Royalties for the third quarter were $4.1 million compared to $5.9 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to terminated hotel agreements and the impact of COVID-19 on midscale brands, which generally pay royalties and marketing fees as a percentage of gross rooms revenue. Royalty revenue mix for the third quarter of 2020 was 71% from economy hotels and 29% from midscale hotels. The 71% of royalty revenue generated from economy hotels is primarily fixed as a per room, per month rate and therefore is less affected by occupancy.
Selling, general, administrative, and other expenses, which include franchise sales, operations and corporate costs, and bad debt expense were $4.7 million, a 43% improvement from $8.4 million in the year-ago period. The improvement was driven by cost containment efforts initiated earlier in 2020 and lower bad debt expense.
Transaction costs for the quarter were $0.9 million, comprised of fees paid to advisors in connection with exploring strategic alternatives.
Strategic Alternatives
As previously disclosed, RLHC has engaged advisors to review and respond to bona fide inquiries received from parties considering an investment in or acquisition of the Company. The Board remains committed to evaluating strategic alternatives that it believes are in the best interest of shareholders, particularly as RLHC has attracted attention from those who recognize that its portfolio of franchised hotels are located in areas that are less impacted by a reduction in leisure travel, and are well positioned to respond quickly to upticks in travel, especially drive-to travel. RHLC does not intend to discuss or disclose further developments during this process until its Board of Directors has approved a specific action or otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of September 30, 2020, cash and cash equivalents totaled $34.1 million, a $0.3 million increase from June 30, 2020 and a $2.3 million increase from year-end 2019. The sequential quarter improvement was driven by adjusted EBITDA performance, strong accounts receivable collections, reduced capital and key money outlays, and favorable summer seasonality.
Adjusted free cash flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 was $3.0 million as compared to $3.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Cash flow from operations was $(4.6) million and $5.0 million for the same periods, respectively. RLHC has $5.6 million of debt on its balance sheet related to a non-recourse mortgage on the Hotel RL Olympia held in a joint venture in which RLHC holds a 55% equity interest.
Red Lion expects to end the year with approximately $30 million of cash on hand. Fourth quarter net cash outflows include capital expenditures, key money as part of signing new franchise agreements, payment of transaction fees, and the usual seasonally lower cash collections. The Company also expects to benefit from favorable working capital as the previously disclosed sales tax settlements and wage settlement payments totaling an estimated $2.0 to $2.5 million are now expected to be paid in 2021.
Webcast and Conference Call
Red Lion’s senior management team plans to host a webcast and conference call to review its financial results at 9:00 a.m. ET, Thursday, November 5, 2020.
The live webcast can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of RLHC’s website http://ir.redlion.com/events-and-presentations/events.
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