We have an equity investment in and a loan receivable due from a variable interest entity that develops and markets fractional ownership and residential interests, and we consolidate the entity as we are the primary beneficiary. The loan we provided to the entity replaced the original senior loan and at year-end 2008 had a balance of $68 million and accrued interest of $15 million. The loan facility is utilized to fund net cash flow of the variable interest entity. The outstanding principal balance increased by $32 million compared to year-end 2007. At year-end 2008, the carrying amount of consolidated assets included within our Consolidated Balance Sheet that are collateral for the variable interest entity's obligations totaled $103 million and comprised $101 million of real estate held for development, property, equipment, and other long-term assets, and $2 million of cash. Further, at year-end 2008, the carrying amount of consolidated liabilities included within our Consolidated Balance Sheet relative to this variable interest entity totaled $17 million. The creditors of the variable interest entity do not have general recourse to our credit.

We utilize several special purpose entities to maintain ownership of real estate in certain jurisdictions in order to facilitate sales within the Asia Pacific Points Club. Although we have no equity ownership in the Club itself, we absorb the variability in the assets of the club to the extent that inventory has not been sold to the ultimate Club Member. We determined that we were the primary beneficiary of these variable interest entities based upon the proportion of variability that we absorb compared to Club Members. At year-end 2007 and 2008, the carrying amount of inventory associated with these variable interest entities was $18 million and $78 million, respectively. The creditors of the special purpose entities do not have general recourse to our credit.

In conjunction with the transaction with CTF described more fully in Footnote No. 9, "Acquisitions and Dispositions," under the caption "2005 Acquisitions" in our 2007 Form 10-K, we manage certain hotels on behalf of four tenant entities 100 percent owned by CTF, which lease the hotels from third-party owners. Due to certain provisions in the management agreements, we account for these contracts as operating leases. At year-end 2008, the number of hotels totaled 14. The entities have minimal equity and minimal assets comprised of hotel working capital. In conjunction with the 2005 transaction, CTF had placed money in a trust account to cover cash flow shortfalls and to meet rent payments. In turn, we released CTF from their guarantees in connection with these properties. The terms of the trust require that the cash flows for the four tenant entities be pooled for purposes of making rent payments and determining cash flow shortfalls. At year-end 2008, the trust account held approximately $28 million. The entities are variable interest entities under FIN 46(R). We do not consolidate the entities because we do not bear the majority of the expected losses. We are secondarily liable (after exhaustion of funds from the trust account) for rent payments for eight of the 14 hotels in the event that there are cash flow shortfalls. Future minimum lease payments through the end of the lease term for these eight hotels totaled approximately $94 million. In addition, we are also secondarily liable for rent payments of up to an aggregate cap of $37 million for the six other hotels in the event that there are cash flow shortfalls.

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