Four hotels change hands
Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. closed the sale of The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, the Hotel Yountville and the Bardessono Hotel and Spa on 14 July 2026 for $437.5 million in cash. The company reported the disposition in a Form 8-K filed on 17 July 2026.
A second closing followed on 12 August 2026. Braemar sold the 142-room Pier House Resort & Spa in Key West, Florida for $190.0 million in cash, or $1.3 million per key. Including anticipated capital expenditure of $11.8 million, the price equals a 7.3% capitalisation rate on net operating income for the trailing twelve months ended 30 June 2026. The Form 8-K carrying that figure was filed on 17 August 2026.
The go-forward portfolio runs to six to eight luxury properties across the United States and the Caribbean. The release of 12 June 2026 puts gross asset value above $1 billion and annual revenue at $300 million to $350 million for the trailing twelve months ended 31 March 2026. Richard Stockton, president and chief executive, said the company expects to evaluate the sale of another two or three assets to satisfy the obligations tied to the advisory termination.
The distribution reset behind the sales
Each closing moves a property to a new owner, and a new owner sets the channel programme, the rate strategy and the contract behind the front desk. A revenue team watching the group loses four luxury houses from the branded set and gains a smaller portfolio under a manager the company intends to build itself.
Braemar began steps to terminate the Fifth Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement with Ashford Inc. and its affiliates on 12 June 2026. The plan replaces the external advisor with employees hired directly by the company, and it cancels the Ashford master agreements, which frees the hotels to use a third-party property manager. Braemar puts the saving at more than $25 million a year in general and administrative costs.
Five new independent directors were to arrive, with an independent chair, and President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Stockton keeping his seat. Every other director, including Chairman Monty Bennett, agreed to step down. Braemar retained Ferguson Partners for the search.
The timetable that moved
The board set the 2026 annual meeting for 13 November, the record date for 30 September, and the deadline for a Schedule 14N nomination notice for 14 September. That determination sits in a Form 8-K filed on 4 September 2026 and signed by Jim Plohg, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary.
On 22 September 2026 the company postponed the meeting to 21 December 2026. The Form 8-K carrying the postponement was filed on 23 September 2026. The record date of 30 September stands from the earlier determination.
The two shareholder camps
Al Shams Investments Limited nominated five candidates for election to the board. Amendment No. 14 to its Schedule 13D, filed on 15 September 2026, reports 6,513,000 shares, or 9.48% of the class, on 68,679,318 shares outstanding as of 4 August 2026. Al Shams announced the slate on 14 September 2026 and described the nomination notice as nearly 900 pages.
Zazove Associates, LLC filed a letter on 17 September 2026 under an exempt solicitation. The letter states holdings of Braemar common and preferred stock, repeats its objection to the advisory termination, and puts the payments to Ashford at nearly $480 million plus accrued fees. Zazove states it intends to support a new slate of directors.
Both camps vote at the December meeting. A board replacement resets the management structure, and the management structure negotiates the hotel management agreements for the surviving portfolio. Revenue and distribution leaders from the sold properties answer to their new owners from the closing date, and the group’s remaining houses answer to whoever holds the contract after 21 December.
Braemar is a Maryland corporation and a real estate investment trust.