Baird/STR Hotel stock index jumped 16.4% in January

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index jumped 16.4% in January to a level of 5,685.

“Hotel stocks rebounded sharply in January and were significant outperformers as the back-and-forth recessionary concerns once again subsided to start the year,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. “Industry-wide RevPAR trends finished the year on a strong note despite tougher calendar comparisons and weather-related travel disruptions in December. Several Hotel REITs provided fourth-quarter operational updates, and performance generally was in line with prior expectations. More broadly, investor sentiment has improved, which boosted stock prices across the board in January, but the macroeconomic indicators have remained mixed.” 

“Altogether, U.S. performance in January felt normal with preliminary data showing the month’s second-highest room demand on record,” said Amanda Hite, STR president. “Our most recent revision to the forecast included a modest upgrade for 2023 with continued RevPAR growth, albeit at a lower level. Industry leaders have displayed quite a bit of confidence in recent weeks, and we share in the positive outlook while expecting gains to slow as ADR growth slips below the rate of inflation. Regardless, the industry is in solid shape with typical seasonal patterns on a week-to-week basis.”

In January, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index surpassed both the S&P 500 (+6.2%) and the MSCI US REIT Index (+10.5%).  

The Hotel Brand sub-index increased 16.2% from December to 10,342, while the Hotel REIT sub-index rose 17.1% to 1,216.