U.S. Hotel Stock Index Upticks 5.4% in August

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STR reported today that the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index enjoyed a 5.4-percent increase to 3,689 in August 2014, and is up 16.1 percent year to date. The index ended 2013 at 3,177.
 
The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index outperformed the S&P 500 (+3.8 percent) and the MSCI REIT (RMZ) (+2.7 percent) in August.
 
"Hotel stocks were back in positive territory in August," said Randy Smith, chairman and co-founder of STR. "July was a record-setting month for hotels, as the industry sold 113 million room nights during the month. Off the back of this positive demand trend, STR revised its forecast for 2014 upward. We believe the industry will continue to see positive results over the next 24 to 36 months."
 
"Against a backdrop of strong weekly revenue-per-available-room trends, hotel stocks performed well in August despite second quarter earnings that generally did not meet investors' heightened expectations; declining interest rates and accelerating demand trends have been a boon to hotel stocks," said David Loeb, senior hotel research analyst and managing director at Baird. "Investors remain optimistic that third and fourth quarter earnings will be stronger than expected as RevPAR growth trends across the industry remain robust."
 
The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index was set to equal 1,000 on 1 January 2000 as its starting point. The index reached its peak of 3,178 on 5 July 2007. The index's lowest point occurred on 6 March 2009, when it dropped to 573.