Public hotel companies are off to a strong start in the first two months of 2026.
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 5.9% in February, its third consecutive month of increases.
The S&P 500 — an indicator of the health of the broader economy — dipped 0.9% during the month.
Year to date, the Baird Hotel Stock Index is up 7.6%, while the S&P 500 is up just 0.5%.
“Hotel stocks posted strong gains in February with both the global hotel brands and hotel REITs increasing nearly 6%,” said Michael Bellisario, senior research analyst and managing director at Baird. “Better-than-expected industry-wide RevPAR growth in January and February — despite several weather impacts — has caused investor sentiment to improve. The global hotel brands outperformed the S&P 500 by 670 basis points following strong fourth-quarter earnings and solid initial 2026 outlooks, which investors view as somewhat conservative, while the hotel REITs underperformed their benchmark by 200 basis points as interest rates declined and more defensive real estate sub-sectors outperformed.”
The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — rose 7.7% in February.
The hotel brand sub-index rose 5.9% in February, while the hotel REIT sub-index increased by 5.7%.
Month over month, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' stock jumped 12.4% in February, and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust's stock rose 12.3% for the month. Meanwhile, Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock fell 23.9% in February.
Year over year, DiamondRock Hospitality reported the greatest year-over-year jump with its stock up 22% in February. Marriott International (+21.9%) and Host Hotels & Resorts (+21.5%) weren't far behind. Ashford Trust similarly reported the biggest year-over-year decline with its stock down 61.3% for the month.
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.