Why does Covid-19 get the blame when Eagle Hospitality Trust's woes predate it?

URBAN COMMONS (UC), the sponsor of Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT) and master lessee for all of the Reit's hotels, has reneged on its latest monthly fixed rent payment to EHT, barely 10 months after selling its assets into the Reit last May.

UC is blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for reducing the income productivity of EHT's 18 hotels in the US.

But the fact that UC was unable to dip into its own pockets to make up for the payment shortfall - which occurred before US hotel occupancies had suffered the full impact of virus control measures - deserves further scrutiny.