Hotel stocks rebound in April with strong gains

The stocks of public hotel companies followed a broader market resurgence in April.

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% in April.

The S&P 500 — an indicator of the health of the broader economy — jumped 10.4% during the month.

Year to date, the Baird Hotel Stock Index is up 12.6%. The index has risen in three out of four months of 2026.

“Hotel stocks rebounded sharply in April on the heels of a broader market rally and solid revenue per available room trends throughout the month,” said Michael Bellisario, senior research analyst and managing director at Baird. “Hotel REITs outperformed the RMZ by 240 basis points as first-quarter earnings surprised to the upside, while the global hotel brands underperformed the S&P 500 by 180 basis points as high investor expectations were not exceeded. A growing investor focus is the sustainability of domestic RevPAR outperformance and the potential impacts from higher oil prices, more expensive airline tickets, and flight cancellations, among other factors that might affect travel demand.”

The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — rose 8.9% in April and is up 13% year to date.

The hotel brand sub-index increased by 8.7% in April, while the hotel REIT sub-index jumped 11.3%.

Month over month, Apple Hospitality REIT took the top spot with its stock up 17%, followed closely by Hyatt Hotels Corp. (+16.5%). Meanwhile, Choice Hotels International's stock was down 4.3% month over month in April.

Year over year, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust led the way with its stock up 55.2%. Yet Ashford Hospitality Trust reported its stock down 51.3% since April 2025.

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.

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