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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

Commission File No. 1-13079

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

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Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
NONE

(Title of Class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ⌧ Yes ◻ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ◻ Yes ⌧ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ⌧ Yes  ◻ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ⌧ Yes ◻ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ◻

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No

The aggregate market value of the shares of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the closing price of the Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 20202023 of $34.60$92.92 per share was approximately $1,752,136,111$5,383,862,667 (assuming for this purpose that shares beneficially owned by persons other than officers or directors of the registrant, and their affiliates, are held by non-affiliates).

As of January 31, 2021,2024 there were 54,983,52659,711,664 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 20212024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

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RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES, INC.

20202023 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

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PART I

Throughout this report, we refer to Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Ryman”), together with its subsidiaries, as “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company.” For each year discussed, our fiscal year ends on December 31. All of the discussion and analysis in this report should be read with, and is qualified in its entirety by, the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements concern our goals, beliefs, expectations, strategies, objectives, plans, future operating results and underlying assumptions, and other statements that are not necessarily based on historical facts. Without limitation, you can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and these statements may contain words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “might,” “projects,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “continue,” “estimate,” or “pursue,” or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terms. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, future actions, strategies, future performance, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings and future financial results. These also include statements regarding (i) the future performance of our business, anticipated impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on travel, transient and group demand, the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results from operations, liquidity, collection of cancellation and attrition fees, cost containment efforts, efforts to rebook customers for later dates in 2021 and later years,business levels and our plans for reopening and operating our Gaylord Hotels propertiesanticipated financial results during future periods, and other assets during the ongoing pandemic and when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides;business or operational issues; (ii) the effect of our election to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and maintain REIT status for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (iii) the holding of our non-qualifying REIT assets in one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”); (iv) the suspension of our dividend and our dividend policy, including the frequency and amount of any dividend we may pay; (v) our strategic goals and potential growth opportunities, including future expansion of the geographic diversity of our existing asset portfolio through acquisitions and investment in joint ventures; (vi) Marriott International, Inc.’s (“Marriott”) ability to effectively manage our hotels and other properties; (vii) our anticipated capital expenditures and investments; (viii) the potential operating and financial restrictions imposed on our activities under existing and future financing agreements including our credit facility and other contractual arrangements with third parties, including management agreements with Marriott; (ix) our use of cash during 2021; (x) our ability to borrow available funds under our credit facility; (xi)(x) our expectations about successfully amending the agreements governing our indebtedness should the need arise; (xi) the effects of inflation and increased costs on our business and on our customers, including group customers at our hotels; and (xii) any other business or operational matters. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, our actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated by the forward-looking statements as a result of many known and unknown factors including, but not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and elsewhere in this report.Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any forward-looking statement made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K speaks only as of the date on which the statement is made. New risks and uncertainties may arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us. We have no duty to, and do not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements we make in this report, except as may be required by law.

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Risk Factors Summary

Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. You should carefully review and consider the full discussion of our risk factors in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Set forth below is a summary list of the principal risk factors as of the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

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Item 1.            Business

Overview

Ryman is the successor to Gaylord Entertainment Company (“Gaylord”), a Delaware corporation originally incorporated in 1956. As part of the plan to restructure our business operations to facilitate our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, Gaylord merged with and into its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ryman, on October 1, 2012, with Ryman as the surviving corporation, and Ryman succeeded to and began conducting, either directly or indirectly, all of the business conducted by Gaylord immediately prior to the merger. Ryman is a Delaware corporation that began operating as a self-advised and self-administered REIT for federal income tax purposes on January 1, 2013. We specialize in group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets. As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to federal corporate income taxes on that portion of our capital gain or ordinary income from our REIT operations that is distributed to our stockholders. This treatment substantially eliminates the federal “double taxation” on earnings from our REIT operations, or taxation once at the corporate level and again at the stockholder level, that generally results from investment in a regular C corporation. Our non-REIT operations, which consist of the activities of our TRSs that lease or sublease our hotels from our qualified REIT subsidiaries, as well as businesses within our Entertainment segment, continue to be subject, as applicable, to federal and state corporate income taxes.

Our owned assets include a network of five upscale, meetings-focused resorts totaling 9,6159,917 rooms that are managed by Marriott under the Gaylord Hotels brand. These five resorts, which we refer to as our Gaylord Hotels properties, consist of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee (“Gaylord Opryland”), the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center near Orlando, Florida (“Gaylord Palms”), the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, Texas (“Gaylord Texan”), the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington D.C. (“Gaylord National”), and the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center near Denver, Colorado (“Gaylord Rockies”), which iswas previously owned by a joint venture (the “Gaylord Rockies joint venture”), in which we ownowned a 65% interest. On May 7, 2021, we purchased the remaining 35% interest in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture. Our other owned hotel assets managed by Marriott include the Inn at Opryland, an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord Opryland, and the AC Hotel at National Harbor, Washington D.C. (“AC Hotel”), an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord National.National, and effective June 30, 2023, the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa (“JW Marriott Hill Country”).

We also own a controlling 70% equity interest in a business comprised of a number of entertainment and operate media and entertainment assets, includingknown as the Opry Entertainment Group (“OEG”), which we report as our Entertainment segment. These assets include the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary weekly showcase of country music’s finest performers for 9598 years; the Ryman Auditorium, the storied live music venue and former home of the Grand Ole Opry located in downtown Nashville; WSM-AM, the Opry’s radio home; Ole Red, a brand of Blake Shelton-themed bar, music venue and event spaces; and threetwo Nashville-based assets managed by Marriott – Gaylord Springs Golf Links (“Gaylord Springs”), the Wildhorse Saloon and the General Jackson Showboat (“General Jackson”); and as of May 31, 2022, Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office, and retail complex located in Austin, Texas (“Block 21”). We also own a 50% interest in a joint venture intendedPrior to create and distribute a linear multicast and over-the-top channel dedicated to the country music lifestyle (“Circle”).June 16, 2022, we owned 100% of OEG.

Our operations are organized into three principal business segments: (i) Hospitality, which includes our directly-owned hotelGaylord Hotels properties, JW Marriott Hill Country (effective June 30, 2023), the Inn at Opryland and the results of hotel operations, as well as the Gaylord Rockies joint venture;AC Hotel; (ii) Entertainment, which includes our Grand Ole Oprythe entertainment and media assets the Ryman Auditorium, WSM-AM, Ole Red, our other Nashville-based attractions, among others, as well as the Circle joint venture;comprising OEG; and (iii) Corporate and Other, which includes corporate expenses. These three business segments — Hospitality, Entertainment, and Corporate and Other — represented approximately 89%85%, 11%,15% and 0%, respectively, of our total revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.2023.

Financial information by business segment and for each of our Gaylord Hotels properties as of December 31, 20202023 and for each of the three years then ended appears in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and in “Note 1513 – Financial Reporting by Business Segments” to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Current Status

Our business has been adversely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, all of our hotel properties are open at limited capacity, other than Gaylord National, which remains closed. All of our entertainment assets are open at limited capacity, including limited attendance for shows at the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium, other than the General Jackson, which remains closed, and the Wildhorse Saloon, which is temporarily closed due to the recent December 2020 bombing in downtown Nashville. Any decision to increase capacity at our assets will be made in conjunction with local health authorities and in the best interests of our employees and guests. We have taken steps to conserve our liquidity and contain costs, including suspending our regular quarterly cash dividend payments to stockholders, deferring most non-essential capital projects, including our previously announced expansion at Gaylord Rockies, and obtaining waivers under and amendments to our credit agreement as described below. For more information concerning our operations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

OurLong-Term Strategic Plan

Our goal is to be the nation’s premier hospitality REIT for group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets.

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Description of our Hotel Portfolio

Our Gaylord Hotels properties incorporate meeting, convention and exhibition space with a large hotel property so the attendees never have to leave the location during their meetings. This concept of a self-contained destination dedicated primarily to the meetings industry has placed our Gaylord Hotels properties among the leading convention hotels in the country. Our Gaylord Hotels properties are routinely recognized by many industry and commercial publications, including being named the 2023 STELLA Award Gold Winner for best hotel chain by Northstar Meetings Group.

Marriott is responsible for the day-to-day management of our Gaylord Hotels properties, the JW Marriott Hill Country, the Inn at Opryland, and the AC Hotel. We believe that our Gaylord Hotels properties have benefitted and will continue to benefit from Marriott’s expansive sales force and popular frequent traveler program, as well as its ability to manage group business.

Based on our information, publicly-availablepublicly available information, and information and data obtained from Smith Travel Research, the top 10 non-gaming hotels within the United States with the highest square footage of self-contained exhibit and meeting space as of January 20212024 are as follows:

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Gaylord Opryland Resort and& Convention Center — Nashville, Tennessee. Gaylord Opryland is one of the leading convention destinations in the United States based upon number of rooms, exhibit space and conventions held. Designed with lavish gardens and expansive atrium areas, the resort is situated on approximately 172 acres in the Opryland complex. Gaylord Opryland has a number of themed restaurants, retail outlets, and a full-service spa with 27,000 square feet of dedicated space. It also serves as a destination resort for vacationers due to its proximity to the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, the General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Springs Golf Links (“Gaylord Springs”) – our 18-hole championship golf course with a 40,000 square-foot antebellum-style clubhouse offering meeting space for up to 500 guests – and other attractions in the Nashville area. Gaylord Opryland has 2,888 signature guest rooms, four ballrooms with approximately 127,000 square feet, 111 banquet/meeting rooms, and total meeting, exhibit and pre-function space of approximately 640,000 square feet. Gaylord Opryland is routinely recognized by many industry and commercial publications, including beingwas named a 20192021 STELLA Award FinalistGold Winner for best conference centersustainability initiative by Northstar Meetings Group, and Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings magazines, a 20202023 Award of Excellence Recipient from Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine, and recognitionhas been recognized as a member of Meeting & Conventions’ Hall of Fame. We opened the indoor sections of SoundWaves, a $90 million luxury indoor/outdoor waterparkwater amenity with over 200,000 square feet of water attractions and amenities adjacent to Gaylord Opryland in December 2018 and the outdoor sections in May 2019.

Gaylord Palms Resort and& Convention Center — Kissimmee, Florida. Gaylord Palms has 1,4161,718 signature guest rooms, threefive ballrooms with approximately 76,000115,000 square feet, 76111 banquet/meeting rooms, and total meeting, exhibit and pre-function space of approximately 400,000467,000 square feet. The resort is situated on a 65-acre site in Osceola County, Florida, which we have leased pursuant to a 75-year ground lease with a 24-year renewal option. The resort is approximately a five-minute drive from the main gate of the Walt Disney World® Resort complex. Gaylord Palms has a number of themed restaurants, retail outlets, a new resort pool,rapid river, and a full-service spa with 20,000 square feet of dedicated space. Hotel guests also have golf privileges at Celebration Golf Club, located approximately two miles from the property. Gaylord Palms is rated as a AAA Four-Diamond Hotel and is routinely recognized by many industry and commercial

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publications, including being awardedproperty. Gaylord Palms is rated as a 2019AAA Four-Diamond Hotel, was named a 2021 STELLA Award BronzeSilver Winner for each of best conference centerhotel resort event space, best food and beverage, and best sustainability initiative by Northstar Meetings Group, and Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings magazines, a 2020 Award of Excellence Recipient from Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine, and recognitionhas been recognized as a member of Meeting & Conventions Hall of Fame. In 2018,2021, we begancompleted construction of a $158 million expansion of Gaylord Palms, which will includeincluded an additional 302 guest rooms and 96,000 square feet of meeting space, an expanded resort pool and events lawn, and a new multi-level parking structure. The expansion is expected to be completed in April 2021.

