The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index closed April at 4,864, which was a 1.6% increase from the previous month. Year to date through April, the stock index was down 0.5%.

“Hotel stocks posted modest gains in April as first-quarter earnings have been better than expected and increased full-year outlooks reflect improving demand trends,” said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and VP at Baird. “The hotel brands performed in line with the broader market, while the hotel REITs outperformed other real estate sectors as continued M&A speculation and renewed optimism about RevPAR growth re-accelerating boosted stock prices.”

“We were encouraged by first-quarter performance results which pointed to strengthening consumer confidence and a healthy appetite for leisure travel,” said Amanda Hite, STR’s president and CEO. “Midweek occupancy has remained healthy as well, pointing to robust business demand. Overall, we are confident that, despite the Easter calendar shift, Q2 should show healthy performance growth that will continue to help investor sentiment in the sector.”

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index outperformed both the S&P 500 (+0.3%) and the MSCI US REIT Index (+1.2%).

The Hotel Brand sub-index increased 0.7% to 7,400 from March to April. The Hotel REIT sub-index increased 3.8% to 1,636.