A dip in hotel stocks in the second month of the year came close to erasing January's gains.
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 — declined 2.3% in February from January. The Hotel Stock Index rose 3% month over month in January.
The S&P 500 — which indicates the health of the broader economy — fell 1.4% month over month.
“Hotel stocks declined modestly in February and followed the broader market’s pullback, which was driven by investors’ growing concerns about macroeconomic uncertainties and a potential slower growth outlook,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and managing director at Baird. “The Hotel REITs significantly underperformed their real estate benchmark as companies’ 2025 outlooks disappointed investors amid elevated expense pressures; the global hotel brands provided in-line outlooks and only slightly underperformed the S&P 500 during the month.”
The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — increased by 3.5% in February.
The hotel brand sub-index declined 1.8% in the month, while the hotel REIT sub-index dropped 5.1%.
Month over month, Braemar Hotels & Resorts led the way with its stock up 12.5% in February. Hilton (+3.5%) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (+3.2%) also reported increases since January. Hyatt Hotels Corp. reported its stock dropped 10.9% month over month, with Xenia Hotels & Resorts and Park Hotels & Resorts just behind, down 10.2% and down 9%, respectively.
Year over year, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts stock rose 41.5%, with Hilton and Choice Hotels International rounding out the top three performers. Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock fell 60% year over year in February.
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.