The sizzling summer season brought hotel stocks roaring back in August.
The Baird Hotel Stock Index — which comprises 20 of the largest hotel brand companies and real estate investment trusts publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange by market capitalization — rose 3.1% in August. The index has risen in three of the past four months.
Year to date, the Hotel Stock Index is down 1.3%.
The S&P 500 — an indicator of the health of the broader economy — rose 1.9% in August. Year to date, the S&P 500 is up 9.8%.
“Hotel stocks rebounded and outperformed in August as the broader stock market priced in a lower interest rate outlook,” said Michael Bellisario, senior research analyst and managing director at Baird. “The economic outlook has remained stable recently, but industrywide RevPAR growth has been anemic during the summer months due to softer leisure demand and continued pricing sensitivity; however, a ‘less bad’ trade in the stock market has been occurring, which has caused the hotel REITs to be relative outperformers for four consecutive months.”
The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — increased by 4.3% in August.
The hotel brand sub-index rose 2.2% in August, while the hotel REIT sub-index jumped 8.5%.
Month over month, Braemar Hotels & Resorts' stock rose 25.5% in August. On the opposite end, Choice Hotels International's stock fell 6.4% month over month, and Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock was down 5.8%.
Year over year, Hilton's stock rose 25.7% in August, followed closely by IHG Hotels & Resorts (+22%). Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock price fell 36.4% year over year.
For more information about the Hotel Stock Index, email hotelstockindex@rwbaird.com.
The Baird Hotel Stock Index and sub-indices are available exclusively on CoStar News Hotels. The indices were created by Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird). The market-cap-weighted, price-only indices comprise 20 of the largest market-capitalization hotel companies publicly traded on a U.S. exchange and attempt to characterize the performance of hotel stocks. The Index and sub-indices are maintained by Baird and hosted on Hotel News Now, are not actively managed, and no direct investment can be made in them. As of 30 June 2021, the companies that comprised the Baird Hotel Stock Index included: Apple Hospitality REIT, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Chatham Lodging Trust, Choice Hotels International, DiamondRock Hospitality Company, Hersha Hospitality Trust, Hilton Inc., Host Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Park Hotels & Resorts, Inc., Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, RLJ Lodging Trust, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Service Properties Trust, Summit Hotel Properties, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Xenia Hotels & Resorts.