Gaylord Texan Resort and& Convention Center — Grapevine, Texas. Gaylord Texan is situated on approximately 85 acres and is located approximately six minutes from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Of the 85 acres, we own 75 acres and lease approximately 10 acres pursuant to a ground lease. The hotel features a lavish and expansive atrium, 1,814 signature guest rooms, four ballrooms with approximately 115,000 square feet, 88 banquet/meeting rooms, and total meeting, exhibit and pre-function space of approximately 488,000 square feet. The property also includes a number of themed restaurants, retail outlets, a resort pool, a full-service spa with 25,000 square feet of dedicated space, and an entertainment complex consisting of an approximately 39,000 square foot venue with a performance stage, dance floor, and a two-story outdoor deck. Guests also have access to the adjacent Cowboys Golf Club. Gaylord Texan is rated as a AAA Four-Diamond Hotel and is routinely recognized by many industry and commercial publications, including being awardedwas named a 20202021 STELLA Award GoldSilver Winner for best convention center and a Bronze Winner for best décor/design by Northstar Meetings Group and Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings magazines and a 2020 Award of Excellence Recipient from Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine. In 2018, we completed construction of a $110 million expansion of Gaylord Texan that included an additional 303 guest rooms and 88,000 square feet of meeting space.

Gaylord National Resort and& Convention Center — National Harbor, Maryland. Gaylord National is situated on approximately 42 acres of land located on the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, Maryland, eight miles south of Washington, D.C. The hotel has 1,996 signature guest rooms, four ballrooms with approximately 103,000 square feet, 82 conference and breakout rooms, and total meeting, exhibit and pre-function space of approximately 500,000501,000 square feet. The hotel complex includes an 18-story glass atrium, a 20,000 square foot spa and fitness center, a freestanding 24,000-square foot ballroom building offering 16,000 square feet of meeting space on the banks of the Potomac River that opened in May 2017, and entertainment options such as restaurants, shops, and a two-story rooftop nightclub. Gaylord National is rated as a AAA Four-Diamond Hotel, and is routinely recognized by many industry and commercial publications, including being awardedwas named a 20202021 STELLA Award Gold Winner for best food and beverage, a Silver Award Winner for best on-site support staff, and a Bronze Award Winner for best décor/design by Northstar Meetings Group, andMeetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings magazines, a 2020 Award of Excellence Recipient from Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine, and Bestmagazine. In 2021, we completed our renovation of all of the East Award Winner from Meetings Today.guestrooms at Gaylord National, is currently closed due toand in 2022 we completed a re-concepting of the COVID-19 pandemic.food and beverage options at Gaylord National.

Gaylord Rockies Resort and& Convention Center — Aurora, Colorado. As further discussed in “Note 4 – Investment in Gaylord Rockies Joint Venture” to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we own a 65% interest in, and are the managing member of, the Gaylord Rockies joint venture. Gaylord Rockies is situated on approximately 85 acres and is located approximately 10 minutes from Denver International Airport. The hotel features a lavish and expansive atrium, 1,501 signature guest rooms, including 114 suites, four ballrooms with up to approximately 60,000 square feet, up to 81 breakout rooms, indoor meeting, exhibit and pre-function space of approximately 409,000 square feet, and additional outdoor meeting space of approximately 76,000 square feet. The property also includes a number of themed restaurants, retail outlets, a full-service spa, five outdoor event spaces and an indoor/outdoor pool complex. The approximately $800 million hotel project opened on a limited basis in December 2018 and on a fully completed basis in January 2019. Gaylord Rockies is rated as a AAA Four-Diamond Hotel and was awarded a 20192021 STELLA Award Silver WinnerFinalist for best conferenceconvention center by Northstar Meetings GroupGroup. In 2022, we began a $98 million multi-year interior and Meetingsexterior enhancement project at Gaylord Rockies to better position the property for our group customers. These enhancements are expected to be completed in 2024.

JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & ConventionsSpa — San Antonio, Texas. We purchased JW Marriott Hill Country June 30, 2023. The property is situated on approximately 600 acres in the Texan Hill Country region outside of San Antonio. The hotel features 1,002 guest rooms and Successful Meetings magazines.indoor and outdoor meeting and event space of approximately 268,000 square feet. The property also includes eight food and beverage outlets, a full-service spa with 26,000 square feet of dedicated space, a nine-acre water experience, and TPC San Antonio, which features two 18-hole golf courses. JW Marriott Hill Country is rated as a AAA Four-Diamond Hotel.

Inn at Opryland. We also own theThe Inn at Opryland which is located across the street from Gaylord Opryland. The hotel has 303 rooms and approximately 14,000 square feet of meeting space.

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AC Hotel. We also own theThe AC Hotel which is located near Gaylord National. The hotel has 192 rooms and approximately 3,700 square feet of meeting space.

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Circle.In 2019, we acquired a 50% equity interest in Circle, a media network dedicated to the country lifestyle consumer. Circle offers entertainment news, documentaries, movies, and archival, new and licensed programming, as well as Grand Ole Opry performances. We made $12.5 million in capital contributions through December 31, 2020, and the joint venture agreement requires us to contribute up to an additional $2.5 million through December 31, 2021. We made such a contribution in January 2021. Circle launched its broadcast network on January 1, 2020, with sixteen original shows and two major distribution partnerships. As of February 2021, Circle is available to more than 60% of U.S. television households via over-the-air and cable television and is available through multiple online streaming services covering over 100 million monthly average users.

Corporate and Other Segment

Our Corporate and Other segment includes operating and general and administrative expenses related to the overall management of the Company which are not allocated to the other reportable segments, including certain costs for our retirement plans, equity-based compensation plans, information technology, human resources, accounting, and other administrative expenses.

Corporate History and Structure

We were originally incorporated in 1956 and were reorganized in connection with a 1997 corporate restructuring. Prior to our REIT conversion, we operated as a C corporation. In 2012, we completed restructuring transactions intended to facilitate our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, which included the merger, effective on October 1, 2012, of our predecessor, Gaylord, with and into its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ryman, with Ryman surviving the merger, at which time Ryman succeeded to and began conducting, directly or indirectly, all of the business conducted by Gaylord immediately prior to the merger. Prior to Marriott’s assumption of the day-to-day management of our hotels and certain of our Nashville attractions, we managed such assets. We elected REIT status effective January 1, 2013.

All of our assets are held by, and all of our operations are conducted through, RHP Hotel Properties, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”), of which we own, directly or indirectly, 99.2%99.3% of the partnership interests (collectively, the “OP Units”), including all of the general partnership interests. On December 31, 2018, we amended theThe Operating Partnership’s limited partnership agreement ofprovides that the Operating Partnership to provide that its partnership unitsOP Units held by other persons may be exchanged on a one-for-one basis for shares of our common stock. Under certain circumstances, we may issue such partnership unitsOP Units as consideration to acquire hotel properties. By offering partnership units,OP Units, the seller of such hotel property could defer federal income tax on any of the seller’s gains on sale, and this tax advantage may enable us to acquire hotel properties in the future which otherwise may not be available for sale.

As a REIT, at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year must generally be derived from “rents from real property” or other income permitted by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). To meet this requirement, our hotel properties are owned or leased by certain subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership, which are disregarded entities for federal income tax purposes, and these subsidiaries lease or sublease our hotels to our TRSsTRS pursuant to leases that contain economic terms which are similar to leases between unrelated parties. The rent that we receive from our TRS lessees qualifies as “rents from real property” as long as the property is operated on behalf of our TRS lessees by a person who qualifies as an “independent contractor” (as defined in the Code) and who is, or is related to a person who is, actively engaged in the trade or business of operating “qualified lodging facilities” (as defined in the Code) for any person unrelated to us and our TRS lessees (an “eligible independent contractor”). Our TRS lessees have engaged Marriott to manage the day-to-day operations of our hotels as an eligible independent contractor.

In addition, we own our Entertainment businesses in TRSs, and certain of those TRSs have engaged Marriott to manage their assets, as described above.

Tax Status

As a REIT, we generally are not subject to corporate federal income tax on that portion of our REIT taxable income that we distribute to our stockholders. In addition to the requirement that 75% of our gross income for each taxable year be derived from “rents from real property” discussed above, we are subject to other organizational and operational

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Human Capital

We create unique destination and entertainment experiences for our customers. This work requiresTo serve our customers, we have built a strong, people-centric corporate culture that celebrates diversity, provides opportunities for growth and improves the communities we serve. Demonstrating valueour local communities. Providing competitive compensation and benefits to our employees is fundamental to the success of our organization. Ultimately, weWe believe that caring for the people who work in our businesses and communities leads to a more positive experience for our guests and gives us a competitive advantage in the industries in which we operate.

Our goal is to employ a highly engaged, high performinghigh-performing and satisfied workforce that is happy and empowered.workforce.

Our Workforce

AtAs of December 31, 2020,2023, we employed 9951,471 people, including 476824 full-time and 519647 part-time and on-call employees in our Entertainment and Corporate segments. Fifty-fiveFifty-four percent of our population identify as female and 45%46% identify as male. Women held 47%50% of leadership positions as of December 31, 2020.2023. We do not have any employees in our direct employment represented by collective bargaining agreements.

Our Hotels and Managed Attractions

While ourOur hotel operator, Marriott, is responsible for hiring and managing the workforce at our Gaylord Hotels properties, as well as JW Marriott Hill Country, the Inn at Opryland, the AC Hotel, Gaylord Springs, the General Jackson Gaylord Springs and the Wildhorse Saloon, we take our oversight role in ensuring fair labor management practices seriously.W Austin. We receive periodic updates from Marriott concerning Marriott’s policies, and we believe they reflect our people-first approach.

Philosophy and Culture

Our peoplepeople-first philosophy centers around creating a workplace culture where all employees feel respected, valued and inspired. We celebrate and prioritize diversity and inclusion and positioncommunication to ensure our employees for success with the tools and resources they need to thrive. We also actively engage employees in regular opportunities to feel connected to our company’s goals and engaged in the communities in which we operate.serve. Our Total Wellbeingcommitment to an inclusive work environment is a top priority. Additionally, our benefits philosophy includes resources to help employees live happier, healthier lives, while rewarding performance and encouraging retention. In the last three years, despite rising healthcare costs, we have kept employee healthcare premium increases at or below 5%. Our people-first culture and our benefits offerings contribute to our ability to remain an employer of choice in each of our markets.

Programs in place to reinforce our people-centric culture include, among others:

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COVID-19 ResponseEnvironmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)

Our commitmentWe have made ESG a priority throughout our organization and the communities in which we operate. As our portfolio evolves over time, sustainability will continue to increase in significance as we adapt and develop existing assets. We seek to execute any future changes to our strong employee-centric culture has drivenportfolio, including with respect to new development, major renovation and ongoing operations, in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Our asset management team works directly with Marriott for the Marriott-managed properties to develop a short-term and long-term ESG strategy. We have made firm commitments to strengthening the local communities in which we operate. The RHP Foundation was established in 2005 to formalize our actions fromcharitable commitments and to help elevate our impact.

