The stock values of public hotel companies rebounded in May.
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 9.3% in May after three consecutive months of declines. It was the index's largest gain since November 2024.
Year to date, the Hotel Stock Index is down 7.1%
The S&P 500 — an indicator of the health of the broader economy — rose 6.2% in May. Year to date, the S&P 500 is up 0.5%.
“Hotel stocks rebounded sharply in May and outperformed their respective benchmarks as macroeconomic and trade policy headwinds moderated,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and managing director at Baird. “Demand trends have remained stable in recent weeks — ‘stable’ has been the word of choice among industry participants; however, uncertainties still exist, particularly for the summer outlook, given the shorter booking window, more price-sensitive leisure customer, and reduced level of inbound international travel.”
The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — rose 1.9%.
The hotel brand sub-index increased 9.6% in May, while the hotel REIT sub-index rose 7.6%.
Month over month, Braemar Hotels & Resorts' stock jumped 21.9%, followed by a 17.2% increase in the stock value of Hyatt Hotels Corp. The month's bottom performers included Ashford Hospitality Trust — with its stock down 5.4% month over month — and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which posted a 3% stock decline.
Year over year, Hilton achieved the highest stock gain at 23.8%, followed by Wyndham at 17%. Ashford Trust's stock is down 51.6% year over year, followed by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust's 35.1% decline and Park Hotels & Resorts' stock down 34.7%.
For more information about the Hotel Stock Index, email hotelstockindex@rwbaird.com.
The Baird Hotel Stock Index and sub-indices are available exclusively on Hotel News Now. 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.