The profitability impact of REIT requirements: A comparative analysis of hotel REITS and hotel C-Corporations

Under the influence of regulatory requirements, REITs have evolved into entities that have distinct financial and organizational characteristics from their C-Corporation counterparts. This study aims to investigate whether hotel REITs are more profitable than hotel C-Corps and how REIT regulations contribute to this difference. The results indicate that despite the differences in tax obligation, operating expense, and dividend policy, hotel REITs and hotel C-Corporations are not significantly different in profitability. However, the analysis suggests that hotel C-Corps have advantage over hotel REITs in improving profitability through dividend payout increases. The findings also suggest a possible non-linear relationship between profitability and dividend payout, presenting an opportunity to extend Jensen's (1986) agency cost theory.