In September 2023, we published our Sustainability Report, which highlights the onsetenvironmental and social performance of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, we proactively suspended operationsCompany and includes ongoing initiatives and historical performance in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative Index and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Real Estate Infrastructure Segment Standard. This report is available on our website at our Entertainment segment businesses as our communities worked to reduce COVID-19 spread. We extended full pay and benefits to full- and part-time employees in our operations who could not work due to the shutdown for 14 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively, while senior staff in director-level and above positions took voluntary pay cuts for the remainder of 2020. To ensure the continued well-being of our employees, we instituted regular employee meetings and communications, developed supportive policies for COVID-related leaves of absence, offered mindfulness for stress reduction classes and established proprietary health safety standards and training in partnership with Vanderbilt Health. Our corporate staff quickly adapted to a work-from-home structure. We also engaged with Vanderbilt Health to develop best-in-class safety protocols and proprietary training that allowed our businesses to safely and successfully reopen at reduced capacities by June 2020. We made this training available to other Nashville businesses through the “Good to Go” program. We continue to provide our employees with access to Vanderbilt Health experts via paid and voluntary training opportunities on infectious disease control, stress management and vaccine safety. While most of our workforce has returned to work, in 2020 we reduced our full-time workforce by approximately 15%. Approximately 35% of our workforce remains on furlough.https://ir.rymanhp.com/social-responsibility/sustainability-reports. The information

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included in, referenced to, or otherwise accessible through our website, is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be part of, this Report on Form 10-K or any document unless expressly incorporated by reference therein.

Competition

Hospitality

Our current hotel properties compete with numerous other hotels throughout the United States and abroad, particularly the approximately 100 convention hotels that, on average, have over 1,000 rooms and a significant amount of meeting and exhibit space. We believe that competition among convention hotels is based on, among other things: (i) the hotel’s reputation, (ii) the quality of the hotel’s facility, (iii) the quality and scope of a hotel’s meeting and convention facilities and services, (iv) the desirability of a hotel’s location, (v) travel distance to a hotel for meeting attendees, (vi) a hotel facility’s accessibility to a recognized airport, (vii) the amount of entertainment and recreational options available in and in the vicinity of the hotel, (viii) service levels at the hotel, and (ix) price. Our hotels also compete against large municipal convention centers, including those in Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Washington, D.C., Denver and Denver. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the anticipated recovery, weSan Antonio. We believe that our hotels’ expansive spaces and enhanced safety protocols willquality meeting and convention facilities and services provide a competitive advantage over other hotels.hotels and convention centers.

The hotel business is management and marketing intensive. Our current hotel properties compete with other hotels throughout the United States for high quality management and marketing personnel. We believe that Marriott’s international brand, marketing scale and ability to manage group business have improved our hotels’ competitive position. However, there can be no assurance that Marriott will be able to continue to attract and retain employees with the requisite managerial and marketing skills.

Additionally, as a REIT, we compete for investment opportunities in the hospitality industry, particularly the group-oriented meetings sector of the hospitality industry, with entities that may have substantially greater financial and other resources than we have. These entities generally may be able to accept more risk than we can prudently manage. Our focus on acquiring hotels in the large group meetings sector of the hospitality industry and the competition in this sector may generally limit the number of hotel properties that we are able to acquire. This competition may also increase the bargaining power of property owners seeking to sell to us, making it more difficult for us to acquire new properties on attractive terms.

Entertainment

The Grand Ole OpryOEG and our otherits entertainment businessesand media assets compete with all other forms of entertainment and recreational activities. The success of the Entertainment group is dependent upon certain factors beyond our control, including economic conditions, the amount of available leisure time, transportation cost, public taste and weather conditions. Our radio station competes with numerous other types of entertainment businesses and advertisementadvertising media, and success is often dependent on taste and fashion, which may fluctuate from time to time.

Management Agreements

Gaylord Hotels. We are a party to a management agreement with Marriott for each of our four wholly-owned Gaylord Hotels properties, as well as a pooling agreement with Marriott with respect to our four wholly-owned Gaylord Hotels properties other than Gaylord Rockies, on an aggregate basis. Each of the management agreements other than Gaylord Rockies has a term expiring in 2047, with three automatic 10-year renewal periods (provided the applicable hotel has met certain performance thresholds). Each of thethese management agreements requires us to pay Marriott a base management fee of approximately 2% of gross revenues from the applicable property for each fiscal year or portion thereof. Additionally, the pooling agreement requires us to pay to Marriott an incentive fee of 10% of the first $15.0 million of pooled available cash flow (which is generally operating profit for the pooled hotels less an owner’s priority) plus 20% of any additional pooled available cash flow over such threshold. The owner’s priority is collectively $240 million, plus certain additional amounts, including 10% of certain non-routine capital expenditures and conversion work, and 10% of replacements of furniture, fixtures, and equipment and routine capital expenditures in excess of a reserve. If one or more of our four wholly-owned Gaylord Hotels properties other than Gaylord Rockies were not a “pooled hotel” (i.e., if we cease to own the hotel or we lease the hotel

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to a third party), the thresholds used to calculate the incentive fee in the pooling agreement will be adjusted, and the incentive fee for the non-pooled hotel will be based on such hotel’s performance. The management agreements and pooling agreement also contain certain restrictions on our incurring indebtedness that encumber our four wholly-owned Gaylord Hotels

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management agreement requires us to pay to Marriott an incentive fee of 15% of incentive income (as defined in the management agreement) over a certain threshold.

Total Marriott base management fees incurred for our applicable assets during 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 20182021 were $10.3$42.8 million, $31.6$35.1 million and $23.3$17.6 million, respectively. Total incentive fees incurred during 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 20182021 were $0, $12.6$28.5 million, $13.5 million, and $11.8$0.3 million, respectively. Management fees are presented in the accompanying financial information net of the amortization of the deferred management rights proceeds discussed further in “Note 65 – Deferred Management Rights Proceeds” to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Seasonality

Portions of our business are seasonal in nature. The group convention business at our Gaylord Hotels properties is subject to reduced levels of demand during the year-end holiday periods. We are not experiencing typical seasonal trends during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Additional Information

Our web site address is www.rymanhp.com. We make available free of charge through our web site our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, definitive proxy statements, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The information provided on our web site is not part of this report, and is therefore not incorporated by reference unless such information is otherwise specifically referenced elsewhere in this report. The public may also read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC on theirits website at www.sec.gov.

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Entertainment in January 2005, Mr. Chaffin worked for General Motors Corporation for 9 years serving in a variety of corporate and manufacturing positions. Mr. Chaffin earned a B.S. degree from Lipscomb University and an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

Scott J. Lynn is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Company, a position he has held since May 2018. From January 2013 to April 2018, he was the Company’s Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. From August 2003 to January 2013, he served as the Company’s Associate General Counsel. From May 2002 to August 2003, Mr. Lynn was Senior Counsel at Progeny Marketing Innovations, a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation. From August 1998 to May 2002, Mr. Lynn was an associate at the law firm of Stokes & Bartholomew, P.A. Mr. Lynn is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Law and Tennessee Technological University.

Jennifer Hutcheson is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. Ms. Hutcheson has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since March 2022. Prior to such time, she served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of the Company, a position she has held since March 2020. From May 2018 to February 2020, she was Senior Vice President,

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their ability to operate and manage our hotel properties successfully and could negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders.

We cannot assure you that our third-party hotel managers will operate and manage our hotel properties in a manner that is consistent with their obligations under the hotel management agreements, that our third-party hotel managers will not be negligent in their performance or engage in other criminal or fraudulent activity, or that they will not otherwise default on their management obligations to us.

Even if we believe our hotel properties are being operated inefficiently or in a manner that does not result in satisfactory operational metrics, we will have limited ability to require our third-party hotel managers to change their method of operation of our hotel properties. We generally will attempt to resolve issues with third-party hotel managers through discussions and negotiations. However, if we are unable to reach satisfactory results through discussions and

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our ability to sell or lease our hotel properties could negatively affect the marketability of our hotel properties and restrict our ability to refinance our existing debt secured by our hotel properties.

Marriott and any future third-party hotel manager may own or operate hotels that compete with our hotel properties.

Our third-party hotel managers may own or operate hotels that compete with our current hotel properties and any hotel properties that we acquire, which may result in a conflict of interest. For example, Marriott and its affiliates own, have invested in, operate, and have provided credit support or operating guarantees to hotels that compete or will compete with our current hotel properties, including the Marriott Orlando World Center, which competes with Gaylord Palms, and the Washington Marriott Marquis, which competes with Gaylord National. As a result, our third-party hotel managers may make decisions regarding competing hotel properties that are not or would not be in our best interest. In addition, such third-party hotel managers’ operation of other hotels may divert attention away from the operation and management of our hotel properties.

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These factors could reduce the revenues and net operating profits of our TRS lessees, which in turn could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common stock and our ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders.

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or acquisitions solely from cash provided from our operating activities because we must distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined before the deduction for dividends paid and net of capital gains) each year to maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a result, our ability to fund acquisitions or capital expenditures through any retained earnings or operating cash flow will be limited. Consequently, we will rely upon the availability of debt or equity capital to fund hotel acquisitions and improvements. Our ability to grow through acquisitions will be limited if we cannot obtain satisfactory debt or equity financing, which will depend on market conditions. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain additional equity or debt financing or that we will be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms.

In addition, capital improvements may give rise to the following risks:

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expectation that we and our third-party service providers and processors will adequately protect their personal information. The regulatory environment surrounding information, security and privacy is also increasingly demanding and evolving. For example, in June 2018, the State of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), which became effective in January 2020, requiring companies that process information on California residents to, among other things, provide new disclosures and options to consumers about data collection, use and sharing policies. Our existing systems may be unable to satisfy changing regulatory requirements and employee and customer expectations, or may require significant additional investments or time to do so. Despite implementation of various measures designed to protect our information systems and records, including those we maintain with our service providers, we, the hotel managers and/or our third-party service providers may be subject to security breaches, system failures, viruses, operator error, employee misuse, and unauthorized or inadvertent releases of data. A significant theft, loss, or fraudulent use of customer, employee, or company data maintained by us or by a service provider or failure to comply with the various U.S. and international laws and regulations applicable to the protection of such data, including the CCPA, or with Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards, could divert our attention, adversely impact our reputation, result in remedial and other fines or litigation, cause us to incur substantial liabilities or costs, or result in a loss of valuable data or a loss of consumer confidence. A breach in the security of our information systems or those of our service providers, or the unauthorized use of such data by us or our third-party providers, could lead to an interruption in the operation of our systems, resulting in operational inefficiencies and a loss of profits.

CyberChanges in privacy and data security laws could increase our operating costs and increase our exposure to fines and litigation.

We are subject to numerous, complex, and frequently changing laws, regulations, and contractual obligations designed to protect personal information. Various U.S. federal and state laws, payment card industry security standards, and other information privacy and security standards are all applicable to us. Various states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia have passed laws pertaining to the processing of personal data, which require, among other things, that businesses provide new disclosures and options to consumers about data collection, use and sharing policies. Significant legislative, judicial or regulatory changes have been and could be issued in the future. These legal requirements are rapidly changing and are not consistent across jurisdictions. Violations of these new laws may subject us to civil monetary penalties, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, provides for a private cause of action for data breaches. Compliance with changes in applicable data security and privacy laws and regulations and contractual obligations has increased, and may in the future increase, our operating costs and may restrict our business operations, increase our exposure to fines and litigation in the event of alleged noncompliance, and adversely affect our reputation. Moreover, many jurisdictions are considering and adopting regulations governing the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning applications and tools (including in relation to hiring and employment practices). Compliance with these regulations may be difficult or costly to implement and result in a burden on our operations that use artificial intelligence or machine learning applications and tools.

