28MUTA%29&amp;index=8&amp;md5=65662f674d19aa1d4120eb0c09083601" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Maryland's 
 Unsolicited Takeovers Act (MUTA)</a>. MUTA allows a board to reclassify 
 without shareholder approval, among other takeover defenses. HPT 
 shareholders also repeatedly supported these proposals with large 
 majorities of votes cast (<a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000110465913043601%2Fa13-12824_18k.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=77%25&amp;index=9&amp;md5=6b7b13842eb2858dc6e0ec4d0acd0a67" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">77%</a>-<a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000110465914045641%2Fa14-15175_18k.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=97%25&amp;index=10&amp;md5=4c1f1eaa2a75aa493b14600fee78ad95" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">97%</a> 
 of votes cast) every year between 2014 and 2016. 
 Shareholders <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000104746917002830%2Fa2231884zdef14a.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=are+set+to+vote+on+the+same+proposal+in+2017&amp;index=11&amp;md5=de52a669980ff2c939c05c84e074ee60" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">are 
 set to vote on the same proposal in 2017</a> (Proposal 5). A <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotelcorpgov.org%2Four-record%2F&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=majority+of+listed+lodging+REITs&amp;index=12&amp;md5=7deffcae071c54eadca9e92797caf670" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">majority 
 of listed lodging REITs</a> have opted out of at least one provision of 
 MUTA.
 
 
 Meanwhile, the Board has stripped other important rights from 
 shareholders, including <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F945394%2F000155837015001580%2Fhpt-20150630x10q.htm&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=passing+new+bylaw+amendments&amp;index=13&amp;md5=3f2a1185e4c2981c83510fdcd4f1a900" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">passing 
 new bylaw amendments</a> that sharply limit shareholders&#39; ability to 
 nominate, or propose the removal of, their director representatives. 
 These restrictive amendments may impact more than 97% of the Company&#39;s 
 current institutional investors.
 
 
 HPT's shareholders have expressed their discontent at the ballot box. No 
 incumbent HPT director nominee over the past two years has won the 
 support of a voting majority of shareholders, but all were reappointed.
 
 
 The ability of HPT's board to entrench itself is enabled by Maryland 
 state statutes. In Delaware, where the majority of U.S. companies and 
 trusts are incorporated, the right of shareowners to amend bylaws is 
 expressly <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fdelcode.delaware.gov%2Ftitle8%2Fc001%2Fsc01%2Findex.shtml&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=protected+by+statute&amp;index=14&amp;md5=6f7b7f44a0ebb5e0463bb2687461ead3" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">protected 
 by statute</a>. In Maryland, company charters or bylaws <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Flaw.justia.com%2Fcodes%2Fmaryland%2F2016%2Fcorporations-and-associations%2Ftitle-2%2Fsubtitle-1%2Fsection-2-109%2F&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=may+strip+that+right&amp;index=15&amp;md5=5bed33a909b9a1e5333867f6f9c2089d" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">may 
 strip that right</a> from shareholders (as is the case with HPT).
 
 
 We urge shareholders vote YES on proposal 5 (opt out of Maryland's 
 Unsolicited Takeover Act), Proposal 6 (adopt proxy access) and to vote 
 AGAINST all director nominees who just removed shareholders' hard-won 
 right to elect directors annually.
 
 
 UNITE HERE represents hospitality workers and is a member of the 
 Council of Institutional Investors. Its members are beneficiaries of 
 pension funds with over $60 billion in assets. Since 2012, UNITE HERE <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotelcorpgov.org&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=has+worked+to+improve+shareholder+rights+at+hospitality+REITs&amp;index=16&amp;md5=79627716fa1486e458fa5e47ac5d2e33" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">has 
 worked to improve shareholder rights at hospitality REITs</a>. 
 There is a labor dispute at one hotel owned by HPT. For additional 
 information, please see <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotelcorpgov.org&amp;esheet=51561206&amp;newsitemid=20170517006102&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotelcorpgov.org&amp;index=17&amp;md5=f01b898a144b26e0ea8dcb6a5c5d2c55" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">http://www.hotelcorpgov.org</a>.
 
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