Edgar Filing: HERSHA HOSPITALITY TRUST

Ownership Submission

FORM 4

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person ^*

SHAH HASU P

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
HERSHA HOSPITALITY TRUST [HT]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

__X__ Director	_____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below)	_____ Other (specify below)
Chairman of the Board

(Last)

(First)

(Middle)

44 HERSHA DRIVE

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
12/23/2014

(Street)

HARRISBURG, PA 17102

4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

(City)

(State)

(Zip)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1.Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price		6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Class A Common Shares of Beneficial Interest	12/23/2014		D		166,881 ⁽¹⁾	D	$ 0 ⁽¹⁾	687,317	D
Class A Common Shares of Beneficial Interest								54,130	I	By Family Partnership Shree Associates ⁽²⁾

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)

Code

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

LTIP Units

⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾

12/23/2014

166,881

⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾

Class A Common Shares of Beneficial Interest

166,881

⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾

166,881

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
SHAH HASU P 44 HERSHA DRIVE HARRISBURG, PA 17102	X		Chairman of the Board

Signatures

/s/ Ashish R. Parikh, as attorney-in-fact		12/23/2014
^**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The Reporting Person forfeited these common shares in exchange for an aggregate cash payment of $1.00, or $0.00000599 per share. Prior to forfeiture, these common shares were subject to a substantial risk of loss and were non-transferable. The Reporting Person forfeited these common shares in connection with the issuance of the LTIP Units reported in Table II to this Form 4.
(2)	The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities, as this report shall not be deemed an admission that the Reporting Person is the beneficial owner of these securities for purposes of Section 16 or any other purpose.
(3)	LTIP Units are a class of limited partnership units in Hersha Hospitality Limited Partnership (the "Operating Partnership"), of which the Issuer is the general partner, and represent a profit interest in the Operating Partnership. Initially, the LTIP Units do not have full parity with the Operating Partnership's common units of limited partnership interest ("Common Units") with respect to liquidating distributions. Upon the occurrence of certain "book-up" events described in the Operating Partnership's partnership agreement, the LTIP Units can over time achieve full parity with the Common Units for all purposes. If such parity is reached, vested LTIP Units are convertible into Common Units and, upon conversion and subject to the applicable holding period, may be redeemed for cash in an amount equal to the then fair market value of an equal number of the Issuer's common shares or converted into an equal number of the Issuer's common shares, as determined by the Issuer at its election.
(4)	56,479, 20,803, 35,019, 20,803, 12,975 and 20,802 LTIP Units will vest on December 31, 2014, June 1, 2015, December 31, 2015, June 1, 2016, December 31, 2016 and June 1, 2017, respectively, subject to the reporting person's continued employment with the Issuer, and will be subject to accelerated vesting under certain conditions. The LTIP Units have no expiration date. The LTIP Units were issued pursuant to the Issuer's Amended and Restated 2012 Equity Incentive Plan.

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