Cybersecurity incidents, including the failure to protect the integrity or availability of IT systems or the security of confidential information, or the introduction of malware or ransomware, could have a disruptive effect onharm our business.

While we have implemented security measures to safeguard our systems and data, our measures or the measures of our service providers or hotel manager may not be sufficient to maintain the confidentiality, security,integrity, or availability of the data collected, stored, and used to manage our Gaylord Hotels properties.businesses. Efforts to hack or circumvent security measures, efforts to gain unauthorized access to data, failure of systems or software to operate as designed or intended,

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the operation of our systems or our hotel manager’s systems, resulting in operational inefficiencies and a loss of profits, and negative publicity, resulting in tangible adverse effects on our business, including consumer boycotts, cancellations, lost sales or litigation, all of which could affect our market share, reputation, business, financial condition, or results of operations. In addition, althoughThese events may also cause us to incur substantial costs, including but not limited to, costs associated with remediation for or recovery of stolen assets or information, including ransom costs paid to cyber attackers, costs for sending legally required notifications to customers or other affected individuals, and increased cyber protection costs to guard against opportunities for re-occurrence of a breach. Although we or our manager carry cyber/privacy liability insurance that is designed to protect us against certain losses related to cyber risks, that insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all losses or all types of claims that may arise in connection with cyber-attacks,cyber attacks, security compromises, and other related incidents. Furthermore, in the future such insurance may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

Our real estate assets are subject to numerous risks.

Because we own hotels and attractions properties, we are subject to the risks that generally relate to investments in real property. The investment returns available from equity investments in real estate depend in large part on the amount of income earned and capital appreciation generated by the related properties, as well as the expenses incurred. In addition, a variety of other factors affect income from properties and real estate values, including governmental regulations, insurance, zoning, tax and eminent domain laws, interest rate levels and the availability of financing. For example, new or existing real estate zoning or tax laws can make it more expensive and/or time-consuming to develop real property or expand, modify or renovate properties. When interest rates increase, the cost of acquiring, developing, expanding or renovating real property increases, particularly as the cost of borrowing increases, and real property values may decrease as the number of potential buyers decreases. Similarly, as financing becomes less available, it becomes more difficult both to acquire and to sell real property. Finally, governments can, under eminent domain laws, take real property. Sometimes this taking is for less compensation than the owner believes the property is worth. Any of these factors could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, equity real estate investments, such as the investments we hold and any additional properties that we may acquire, are relatively difficult to sell quickly. If our properties do not generate revenue sufficient to meet operating expenses, including debt service and capital expenditures, our income will be reduced.

Our properties are subject to environmental regulations that could impose significant financial liability on us.

Environmental laws, ordinances and regulations of various federal, state, local and foreign governments regulate certain of our properties and could make us liable for the costs of removing or cleaning up hazardous or toxic substances on, under or in the properties we currently own or operate or those we previously owned or operated. Those laws could impose liability without regard to whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of hazardous or toxic substances. The presence of hazardous or toxic substances, or the failure to properly clean up such substances when present, could jeopardize our ability to develop, use, sell or rent the real property or to borrow using the real property as collateral. If we arrange for the disposal or treatment of hazardous or toxic wastes, we could be liable for the costs of removing or cleaning up wastes at the disposal or treatment facility, even if we never owned or operated that facility. Other laws, ordinances and regulations could require us to manage, abate or remove lead- or asbestos-containing materials. Similarly, the operation and closure of storage tanks are often regulated by federal, state, local and foreign laws. Finally, certain laws, ordinances and regulations, particularly those governing the management or preservation of wetlands, coastal zones and threatened or endangered species, could limit our ability to develop, use, sell or rent our real property. Existing governmental laws and regulations may be revised or new laws and regulations relating to climate change, air quality or other environmental and health concerns may be adopted or become applicable to us, which could

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Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act could require us to incur substantial costs.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (the “ADA”), all public accommodations must meet various federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Compliance with the ADA’s requirements could require removal of access barriers, and non-compliance could result in the U.S. government imposing fines or in private litigants winning damages. Although we believe that our hotel properties substantially comply with present requirements of the ADA, we may be subject to audits or investigations of all of our hotels to determine our compliance, and one or more hotels may not be fully compliant with the ADA. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in the incurrence of additional costs to attain compliance. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our hotel properties and to make alterations as appropriate in this respect. If we are required to make substantial modifications to our hotel properties, whether to comply with the ADA or other changes in governmental rules and regulations, our financial condition, results of operations, the market price of our common stock and amount of cash available for debt service or distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected. Additionally, because we rely on third-party managers to operate our hotel properties and certain attractions, we have limited control over ensuring compliance at those locations with applicable ADA requirements or approving certain remediation action taken by the manager to resolve such issues.

As an owner of hotel properties and operator of leisure businesses, we are subject to risks relating to acts of God, outbreaks of pandemic disease, terrorist activity and war.

Our operating income and ability to make distributions to our stockholders may be reduced by acts of God, outbreaks of pandemic disease (including COVID-19), or acts of terrorism in locations where we own and/or operate significant properties and areas of the world from which we draw a large number of customers. Gaylord Opryland, which is located adjacent to the Cumberland River and is protected by levees built to sustain a 100-year flood, suffered flood damage on May 3, 2010 as the river rose to levels that over-topped the levees. The per occurrence flood insurance limit for our Gaylord Opryland hotel is now $350 million. We have also completed enhancements to the levees that protect the hotel to increase the height of the levees. While we believe these steps are reasonable given the likelihood of flood damage at Gaylord Opryland, there can be no assurances that flooding will not occur at Gaylord Opryland in the future. Some types of losses, such as from flood, earthquake, tornado, terrorism and environmental hazards, may be either uninsurable, subject to sublimit, or too expensive to justify insuring against. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occur, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we have invested in a hotel, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the hotel. In that event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the property. Similarly, outbreaks of pandemic disease (including COVID-19), wars or armed conflicts (including the potential for war)war or armed conflicts), terrorist activity (including threats of terrorist activity), political unrest and other forms of civil strife as well as geopolitical uncertainty, may cause our future results to differ materially from anticipated results.

We are subject to risks associated with our hotel managers’ employment of hotel personnel, particularly with hotels whose managers employ unionized labor, which could increase our hotels’ operating costs, reduce the flexibility of our third-party hotel managers to adjust the size of the workforce at our hotel properties and impair our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Our third-party hotel managers are responsible for hiring and maintaining the labor force at each of our hotel properties. Although we do not employ or manage employees at our hotel properties, we are subject to many of the costs and risks generally associated with the hotel labor force, including at those of our hotels with unionized labor. From time to time, hotel operations may be disrupted as a result of strikes, lockouts, public demonstrations or other negative actions and publicity. We also may incur increased legal costs and indirect labor costs as a result of contract disputes or other events. The resolution of labor disputes or re-negotiated labor contracts could lead to increased labor costs, either by increases in

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Our operating costs could increase if we and our hotel managers cannot attract and retain talented personnel or as the result of the loss of the services of our senior executives.

We and our third-party hotel managers compete with other companies both within and outside of the hospitality and entertainment industries for personnel. We and our hotel managers have experienced challenges hiring qualified personnel due to various factors, such as increasing wage expectations and competition for labor from other industries, including and continuing after the COVID-19 pandemic and in the current inflationary environment, and these circumstances could continue or worsen in the future to an extent and for durations that we are not able to predict. If we and our hotel managers cannot recruit, train, develop and retain sufficient numbers of associates, we could experience significant negative impacts to our operations, including low employee morale, high employee turnover and low guest satisfaction. Insufficient numbers of personnel could also limit our ability to grow and expand our businesses. Labor shortages have resulted in and could continue to result in higher wages and initial hiring costs, increasing our labor costs and those of our third-party hotel managers, which could reduce our profits and ultimately impair our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. In addition, the efforts and ability of our senior executives are important elements of maintaining our competitive position and driving future growth, and the loss of the services of one or more of our senior executives could result in challenges executing our business strategies or other adverse effects on our business.

Any failure to protect the trademarks and intellectual property used in our business could reduce the value of our brand names and harm our business.

Third-party infringement of the Gaylord Hotels or JW Marriott marks now owned by Marriott or the marks we own and use in our entertainment business, or the failure to enforce rights to the marks, could be damaging to our business.

The reputation and perception of the brands we use is critical to our success. If trademarks or intellectual property are misappropriated or used without authorization, the value of those brands, their reputation, our competitive advantages and our goodwill could be harmed. We regularly apply to register our trademarks in the United States. However, we cannot be certain that those trademark registrations will be granted or that the steps we take to protect our trademarks or intellectual property in the United States will be adequate to prevent others, including third parties or former employees, from copying or using our trademarks or intellectual property without authorization. Our intellectual property is also vulnerable to unauthorized use in some countries outside the United States, where local laws may not adequately protect it. Marriott owns and maintains the marks used in the Gaylord Hotels operations.and JW Marriott operations and may use the brands at properties that we do not own.

Monitoring the unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult. As we have in the past, we may need to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights. Litigation of this type could be costly, force us to divert our resources, lead to counterclaims or other claims against us, or otherwise harm our business. Any failure to maintain and protect trademarks and other intellectual property used in our business could reduce the value of our brands and harm our business.

Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our hotel properties and harm our financial condition.

Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, our ability to promptly sell one or more of our hotel properties in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions may be limited. The real estate market is affected by many factors that are beyond our control, including:

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We may decide in the future to sell one or more of our hotel properties. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any hotel property for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a hotel property. Further, as a REIT, we are subject to a 100% excise tax on net income derived from prohibited transactions, including the sale of property (other than foreclosure property) held primarily for

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Risks Relating to Our Status as a REIT

If we fail to remain qualified as a REIT, we would be subject to tax at corporate income tax rates and would not be able to deduct distributions to stockholders when computing our taxable income.

If, in any taxable year, we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT, and are not entitled to relief under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”):

Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes. This adverse impact could last for five or more years. Unless we are entitled to relief under certain statutory provisions, we would be taxable as a C corporation beginning in the year in which the failure occurs, and we would not be allowed to re-elect to be taxed as a REIT for the following four years.

If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may need to borrow additional funds or liquidate certain assets to pay any additional tax liability. Accordingly, funds available for investment or distribution to stockholders would be reduced.

REIT qualification involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code to our operations, as well as various factual determinations concerning matters and circumstances not entirely within our control. There are limited judicial or administrative interpretations of these provisions. Although we plan to operate in a manner consistent with the REIT qualification rules, we cannot assure you that we will so qualify or remain so qualified.

As a REIT, failure to make required distributions to our stockholders would subject us to federal and state corporate income tax.

