Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (traded on the NYSE under the ticker SHO) is classified as an Equity REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) specializing specifically in the lodging sector. Rather than holding mortgage debt instruments, Sunstone owns actual physical real estate assets, focusing its portfolio portfolio acquisition and asset management strategies on premium-branded, upper-upscale and luxury resort hotels located across high-barrier-to-entry U.S. markets.