PHILADELPHIA, PA (REIT Media) March 19, 2009 - Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE: HT), owner of select service and upscale hotels in major metropolitan markets, today announced that its Board of Trustees declared a cash dividend of $0.50 per Series A Preferred Share for the first quarter ending March 31, 2009. The preferred share dividend is payable April 15, 2009 to holders of record as of April 1, 2009.

The Board of Trustees also declared quarterly cash dividends of $0.18 per Common Share and per Limited Partnership unit for the first quarter ending March 31, 2009. The common share dividend and limited partnership unit distribution are payable on April 15, 2009 to shareholders and unitholders of record on March 31, 2009.

As part of the Board of Trustees ongoing quarterly evaluation of the Company's dividend policy it will continue to monitor the broad economic environment as well as the ongoing fundamentals of the lodging industry.

The common share dividend represents an approximate annualized yield of 48%, based upon the March 18, 2009 closing share price of $1.50, and is the 40th consecutive common share dividend paid by the Company, at this per share amount, since its initial public offering.

About Hersha Hospitality Trust

Hersha Hospitality Trust is a self-advised real estate investment trust, which owns interests in 76 hotels, totaling 9,556 rooms, primarily along the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington D.C.The Company also owns hotels in Northern California and Scottsdale, Arizona. Hersha focuses on high quality, upscale hotels in high barrier to entry markets. More information on the Company and its portfolio of hotels is available on Hersha's Web site at http://www.hersha.com.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking language as specified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statement. For a description of these factors, please review the information under the heading "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Source: Hersha Hospitality Trust