Prior to 2012, we had not paid a cash distribution on our common stock since 1999. Beginning in 2013 we declared, and we intend to continue to declare when appropriate, regular quarterly distributions,cash dividends, the amount of which will be determined, and will be subject to adjustment, by our board of directors. Our board of directors formerly maintained ahas approved an dividend policy pursuant to which we paid a quarterly cash dividend in an amount equal to an annualized paymentwill make minimum dividends of at least 50% of adjusted funds from operations (as defined by us) less maintenance capital expenditures or 100% of REIT taxable income on an annual basis, whichever is greater.annually, subject to the board of directors’ future determinations as to the amount of any distributions and the timing thereof. Our dividend policy may be altered at any time by our board of directors, and certain provisions of our debt agreements may prohibit us from paying dividends in accordance with the policy. In 2020,any policy we suspended our regular quarterly dividend, but our dividends paid will satisfy the distribution requirement.may adopt. To qualify as a REIT, we are generally required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain)gains) each year to our stockholders. If our cash available for distribution falls short of our estimates, we may be unable to maintain the proposed quarterly distributions that approximate our taxable income and may fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT. In addition, our cash flows from operations may be insufficient to fund required distributions as a result of differences in timing between the actual receipt of income and the recognition of income for federal and state income tax purposes, or the effect of nondeductible expenditures.

To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal and state corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders for a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under the Code.

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significant in amount, to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Code to maintain qualification for taxation as a REIT.

Our business related to the non-real estate assets of our Hospitality segment and the assets of our Entertainment segment is conducted through wholly-owned TRSs because these activities could generate non-qualifying REIT income as historically structured and operated. Those TRS assets and operations continue to be subject, as applicable, to federal and state corporate income taxes in the jurisdictions in which those assets and operations are located. Any of these taxes would decrease our earnings and our available cash. In addition, net operating losses in any of our TRSs generally will not provide any tax benefit, except for use against current or future taxable income in the TRSs.

Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively and increase the costs of our hedging and may cause us to incur tax liabilities.

The REIT provisions of the Code limit our ability to hedge liabilities. Generally, income from hedging transactions that we enter into to manage risk of interest rate changes with respect to borrowings made or to be made to acquire or carry real estate assets and income from certain currency hedging transactions related to any non-U.S. operations do not constitute “gross income” for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. To the extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions, the income from those transactions is likely to be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may need to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRSs would be subject to tax on income or gains resulting from hedges entered into by them or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear.

U.S. federal tax reform legislation could affect REITs generally, the geographic markets in which we operate, our stock and our results of operations, both positively and negatively in ways that are difficult to anticipate.

In 2017, the U.S. Congress passed tax reform legislation that made significant changes to corporate and individual tax rates and the calculations of taxes, as well as international tax rules for U.S. domestic corporations. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to this legislation. As a REIT, we are generally not required to pay federal taxes otherwise applicable to regular corporations (except for income related to our TRSs) if we comply with the various tax regulations governing REITs. Stockholders, however, are generally required to pay taxes on REIT dividends. Tax reform legislation will continue to affect the way in which dividends paid on shares of our common stock are taxed and could impact our stock price or how stockholders and potential investors view an investment in REITs generally.

Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could have a negative effect on us or our stockholders.

At any time, the federal income tax laws governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws may be amended. Federal and state tax laws are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS, the United States Department of the Treasury and state taxing authorities. Changes to the tax laws, regulations and administrative interpretations, which may have retroactive application, could adversely affect us. We cannot predict with certainty whether, when, in what forms, or with what effective dates, the tax laws, regulations and administrative interpretations applicable to us may be changed. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that any such change will not significantly affect our ability to qualify for taxation as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences to us of such qualification.

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The ability of our board of directors to revoke our REIT qualification, without stockholder approval, may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (“Charter”) provides that the board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate the REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to be a REIT, we will not be allowed a tax deduction with respect to distributions to our stockholders in computing our taxable income, and we will be subject to federal and state income tax at regular corporate rates and state and local taxes, which may have adverse consequences on our stock price, distributions, and total return to our stockholders.

We may be required to borrow funds, sell assets, or issue equity to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements or maintain the asset ownership tests.

To meet the REIT distribution requirements and maintain our qualification and taxation as a REIT, we may need to borrow funds, sell assets or issue equity, even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings, sales or offerings. Any insufficiency of our cash flows to cover our REIT distribution requirements could adversely impact our ability to raise short- and long-term debt, to sell assets, or to offer equity securities to fund distributions required to maintain our qualification and taxation as a REIT. Furthermore, the REIT distribution requirements may increase the financing we need to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives. This would increase our total leverage.

In addition, we may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in cash and common stock at the election of each stockholder, subject to certain limitations, including that the cash portion be at least 20% of the total distribution. If we make such a taxable dividend payable in cash and common stock, taxable stockholders receiving such dividends generally will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income. As a result, taxable stockholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends received. Moreover, if a significant number of our stockholders sold shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. We do not currently intend to pay taxable dividends of our common stock, although we may choose to do so in the future.

If we fail to comply with certain REIT asset ownership tests at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification. As a result, we may be required to liquidate otherwise attractive assets. These actions may reduce our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Complying with REIT requirements may limit our flexibility or cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

To qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders, and the ownership of our common stock. Thus, compliance with these tests will require us to refrain from certain activities and may hinder our ability to make certain attractive investments, including the purchase of non-qualifying assets, the expansion of non-real estate activities, and investments in the businesses to be conducted by our TRSs, and to that extent limit our opportunities and our flexibility to change our business strategy. Furthermore, acquisition opportunities may be adversely affected if we need or require the target company to comply with somecertain REIT requirements prior to closing. In addition, as a REIT, we may face investor pressures to forego growth opportunities that are not immediately accretive.

We hold our non-qualifying REIT assets in one or more TRSs. These non-qualifying REIT assets consist primarily of non-real estate assets related to our Hospitality segment and the assets related to our Entertainment segment as historically structured and operated. We conduct a significant portion of our business activities through these TRSs. Under the Code, no more than 25%20% of the value of the assets of a REIT may be represented by securities of one or more TRSs, and other non-qualifying assets and no more than 20%5% of the value of the assets of a REIT may be represented by

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possible that we might be required to borrow funds, sell assets or issue equity to fund these distributions, even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings, sales or offerings.

Our planned use of TRSs may cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.

The net income of our TRSs is not required to be distributed to us, and income that is not distributed to us generally will not be subject to the REIT income distribution requirement. However, there may be limitations on our ability to accumulate earnings in our TRSs and the accumulation or reinvestment of significant earnings in our TRSs could result in adverse tax treatment. In particular, if the accumulation of cash in our TRSs causes the fair market value of our securities in our TRSs and certain other non-qualifying assets to exceed 25% of the fair market value of our assets, we would fail to qualify as a REIT.

If our leases of our hotel properties to TRS lessees are not true leases for federal income tax purposes, we may fail to qualify as a REIT.

In order for the lease payments by our TRS lessees to our property-owning subsidiaries to qualify for purposes of the gross income tests, the lease or sublease must be considered a true lease for federal income tax purposes and must not be treated as a service contract, joint venture, or some other type of arrangement. We believe we have structured our leases and subleases of our hotel properties to our TRS lessees so that the leases will be considered true leases for federal income tax purposes, but there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with this characterization.

If Marriott or any future third-party hotel manager fails to qualify as an “eligible independent contractor,” or if our hotels are not “qualified lodging facilities,” we may fail to qualify as a REIT.

Rent paid by a lessee or sublessee that is a “related party tenant” of ours will not be qualifying income for purposes of the two gross income tests applicable to REITs. An exception is provided, however, for leases of “qualified lodging facilities” to a TRS so long as the hotels are managed by an “eligible independent contractor” and certain other requirements are satisfied. We lease or sublease our hotel properties to TRS lessees, and such TRS lessees have engaged Marriott as a third-party hotel manager. We believe Marriott and any other third-party hotel manager that our TRS lessees may engage in the future will qualify as “eligible independent contractors” for federal income tax purposes. Among other requirements, to qualify as an “eligible independent contractor,” the third-party hotel manager must not own, directly or through its stockholders, more than 35% of our outstanding shares, and no person or group of persons can own more than 35% of our outstanding shares and the shares (or ownership interest) of the third-party hotel manager, taking into account certain ownership attribution rules. The ownership attribution rules that apply for purposes of these 35% thresholds are complex, and monitoring actual and constructive ownership of our shares by the third-party hotel manager and their owners may not be practical. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that these ownership limits will not be exceeded.

In addition, for a third-party hotel manager to qualify as an “eligible independent contractor,” such company or a related person must be actively engaged in the trade or business of operating “qualified lodging facilities” (as defined below) for one or more persons not related to the REIT or its TRSs at each time that such company enters into a hotel management contract with a TRS lessee. We believe that Marriott operates “qualified lodging facilities” for certain persons who are not related to us or our TRSs, and Marriott has agreed in the hotel management agreements that it, or its affiliates, are eligible independent contractors and will maintain such status. However, no assurances can be provided that Marriott or any other hotel managers that we may engage in the future will in fact comply with this requirement. Failure to comply with this requirement would require us to find other third-party hotel managers for future contracts, and, if we hired a third-party hotel manager without knowledge of the failure, it could jeopardize our status as a REIT.

Finally, each property with respect to which our TRS lessees pay rent must be a “qualified lodging facility.” A “qualified lodging facility” is a hotel, motel or other establishment more than one-half of the dwelling units in which are used on a

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REIT provisions of the Code provide only limited guidance for making determinations under the requirements for “qualified lodging facilities,” and there can be no assurance that these requirements will be satisfied.

Risks Relating to Our Capital Structure

Our dividend is currently suspended, and covenantsCovenants in our current and future debt instruments may limit our ability to make required distributions to our stockholders in accordance with our announced intended dividend policy.

Our credit facility imposes, and future financing agreements are likely to impose, operating and financial restrictions on our activities, including restrictions on the payment of dividends. These restrictions are currently in place, and these restrictions currently permit only the payment of dividends as necessary to maintain our REIT status and payment of a dividend of $0.01 per share each quarter, and may prevent us from making distributions to our stockholders in accordance with anyour announced intended dividend policy. Our dividend was suspended in March 2020.

Our cash distributions are not guaranteed and may fluctuate.

A REIT generally is required to distribute at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. Generally, our board of directors, in its sole discretion, will determine on a quarterly basis whether to pay a cash dividend and the amount of cash to be distributed to our stockholders based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, our results of operations, cash flow and capital requirements, economic conditions, tax considerations, borrowing capacity and other factors, including debt covenant restrictions that may impose limitations on cash payments and plans for future acquisitions and divestitures. Our board of directors formerly maintainedapproved a dividend policy pursuant to which we paid a quarterly cash dividend based on an annualized amountwill make minimum dividends of at least 50% of adjusted funds from operations (as defined by us) less maintenance capital expenditures or 100% of REIT taxable income on an annual basis, whichever is greater. As part ofannually, subject to the actions taken to preserve liquidity in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, our board of directors suspended our regular quarterly dividend payments,directors’ future determinations as to the amount of any distributions and our board of directors will consider a future dividend as permitted by our credit agreement, which currently permits payment of dividends as necessary to maintain our REIT status and permits us to pay a dividend of $0.01 per share each quarter.the timing thereof. The dividend policy may be altered at any time by our board of directors (as otherwise permitted by our credit agreement) and certain provisions of our agreements governing our other indebtedness may prohibit us from paying dividends in accordance with the prior policy.any policy we may adopt. Consequently, our distribution levels may be minimal and may fluctuate.

We have invested in, and in the future may invest in, mortgage loans, mezzanine debt, joint ventures, such as our Gaylord Rockies and Circle investments, or certain minority equity interests, mortgage loans, or mezzanine debt over which we may not have significant control, to or for which we may owe significant funding or obligations and for which there is no readily available market, and these investments may not be profitable.

