Hotel stocks began 2025 strong, even pacing ahead of other economic indexes in the first month of the year.
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 3% in January from December.
The S&P 500 — which indicates the health of the broader economy — rose 2.7% month over month, slightly behind the Hotel Stock Index.
“Hotel stocks started the year off on a positive note with the Global Hotel Brands driving the gains and relative outperformance,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and managing director at Baird. “The Hotel REITs underperformed as investors recalibrated their 2025 growth outlooks due to expectations for outsized expense growth to persist, while the Global Hotel Brands outperformed and announced favorable year-end unit growth and development pipeline updates.”
The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — increased by 0.9% in January.
The hotel brand sub-index rose 4.1% in the month, while the hotel REIT sub-index declined by 2.4%.
Month over month, Ashford Hospitality Trust led the top performers of the month with its stock up 10.8% in January. Brands IHG Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Choice Hotels International rounded out the top five performers. Braemar Hotels & Resorts, meanwhile, saw a 15% month-over-month drop in its stock price in January, which was the most for the bottom performers.
Year over year, the stock prices of IHG, Wyndham and Hilton were each up more than 30% in January. Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock was down 52% year over year.
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.