Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index Upticks 6.5% in January

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According to the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index report, the U.S. hotel market recorded a 6.5-percent increase in January to 2,608. The index ended 2012 at 2,448.

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index outperformed both the MSCI REIT (RMZ) (+3.5 percent) and the S&P 500 (+5.0 percent) in January.

"The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index started 2013 on a positive note," said Randy Smith, co-founder and chairman at STR. "With positive performance expected for 2013, investors are keeping an eye on the industry. And we are forecasting favorable performance increases across the board, most notably in average daily rate and revenue per available room."

"Hotel stocks started the year on a strong note and outperformed for the third consecutive month," said David Loeb, senior hotel research analyst and managing director at Baird. "With the fiscal cliff averted and the debt ceiling delayed, we expect investors to be focused on management teams' 2013 outlooks with fourth-quarter reporting season just around the corner; supply-and-demand fundamentals remain favorable, but valuation keeps us cautious especially after the recent run up in stock prices."