Question-and-Answer Session
(Operator instructions). Our first question will come from the line of Cann Hoe with KeyBanc. Please proceed with your question.
Cann Hoe - KeyBanc
Can you talk a little bit about the trends that you are seeing in July and August with the booking windows and the Transit group pace?
Monty Bennett
We don't give specific guidance, but typically our performance tracks the overall industry, and I'm sure you have seen the macro statistics, the same that we have. It seems like, the past few weeks the overall industry has been a little bit better than most of the second quarter, maybe down 16% 17% instead of 20% 21%, so we're seeing that trend. It's hard to see how it -- how it holds up.
The biggest falloff initially was a transient and then group started to falloff and we're not seeing group return in any meaningful fashion, although transit seems a little firmer, but it's as much of easy comparison compared to last year as anything. No, I don't know that the rate of transit has picked up as much as the comparisons are easy as far as the prior year, but booking windows are still very short.
Even when there is a book grouping, we have great skepticism about how much of that group is actually going to show up, and even the meeting planners themselves have great skepticism about how much is going to show up? So it's a guessing game.
Cann Hoe - KeyBanc
A question the Extended Stay negotiations. Can you talk a little bit about how far those discussions are and what your position in the tranche is and maybe if you do expect any recovery, how much you do expect?
Monty Bennett
Doug during his section talked about the debt maturities and he stated the year 2010 instead of 2011. So in other words, a part of his script should have read in 2011, we have $294.7 million of hard maturity debt due. And have already begun to work to refinance some of those loans. I think he said 2010.
Regarding Extended Stay, it is in bankruptcy. We are on the Creditors Committee. It's just hard to say how this all is going to work out. Every day that we wait, valuation of this portfolio will increase. And so the longer it can be stretched out, the better for us, since we're in a relatively [junior] piece.
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