The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index grew 5.3% in April to 4,886. Year to date through the first four months of 2019, the index was up 20.1%. 
“Hotel stocks outperformed their respective benchmarks in April and both sub-indices finished higher for the month,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and VP at Baird. “Industry fundamentals in April rebounded to a level that was more in line with expectations after weaker-than-forecasted performance across the board in March, which allayed some investor concerns about slowing growth trends; also, hotel earnings for the first quarter generally have been better than feared so far, which also has led to higher stock prices.”
“Once again surprising, but also reassuring to see that investor sentiment remains on the bigger picture and not just recent performance,” said Amanda Hite, STR’s president and CEO. “After a weaker-than-expected March, preliminary data for April looks uninspiring, due in large part to the anticipated decline in group business around Easter. Overall, we continue to be optimistic that RevPAR growth will continue despite diminished pricing confidence. In addition to the ongoing discussions around rising labor costs and shrinking profit margins, we’re continuing to watch the Top 25 Markets and the limited service classes, which will continue to be hampered by strong supply growth that shows no sign of abating.”
April performance of the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index surpassed both the S&P 500 (+3.9%) and the MSCI US REIT Index (-0.4%).
The Hotel Brand sub-index jumped 7.3% from March to 7,521, while the Hotel REIT sub-index rose 1.4% to 1,615.
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