HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee, and MILWAUKEE—The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index dropped 10% in December to a level of 4,885. For 2022 as a whole, the stock index was down 15%.

“Hotel stocks ended a relatively strong year on a weak note as recessionary fears and slowing growth concerns were front and center for investors in December, which caused hotel stocks to underperform during the month,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. Pebblebrook’s negative fourth-quarter preliminary earnings announcement caused the hotel REITs to tag in December and reinforced investors’ negative sentiment towards the sub-sector. In 2022, the global hotel brands outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 500bps; the hotel REITs outperformed the RMZ by more than 1,000 bps, which was the first year of relative outperformance since 2017. For the year, the global hotel brands topped the hotel REITs by approximately 280 bps.” 

While the future weighed heavily on investor sentiment, U.S. hotel performance completed the year in solid position,” said Amanda Hite, STR’s president. “Room demand in the final month of 2022 was the highest for any December before it – even 2019, the previous record holder. When looking at the full year, demand came in slightly below 2019 levels, and most of that deficit was seen during Q1 when omicron was at its peak. Nominal RevPAR finished the year above the pre-pandemic comparable, and we remain confident that the metric will continue to grow despite the looming recession. Inflation-adjusted RevPAR, however, remained 6% behind the 2019 benchmark, which is considerably better than what was seen three years after the Great Recession.”

In December, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index fell behind both the S&P 500 (-5.9%) and the MSCI US REIT Index (-5.8%).  

The Hotel Brand sub-index decreased 9.2% from November to 8,904, while the Hotel REIT sub-index fell 12.8% to 1,038.

About the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index and Sub-Indices

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index was set to equal 1,000 on 1 January 2000. Last cycle, the Index peaked at 3,178 on 5 July 2007. The Index’s low point occurred on 6 March 2009 when it dropped to 573.

The Hotel Brand sub-index was set to equal 1,000 on 1 January 2000. Last cycle, the sub-index peaked at 3,407 on 5 July 2007. The sub-index’s low point occurred on 6 March 2009 when it dropped to 722.

The Hotel REIT sub-index was set to equal 1,000 on 1 January 2000. Last cycle, the sub-index peaked at 2,555 on 2 February 2007. The sub-index’s low point occurred on 5 March 2009 when it dropped to 298.  

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index and sub-indices are available exclusively on Hotel News Now. The indices are cobranded and were created by Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird) and STR. 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 31 December 2022, the companies that comprised the Baird/STR 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.

This communication is not a call to action to engage in a securities transaction and has not been individually tailored to a specific client or targeted group of clients. Research reports on the companies identified in this communication are provided by Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, and are available to clients through their Baird Financial Advisor. This communication does not provide recipients with information or advice that is sufficient on which to base an investment decision. This communication does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or need of any particular client and may not be suitable for all types of investors. Recipients should consider the contents of this communication as a single factor in making an investment decision. Additional fundamental and other analyses would be required to make an investment decision about any individual security identified in this release.