We may invest with third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, by acquiring non-controlling interests in or sharing responsibility for managing the affairs of a property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. Further, we may invest in mortgage loans or mezzanine financing for a property. These types of investments may not be liquid and we may have little or no rights, or ability, to exercise the direction or control of the respective enterprises. In connection with these investments, we may have obligations under certain guarantees related to such investments. The ultimate value of any debt investments, joint ventures or minority investments will be dependent upon the efforts of others over an extended period of time. The nature of our interests and the absence of a readily available market for those interests restrict our ability to dispose of them. Our lack of control over the management of any business in which we are a creditor, joint owner or minority investor and the lack of a readily available market to sell our interest in these businesses may cause us to recognize a loss on our investment in these businesses or to incur costs or liabilities that we do not control, but for which we may be required to contribute capital or satisfy financial commitments. These arrangements are subject to uncertainties and risks, including those related to credit risk, conflicting joint venture partner

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In addition, the terms of our credit facilityagreements allow, and instruments governing any new debt may allow, us to incur substantial amounts of additional debt subject to certain limitations. Any such additional debt could increase the risks associated with our substantial leverage. At the time any principal amount of our indebtedness is due, we may not have cash available to pay this amount, and we may not be able to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all.

We could be required to refinance our debt before it matures and there is no assurance that we will be able to refinance our debt on acceptable terms.

Our ability to refinance each of our agreements governing our indebtedness on acceptable terms will be dependent upon a number of factors, including our degree of leverage, the value of our assets, borrowing restrictions which may be imposed by lenders and conditions in the credit markets at the time we refinance. Rising interest rates may make future refinancing more difficult to obtain on favorable terms. In addition, although we have previously been successful in negotiating amendments to our credit agreement which waive the financial covenants imposed by the credit agreement through March 31, 2022, and in negotiating an amendment to the Gaylord Rockies Loan, which provides for other favorable modifications,term loan, we may be unsuccessful in negotiating any further amendments or modifications to the agreements governing our indebtedness as we may deem necessary in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.necessary. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic continues or our business levels do not recover to pre-pandemic levels or we are otherwise unable to refinance our debt on acceptable terms, we may be forced to choose from a number of unfavorable options, including agreeing to otherwise unfavorable financing terms, selling one or more hotel properties at unattractive prices or on disadvantageous terms, or defaulting on mortgages and allowing our lenders to foreclose. Any one of these options could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

To service our debt and pay other obligations, we will require a significant amount of cash, which may not be available to us.

Our ability to make payments on, or repay or refinance our debt, including our obligations under our senior notes and any future debt we may incur, and to fund planned capital expenditures will depend largely upon our future operating

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service coverage ratio and maximum funded debt to asset value ratio, and we expect will require us to comply with these tests in the future (subject to the covenant waiver described in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for this Annual Report on Form 10-K).future. Our financial agreements prohibit or limit our ability to, among other things:

If we fail to comply with these covenants, we would be in default under our credit facility and the indentures governing our senior unsecured notes, and the outstanding principal and accrued interest on such debt would become due and payable.

Various risks, uncertainties and events beyond our control including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, could affect our ability to comply with these covenants and maintain applicable financial tests and ratios. Failure to comply with any of the covenants in our existing or future financing agreements could result in a default under those agreements and under other agreements containing cross-default provisions. A default would permit lenders to accelerate the maturity for the debt under these agreements and to foreclose upon any collateral securing the debt, including, in the case of our existing credit facility, our foursubsidiaries that are the fee owners of Gaylord Opryland and Gaylord Texan, their respective direct and indirect parent entities, and the equity of Ryman Hotel Operations Holdco, LLC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company; in the case of the Gaylord Hotels properties.Rockies term loan, Gaylord Rockies; in the case of the OEG term loan, the OEG assets; and in the case of the Block 21 loan, Block 21 assets. Under these circumstances, we might

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We are a holding company and depend upon our subsidiaries’ cash flow to meet our debt service obligations.

We are a holding company, and we conduct our operations through our subsidiaries, including our TRSs. As a result, our ability to meet our debt service obligations substantially depends upon our subsidiaries’ cash flows and payments of funds to us by our subsidiaries as dividends, loans, advances, leases or other payments. The payment of dividends and/or making of loans, advances, leases or other payments by our subsidiaries will be subject to the approval of those subsidiaries’ boards. Our subsidiaries’ ability to pay such dividends and/or make such loans, advances, leases or other payments may also be restricted by, among other things, applicable laws and regulations, current and future debt agreements, and management agreements into which our subsidiaries may enter.

Any replacementOur variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our indebtedness service obligations to increase significantly.

Certain of LIBORour indebtedness bears interest at variable interest rates that use Adjusted Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as the basis on which interest on our variable-rate debtpreferred alternative rate for LIBOR that has been identified by the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”), a U.S.-based group convened by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. SOFR is calculated may harmbased on short-term repurchase agreements, backed by U.S. Treasury securities, and Adjusted Term SOFR is a forward-looking term rate currently published by CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited. Adjusted Term SOFR is calculated differently from LIBOR and has inherent differences, which could give rise to uncertainties, including the limited historical data and volatility of the benchmark rates. Because of these and other differences, there is no assurance that any of our financial results, profitabilitySOFR-based facilities will perform in the same way as LIBOR would have performed at any time, and cash flows.

At December 31, 2020, we had $1.6 billion of variable interest rate debtthere is no guarantee that was indexedAdjusted Term SOFR is a comparable substitute for LIBOR. Uncertainty as to the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced on July 27, 2017 that it intends to stop persuadingnature of such potential changes, alternative reference rates, including SOFR, or compelling banks to submit LIBOR quotations after 2021 (the “FCA Announcement”). The FCA Announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot and will not be assured after 2021, and LIBOR may cease to exist or otherwise be unsuitable for use as a benchmark. Recent proposals for LIBORother reforms may result in the establishment of new methodsadversely affect market demand for calculating LIBORLIBOR- or the establishment of one or more alternative benchmark rates. Although the agreements governing our indebtedness provide for successor base rates, as applicable, the successor base rates may be related to LIBOR, and the consequences of any potential cessation, modification or other reform of LIBOR cannot be predicted at this time. If LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to amend the agreements governing our indebtedness, and we cannot predict what alternative interest rate(s) will be negotiated with our counterparties.SOFR-based obligations, including ours. As a result, our interest expense may increase, our ability to refinance some or all of our existing indebtedness and/or interest rate swaps may be impactedaffected, and our available cash flow may be adversely affected.

We may not have sufficient funds to make cash distributions to stockholders at intended payment levels, and we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows from our operations to make distributions to our stockholders at any time in the future.

As a REIT, we will generally be required to distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (subject to certain adjustments and excluding any net capital gains) each year for us to maintain our qualification as a REIT under the Code, which requirement we currently intend to satisfy, and we must distribute 100% of our REIT taxable income, including capital gains, to eliminate federal corporate income tax liability. To the extent we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income.

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otherwise could provide for the payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock, and also could limit the price that investors are willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Our issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect holders of our common stock and discourage a takeover.

Our Charter permits our board of directors to issue up to 100 million shares of preferred stock without any action on the part of our stockholders. As of the date hereof, we have no shares of preferred stock outstanding. Our board of directors also has the power, without stockholder approval, to set the terms of any new series of preferred stock that may be issued, including voting rights, dividend rights, preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends or in the event of a dissolution, liquidation or winding up and other terms. In the event that we issue shares of preferred stock in the future that have preference over our common stock with respect to payment of dividends or upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, or if we issue preferred stock with voting rights that dilute the voting power of our common stock, the rights of the holders of our common stock or the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected. In addition, the ability of our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock without any action on the part of our stockholders may impede a takeover of us and prevent a transaction favorable to our stockholders.

The ownership limitations in our Charter may restrict or prevent stockholders from engaging in certain transfers of our common stock.

To qualify and remain qualified as a REIT, no more than 50% in value of our outstanding shares may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include various kinds of entities) during the last half of any taxable year. To assist us in qualifying as a REIT, our Charter contains a share ownership limit. Generally, any of our shares owned by affiliated owners will be added together for purposes of the share ownership limit. This share ownership limit provides that (subject to certain exceptions) no person may beneficially own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the attribution provisions of the Code, more than 9.8%, in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our capital stock, or any class or series of our capital stock. If anyone transfers shares in a manner that would violate the share ownership limit or prevent us from qualifying as a REIT, those shares instead will be transferred to a trust for the benefit of a charitable beneficiary and will be either redeemed by us or sold to a person whose ownership of the shares will not violate the share ownership limit or we will consider the transfer to be null and void from the outset, and the intended transferee of those shares will be deemed never to have owned the shares.

Our Charter also prohibits the ownership of shares by any person or entity if such ownership would violate or otherwise be inconsistent with federal communications laws or regulations pertaining to the ownership of television or radio stations, cable television or other radio authorizations by (i) foreign persons or entities, (ii) persons or entities having interests in television or radio broadcast stations, newspapers or cable television systems, and (iii) entities seeking direct or indirect control of us without prior federal regulatory approval. In the event of a transfer that would result in a violation or inconsistency with federal communications laws or regulations, we may refuse to permit the transfer, suspend the rights of share ownership as necessary to prohibit the violation or inconsistency, or redeem the shares. Anyone who acquires shares in violation of the share ownership limit or the other restrictions on transfer in our Charter bears the risk of suffering a financial loss when the shares are redeemed or sold if the market price of our shares falls between the date of purchase and the date of redemption or sale. In addition, these ownership limitations may prevent an acquisition of control of us by a third party without the approval of our board of directors, even if our stockholders believe the change of control is in their interest.

General Risk Factors

We are subject to risks related to our environmental, social and governance practices.

Many factors influence our reputation including the perception held by our customers and other key stakeholders and the communities in which we do business, and the perception held by customers of Marriott or any future third-party hotel manager. The lodging and entertainment industries in which we operate face increasing scrutiny related to environmental, social and governance activities and risk of damage to our reputation if we fail to act responsibly or comply with regulatory requirements in a number of areas, such as safety and security, environmental stewardship and

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employment matters, discrimination, customer privacy breaches and other alleged violations of law. A number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. Similar lawsuits have been instituted against us from time to time and were resolved in an immaterial manner, but we cannot assure you that we will not incur substantial damages and expenses resulting from future lawsuits of this type or other claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, because we rely on third-party managers to operate our hotel properties and certain attractions, we have limited control over defending lawsuits of this type or other claims.

Health care reform efforts could adversely affect our results of operations.

In recent years, the U.S. Congress and certain state governments have considered and enacted legislation and regulations intended to effect major change within the U.S. healthcare system, including changes intended to increase access to health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the “Affordable Care Act”), is the most prominent of these reform efforts. The Affordable Care Act affects how health care services are covered, delivered, and reimbursed through a combination of public program expansion and private sector health insurance reforms. It includes a requirement, known as the “employer mandate,” that large employers make health insurance coverage available to employees or pay a penalty. However, the Affordable Care Act has been subject to legislative and regulatory changes and court challenges and may be subject to additional efforts to repeal or make additional significant changes to the law, its implementation and/or its interpretation. For example, effective in January 2019, the penalty associated with the individual mandate to maintain health insurance was repealed. As a result of this change, a federal judge in Texas ruled in December 2018 that the entire Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. This decision was appealed, and in November 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the case. The law remains in effect pending the appeals process. We anticipate that Congress and state governments will continue to review and assess alternative health care delivery and payment systems and may in the future propose or adopt legislation, regulations and policies resulting in additional fundamental changes in the health care system. For example, some members of Congress have suggested expanding the coverage of government-funded insurance programs, including single-payor models (such reforms are often referred to as “Medicare for All”).

At this time, pursuant to our management agreements, our third-party managers may pass certain health care costs for employees working at our properties through to us. As such, the provisions of the Affordable Care Act as currently in effect, as modified, or subsequent reform efforts, may significantly raise our and our third-party managers’ employee health benefits costs and/or alter the benefits we or our third-party managers are required to provide to our respective employees. If we or our third-party hotel managers are not able to limit or offset future cost increases, those costs could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. As a result, government efforts to repeal or change the Affordable Care Act or implement other reform initiatives may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flow, capital resources and liquidity.

The ability of our board of directors to change our major policies without the consent of stockholders may not be in our stockholders’ interest.

Our board of directors determines our major policies, including any policies and guidelines we may maintain from time to time relating to our acquisitions, leverage, financing, growth, qualification as a REIT and distributions to our

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Item 1B.            Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 1C.Cybersecurity

We have strategically integrated cybersecurity risk management into our broader enterprise risk management function to promote a company-wide culture of cybersecurity risk management. Our board of directors has general oversight responsibility for our enterprise risk management function, which includes specific areas of focus including competitive, economic, operational, financial (accounting, credit, liquidity and tax), legal, compliance, information technology security programs (including cybersecurity), ESG/corporate social responsibility, political and reputational risks. Our board of directors has delegated oversight of certain of these areas to the committees of our board of directors, including delegating the oversight of our information technology security programs (including cybersecurity) to the audit committee of our board of directors (the “Audit Committee”). We believe this division of risk management-related roles to the committees of our board of directors fosters an atmosphere of significant involvement in the oversight of risk at the board level and complements our risk management policies. The oversight responsibility of our board of directors is facilitated by a management report process that is designed to provide both visibility and transparency to our board of directors about the identification, assessment and management of critical risks and management’s risk mitigation strategies.

Our risk management team, which includes members of senior management, including our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), Chief Information Officer (“CIO”) and General Counsel, as well as external consultants, works closely with our information technology department (“IT Department”) to continuously evaluate and address cybersecurity risks relevant to our business and operations. In addition, we have set company-wide policies and procedures that directly or indirectly relate to cybersecurity matters, such as policies related to encryption standards, antivirus protection, access removal, multifactor authentication, confidential information or use of the internet, social media, email and wireless devices. These policies go through an annual internal management review and approval process.

Our CIO and our Vice President of IT (“VP of IT”) are primarily responsible for our overall information security, strategy, policy, security engineering, operations and cybersecurity threat detection and the management of cybersecurity risks. Our CIO and VP of IT, collectively, have over fifty years of experience working in the information technology and cybersecurity field and have extensive experience assessing and managing cybersecurity and information technology programs and cybersecurity risk. Our CIO and VP of IT hold degrees in the information technology and cybersecurity fields, as well as hold certain cybersecurity and other relevant technology certifications. The CIO meets with our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), on a weekly basis, and the CFO, on a monthly basis, to discuss all relevant business risks, including cybersecurity risks and threats. In addition to regular reports from our CIO and vice president of internal audit regarding our program for managing our information security risks, including data privacy and protection risks we face, the CIO and VP of IT also meet quarterly with the Audit Committee to inform them of current cybersecurity risks and threats, as well as cybersecurity enhancement projects. Our full board of directors receives an annual update regarding the current cybersecurity environment from our CIO, which may include presentations from external consultants. Our Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) committee, which includes several members of senior management, including our CFO, our CIO, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor, also presents all of our top organizational and operational risks, including information security-related risks, focus areas and accomplishments throughout our various businesses, to our board of directors on a quarterly basis.

Our IT Department management team meets monthly to assess and review cybersecurity status, which includes dashboard reviews, operational risks and company compliance. Annually, our internal audit group and third-party consultants meet with our IT Department to perform risk assessment walkthrough meetings, discuss potential enhancements, materiality of risks and alignment with the Center for Internet Security Critical Security Controls framework. In addition, we engage third-party consultants to perform annual red team exercises and external penetration tests.

We promote a culture of cybersecurity compliance throughout our organization, including required monthly cybersecurity training for all employees with company accounts and annual training for service-related employees on

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cybersecurity related topics, including social engineering (e.g., phishing, vishing and smishing), ransomware, denial of service or information, and other security breach tactics. We conduct quarterly ERM discussions where top risk owners discuss how risks have changed and how such risks are being addressed with approaches designed to mitigate such risks.

In addition to assessing our own cybersecurity preparedness and as part of our overall cybersecurity risk management framework, we also consider and evaluate cybersecurity risks associated with our use of third-party service providers. We perform a formal System and Organization Controls (“SOC”) review process annually on our financially significant third-party service providers, which includes our internal assessment of complementary user entity controls. All other material third-party service providers undergo assessment as a contract is entered into or renewed to ensure cybersecurity alignment. Our internal audit group meets regularly with management team members of Marriott, our third-party hotel manager, to assess security applications compliance. We also regularly meet with management team members of Marriott to understand system upgrades, changes and associated risks with third-party manager applications. In addition, we generally require our third-party service providers to promptly notify us of any actual or suspected breach impacting our data or operations.

In assessing cybersecurity threats, our IT Department has established controls and procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents, including a process to evaluate the significance of a cybersecurity incident. Members of senior management, including our General Counsel and CFO, are tasked with performing a materiality assessment in the event of a cybersecurity incident, which includes the consideration of relevant quantitative and qualitative factors, as well as SEC guidance. Based on the results of this evaluation, further escalation of the cybersecurity event may occur, which may include our CEO, our board of directors and/or law enforcement. In addition, members of senior management will determine, based on the assessment described above, whether the cybersecurity incident requires disclosure with the SEC.

We or our third-party manager currently maintain a cybersecurity insurance policy that provides coverage for security incidents and periodically meet with our insurer to discuss emerging trends in cybersecurity. We do not believe that any risks we have identified to date from cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any previous cybersecurity incidents, have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. However, notwithstanding the programs, policies and procedures described above, there can be no assurance that we or businesses with which we interact will not experience a cybersecurity incident that materially affects us in the future. For more information about the cybersecurity risks we face, see the risk factor entitled “Cybersecurity incidents, including the failure to protect the integrity or availability of IT systems or the security of confidential information, or the introduction of malware or ransomware, could harm our business.” in Item 1A. Risk Factors of Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 2.              Properties

Hospitality Segment

​

We own our Opryland complex in Nashville, Tennessee, which includes the site of Gaylord Opryland (approximately 172 acres) and Gaylord Springs (over 200 acres). We also own the approximately 6-acre site of the Inn at Opryland, which is located near the Opryland complex. We have leased a 65-acre tract in Osceola County, Florida, on which the

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Gaylord Palms is located, pursuant to a 75-year ground lease with a 24-year renewal option. We acquired approximately 85 acres in Grapevine, Texas, through ownership (approximately 75 acres) and ground lease (approximately 10 acres), on which the Gaylord Texan is located. We also own an additional approximately 40 acres of property near the Gaylord Texan. We own approximately 42 acres on the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on which the Gaylord National is located and we own fee title to the condominium unit in the eight-story building in which the AC Hotel is located. AllWe own approximately 85 acres on which Gaylord Rockies is located and approximately 130 acres of our four wholly-ownedundeveloped land adjacent to Gaylord Hotels properties secure our credit facility, andRockies. Gaylord Rockies assets secure the debt ofour obligations pursuant to the Gaylord Rockies joint venture,term loan, as described in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The Gaylord Rockies joint venture ownsOn June 30, 2023, we purchased approximately 85600 acres in San Antonio, Texas, on which Gaylord RockiesJW Marriott Hill Country is located, which is leased to a TRS owned by the Gaylord Rockies joint venture.and in November 2023, we purchased approximately 38 additional adjacent acres. Each of our hotel properties in the Hospitality segment is leased or subleased to one of our TRSs, and each such TRS has engaged Marriott to manage the day-to-day operations of the hotel. For a description of the management agreements with Marriott, see “Management Agreements” in Item 1, “Business.” For the operating results of our hotels on a property basis, see “Operating Results – Detailed Segment Financial Information” in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Entertainment Segment

We own the General Jackson’s docking facility and the Grand Ole Opry House, and WSM Radio’s offices and studios, each of which areis located within the Opryland complex. We also own Gaylord Springs, an 18-hole golf course situated on over 200 acres, which is located near the Opryland complex. In downtown Nashville, we own the Ryman Auditorium, Ole Red Nashville, and the Wildhorse Saloon dance hall and production facility. We also ownfacility, and an approximateadjacent 17,000 square foot building in downtown Nashville thatbuilding. In Austin, we are currently transforming into additional connecting event space forown Block 21, which includes the Wildhorse Saloon.Moody Theater, the 3TEN at ACL Live Club, the W Austin, and approximately 53,000 square feet of other Class A commercial space. Our TRSs have engaged Marriott to manage the day-to-day operations of the General Jackson Showboat Gaylord Springs and the Wildhorse Saloon.W Austin. For a description of the management agreements with Marriott, see “Management Agreements” in Item 1, “Business.”

Corporate and Other

We own our executive offices and headquarters located at One Gaylord Drive, Nashville, Tennessee, which consists of a five-story office building comprising approximately 80,000 square feet. We believe that these facilities and the facilities related to each of our business segments are generally well maintained.

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PART II

Item 5.            Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RHP”.

Holders

There were approximately 780810 record holders of our common stock at January 31, 2021.2024.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

No shares of the Company’s common stock were repurchased during the three months ended December 31, 2020.2023.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

The Company did not sell any of its securities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 that were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

Other Information

To maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income each year. Prior to the suspension of dividends as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had planned to continueWe plan to pay a quarterly cash dividendminimum dividends to shareholders in an amount equal to an annualized paymentstockholders of at least 50% of adjusted funds from operations (as defined by us) less maintenance capital expenditures or 100% of REIT taxable income whichever is greater.annually. Any future dividend is subject to our board of directors’ determinations as to the amount of distributions and the timing thereof.

Even after the Temporary Waiver Period (as defined in “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Principal Debt Agreements” in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,”) theThe terms of our credit facility restrict our ability to pay dividends. We are not permittedrestricted in our ability to pay a dividend to our stockholders if the aggregate amount of all distributions to our stockholders in a given year exceeds 95% of our funds from operations (as defined in the credit facility) for that fiscal year. Notwithstanding this restriction, we are permitted to pay dividends to stockholders to the extent necessary to maintain our status as a REIT.

Information relating to compensation plans under which our common stock is authorized for issuance is set forth in Part III, Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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near Dallas, Texas (“Gaylord Texan”), the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington D.C. (“Gaylord National”), and the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center near Denver, Colorado (“Gaylord Rockies”), which iswas previously owned by the Gaylord Rockies joint venture, in which we ownowned a 65% interest. On May 7, 2021, we purchased the remaining 35% interest in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture. Our other owned hotel assets managed by Marriott include the Inn at Opryland, an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord Opryland, and the AC Hotel at National Harbor, Washington D.C. (“AC Hotel”), an overflow hotel adjacent to Gaylord National.National, and effective June 30, 2023, the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa (“JW Marriott Hill Country”).

We also own a controlling 70% equity interest in a business comprised of a number of entertainment and operate media and entertainment assets, includingknown as the Opry Entertainment Group (“OEG”), which we report as our Entertainment segment. These assets include the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary weekly showcase of country music’s finest performers for 9598 years; the Ryman Auditorium, the storied live music venue and former home of the Grand Ole Opry located in downtown Nashville; WSM-AM, the Opry’s radio home; Ole Red, a brand of Blake Shelton-themed bar, music venue and event spaces; and threetwo Nashville-based assets managed by Marriott – Gaylord Springs Golf Links (“Gaylord Springs”), the Wildhorse Saloon and the General Jackson ShowboatShowboat; and as of May 31, 2022, Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office, and retail complex located in Austin, Texas (“General Jackson”Block 21”). We also ownSee “OEG Transaction” below for additional disclosure regarding our sale of a 50%30% interest in a joint venture intended to create and distribute a linear multicast and over-the-top channel dedicated to the country music lifestyle (“Circle”).OEG effective June 16, 2022.

Each of our award-winning Gaylord Hotels properties, as well as the JW Marriott Hill Country, incorporates not only high qualityhigh-quality lodging, but also at least 400,000 square feet (268,000 in the case of JW Marriott Hill Country) of meeting, convention and exhibition space, superb food and beverage options and retail and spa facilities within a single self-contained property. As a result, our Gaylord Hotels properties and JW Marriott Hill Country provide a convenient and entertaining environment for convention guests. Our Gaylord Hotels properties and JW Marriott Hill Country focus on the large group meetings market in the United States.

Our goal is to be the nation’s premier hospitality REIT for group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets.

See “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” under Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for important information regarding forward-looking statements made in this report and risks and uncertainties we face.

ImpactJW Marriott Hill Country

On June 30, 2023, we purchased JW Marriott Hill Country for approximately $800 million. Located amid approximately 600 acres in the Texas Hill Country region outside of COVID-19 PandemicSan Antonio, JW Marriott Hill Country, which opened in 2010, is a premier group-oriented resort with 1,002 rooms and 268,000 total square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. The resort’s amenities include a 26,000 square foot spa; eight food and beverage outlets; a 9-acre water experience; and TPC San Antonio, which features two 18-hole golf courses. We funded the purchase price with approximately $395 million in net proceeds of an underwritten registered public offering of approximately 4.4 million shares of the Company’s common stock, approximately $393 million in net proceeds of a private placement of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 7.25% senior notes due 2028 and cash on hand. JW Marriott Hill Country assets are reflected in our Hospitality segment beginning June 30, 2023.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread throughoutCredit Facility Refinancing

In May 2023, we completed the United States and is having an unprecedented impact on the U.S. economy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced disruptionrefinancing of our business and in March 2020 temporarily suspended operations of mostprevious credit facility by entering into a new credit agreement, which extends the maturity of our assets, as further described below. While most$700 million revolving credit facility to 2027 and an increased $500 million term loan B to 2030. The new credit facility also includes an accordion feature that will allow us to increase the facilities by an aggregate total of up to $475 million. A portion of the proceeds of the term loan B were used to repay in full the approximately $370 million balance of our assets are operatingprevious term loan B. The revolver was undrawn at some capacity, there is significant uncertainty surrounding the full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our future results of operations and financial position.closing.

In late February 2020, when the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent, we formed an internal task force, which included members of management and our board of directors, to formulate and implement responses to COVID-​

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19. The task force, in consultation with local governmental authorities, first determined to close our Nashville-based entertainment venues in mid-March 2020.

As cancellations at our Gaylord Hotels properties began to increase, we, with our hotel manager, Marriott, implemented a seriesIssuance of operational changes, culminating with the suspension of operations at our Gaylord Hotels properties in late-March 2020. Gaylord Texan reopened June 8, 2020, and Gaylord Opryland, Gaylord Palms and Gaylord Rockies reopened June 25, 2020. Gaylord National remains closed.$400 Million 7.25% Senior Notes due 2028

In June 2023, the Operating Partnership and RHP Finance Corporation completed the private placement of $400.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.25% senior notes due 2028 (the “$400 Million 7.25% Senior Notes”), which are guaranteed by the Company and its subsidiaries that guarantee our credit agreement.

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The net proceeds from the issuance of the $400 Million 7.25% Senior Notes totaled approximately $393 million, after deducting the initial purchasers’ discounts, commissions and offering expenses. We used these proceeds to pay a portion of the purchase price for JW Marriott Hill Country discussed above.

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Equity Offering

In June 2023, we completed an underwritten public offering of approximately 4.4 million shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, at a price to the public of $93.25 per share. Our net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other expenses paid by us, were approximately $395 million. We used these proceeds to pay a portion of the purchase price for JW Marriott Hill Country discussed above.

OEG Transaction

As more fully described in the “OEG Transaction” section of Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included herein, on June 16, 2022, we and certain of our subsidiaries, including OEG Attractions Holdings, LLC, which directly or indirectly owns the assets that comprise our Entertainment segment, consummated the transactions contemplated by an investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement”) with Atairos Group, Inc. (“Atairos”) and A-OEG Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Atairos (the “OEG Investor”), pursuant to which OEG issued and sold to the OEG Investor, and the OEG Investor acquired, 30% of the equity interests of OEG for approximately $296.0 million (the “OEG Transaction”). The purchase price for the OEG Transaction may be increased by $30.0 million if OEG achieves certain financial objectives in 2024.

We retained a controlling 70% equity interest in OEG and continue to consolidate OEG and the other subsidiaries comprising our Entertainment segment in additionour consolidated financial statements. After the payment of transaction expenses, we used substantially all of the net proceeds from the OEG Transaction, together with the net proceeds we received from the OEG Term Loan (as defined in “Principal Debt Agreements” below), to repay the temporary closurethen-outstanding balance of our entertainment assets in spring 2020, we have taken steps to reduce operating costs in all areas. Many of our Tennessee-based attractions reopened at reduced capacities in Mayformer $300 million term loan A and June 2020. The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium began offering limited-capacity tours in June 2020, and in September 2020, they reopened for limited-capacity publicly attended performances. Our decision to offer publicly attended performances with additional capacity will be based on a number of factors and made in consultation with local health authorities.

Actions to Preserve Liquidity. We are also taking actions to preserve liquidity in order to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to pay down substantially all required debt service payments on our indebtedness, lease payments, taxes and other payables. At December 31, 2020, we had $593.2 million available for borrowingborrowings then outstanding under our revolving credit facilityfacility.

Dividend Policy

In September 2022, our board of directors approved a dividend policy pursuant to which we will make minimum dividends of 100% of REIT taxable income annually, subject to the board of directors’ future determinations as to the amount of any distributions and $56.7 millionthe timing thereof. The dividend policy may be altered at any time by our board of directors (as otherwise permitted by our credit agreement) and certain provisions of our agreements governing our indebtedness may prohibit us from paying dividends in unrestricted cash on hand. In 2020,accordance with any policy we took steps to preserve our liquidity as follows:may adopt.

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Impact on Operations. Except for Gaylord National and the General Jackson that remain closed and the Wildhorse Saloon that closed subsequent to the December 2020 downtown Nashville bombing, our hotels and entertainment venues have reopened and are operating under reduced capacities. We, with our manager, Marriott, are implementing certain measures designed to prioritize the health and safety of our guests and to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including enhanced cleaning standards, mask protection, limitations on restaurant capacity, entertainment events and conventions, as well as other protocols to enforce social distancing.

During 2020, our Hospitality segment experienced total cancellations of approximately 2.4 million net room nights, which we believe are attributable to COVID-19, representing approximately $488 million in rooms revenue.

We and Marriott’s sales teams have been working closely with our customers to rebook previously cancelled business and, through December 31, 2020, we have rebooked approximately 1.4 million room nights, or approximately 58% of total room nights cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have focused on offering flexibility rather than demanding attrition and cancellation payments in an effort to strengthen our relationships with our customers and meeting planners, although collections of attrition and cancellation fees increased in the fourth quarter of 2020. Our establishments are undergoing a phased reopening, and the customer mix at our Gaylord Hotels properties has been and may continue to be more heavily transient during this phased reopening than our historical trends. Our operating results are described below.

On March 27, 2020, the U.S. government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), which among other things, provides employer payroll tax credits for wages paid to employees who are unable to work during the COVID-19 pandemic and options to defer payroll tax payments. Based on our evaluation of the CARES Act, we qualify for certain employer payroll tax credits, which we have accounted for as government subsidies to offset related operating expenses, as well as the deferral of payroll and other tax payments in the future. During 2020, qualified payroll tax credits reduced our operating expenses by $10.2 million. We are deferring qualified payroll and other tax payments as permitted by the CARES Act.

Marriott’s hotel employees that were laid off or furloughed were generally paid the equivalent of one week of compensation, and certain benefits for non-union hotel employees have been maintained throughout the individual properties’ closures. We paid all full-time and part-time employees for temporarily closed properties in our Entertainment segment through June 27, 2020. Our results for 2020 include approximately $39.7 million of operating costs specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is primarily comprised of employment costs, and is net of $10.2 million in payroll tax credits provided by the CARES Act. The payroll credits provided by the CARES Act are included in other hotel expenses, entertainment expenses and corporate expenses, as applicable, in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations for 2020 included herein.

For additional discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and associated risk, see “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for further discussion.

TheFor 2021, as compared to 2022 and historical periods prior to 2020, the closure limited reopening and pandemic-constrained business levels ofthen experienced by our Gaylord Hotels properties have resulted in thea significant decrease in performance reflected in these key performance indicators and relevant GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures for 2020, as compared to 2019.

Hospitality segment revenue from our occupied hotel rooms is recognized over time as the daily hotel stay is provided to hotel groups and guests. Revenues from concessions, food and beverage sales, and group meeting services are recognized over the period or at the point in time those goods or services are delivered to the group or hotel guest. Revenues from ancillary services at our hotels, such as spa, parking, and transportation services, are generally recognized at the time the goods or services are provided. Cancellation fees, as well as attrition fees that are charged to groups when they do not fulfill the minimum number of room nights or minimum food and beverage spending requirements originally contracted for, are generally recognized as revenue in the period we determine it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of revenue recognized will not occur, which is typically the period these fees are collected.

Almost all of our Hospitality segment revenues are either cash-based or, for meeting and convention groups that meet our credit criteria, billed and collected on a short-term receivables basis. The hospitality industry is capital intensive, and we rely on the ability of our hotels to generate operating cash flow to repay debt financing and fund maintenance capital expenditures.measures.

The results of operations of our Hospitality segment are affected by the number and type of group meetings and conventions scheduled to attend our hotels in a given period. A variety of factors can affect the results of any interim period, including the nature and quality of the group meetings and conventions attending our hotels during such period, which meetings and conventions have often been contracted for several years in advance, the level of attrition our hotels experience, and the level of transient business at our hotels during such period. Increases in costs, including labor costs, insurance costs, costs of food and other supplies, and energy costs have affected our operations in 2023 and 2022 and in the future could negatively affect our results, particularly during an inflationary economic environment. We rely on Marriott, as the manager of our hotels, to manage these factors and to offset any identified shortfalls in occupancy.

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Factors and Trends Contributing to Performance and Current Environment

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Important factors and trends contributing to our performance during 2023, as compared to 2022, which was partially impacted by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2022, were:

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Operating Results – Detailed Segment Financial Information

Hospitality Segment

Total Segment Results. The following presents the financial results of our Hospitality segment for the years ended December 31, 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 20182021 (in thousands, except percentages and performance metrics):