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The index decreased 12.6 percent year-to-date through the first eight months of 2022. In August it also surpassed both the S&P 500, down 4.2 percent, and the MSCI US REIT Index, which dropped 6.1 percent. Also, the hotel brand sub-index fell 2.3 percent from July to 8,959, while the hotel REIT sub-index dropped 3.7 percent to 1,143. "Hotel stocks took a breather in August after July's sharp rebound. Despite the slight decline in stock prices, both the Global Hotel Brands and Hotel REITs outperformed their respective benchmarks in August," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "Hotel trends have remained solid throughout the summer months despite all the capital markets volatility and macroeconomic uncertainties. However, investors appear somewhat skeptical about the prospects for a significant recovery in business transient travel post-Labor Day, and hotel stocks appear to be discounting this relatively conservative fundamental expectation, in our opinion."

THE BAIRD/STR HOTEL Stock Index dropped 2.4 percent to 5,600, influenced by increasing interest rates affecting both real estate stocks and investor sentiment, according to STR. Moreover, U.S. hotel demand saw a 1.3 percent decrease in October, linked in part to a calendar shift. This marks the third consecutive month of stock decline after a surge in July. "Hotel stocks declined for the third straight month in October, aligning with broader market trends," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "Elevated interest rates continued to drive performance, with real estate stocks bearing the brunt. Hotel REITs stood out as relative outperformers. The global hotel brands experienced a roughly 2 percent decrease, closely mirroring the S&P 500's retreat in October." In October, the Baird/STR Index fell behind the S&P 500, down 2.2 percent, but surpassed the MSCI US REIT Index, down 4.5 percent.

THE AMERICAN HOTEL & Lodging Association has announced the dates, cities, and registration information for its "On the Road" State Hotel Conferences for 17 states in 2023. The conferences will provide hoteliers, suppliers, and service providers opportunities to connect with their peers as well as hospitality and policy leaders to learn about the latest news and information affecting the hotel and lodging industry, AHLA said in a statement. Anyone who works in the hotel industry can attend these half-day, free events, it added. "AHLA's 'On The Road' State Hotel Conferences are designed to help local hoteliers connect with their peers, gain insights on national and local market business performance trends and learn from top hospitality leaders, service providers and policy experts," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "The events are also a vital tool to help AHLA build coalitions, grow our grassroots network and rally hoteliers around the industry's goals and initiatives. We are excited to bring AHLA's successful On The Road State Hotel Conference series to a record number of cities in 2023." AHLA will host these conferences in partnership with its state or city lodging association partners. Since starting with four events in 2021, AHLA's On The Road State Hotel Conferences have brought together thousands of hoteliers in cities across the nation. Last year, 11 events were held.

THE BAIRD/STR Hotel Stock Index rose in March, continuing a trend from the previous month. Still, continued growth remains at risk by factors such as inflation and political unrest. The index increased 2.2 percent in March after rising 4.1 percent in February. It rose 2.4 percent year to date through the first three months of 2022. However, Baird/STR fell behind both the S&P 500, up 3.6 percent in March, and the MSCI US REIT Index, which rose 5.9 percent. The hotel brand sub-index rose 1.4 percent from February, while the Hotel REIT sub-index jumped 5.1 percent. "Hotel stocks increased in March but underperformed their benchmarks as stock market volatility eased and geopolitical concerns did not worsen," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "Underlying hotel fundamentals continued to improve in March, and the outlook appears more favorable today than just one month ago despite all of the background noise in the stock market and with interest rates on the rise. Higher gas prices and heightened concerns about a slower growth backdrop have been topical with investors lately, but broader travel momentum and pent-up demand should keep the lodging recovery going over the near term, in our opinion."

JOBS IN THE hotel industry are projected to exceed overall job market growth in the next five years, according to recent research commissioned by the AHLA Foundation. The foundation has also introduced an interactive dashboard enabling job seekers to explore and compare roles, requirements and compensation within various hospitality careers. The foundation tasked Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, with providing data on demographic and growth trends crucial for identifying and mapping career pathways within the hotel and lodging industry, the AHLA Foundation said in a statement. With its real-time, proprietary databases and industry parsing capabilities, Lightcast created an interactive dashboard illustrating career pathways in the hotel and lodging industry from 2010 to 2023. "It's an attractive time to enter the hotel industry," said Anna Blue, AHLA Foundation's president. "A key part of our work at AHLA Foundation is supporting the recruitment, retention and advancement of people in our industry. Understanding the entry points where careers begin, where they lead and what paths they take is a critical step to helping find their home in hospitality."

For Teague Hunter, president and CEO of Hunter Hotel Advisors, buying and selling hotels is a family tradition. He shared that lifetime of experience with Asian Hospitality in the second installment of our Leadership Series interviews with top voices in the industry. Hunter leads the Atlanta-based hotel brokerage founded in 1978 by his father Bob Hunter with his brother Lee Hunter as chief operating officer. Last year, Hunter had its most successful year to date after closing nearly $2.5 billion in sales. In March it will host its 35th Hunter Hotel Conference, which has rebounded to full attendance three years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Teague Hunter also is the host of Teague Talks, a twice weekly series of podcasts offering advice and interviews with other industry heads. In his interview with Asian Hospitality, Hunter discussed his early days in the industry, current trends in the hotel market and the future of his company and its namesake conference. The video of the full interview is now available on our website, and the following includes excerpts from the interview with additional information. Rise up early in the morning Hunter said his first hotel job was as a bellhop in the morning shift at the old Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Powers Ferry in Marietta, Georgia. It was quiet, but instructive. "I ran around and helped everybody with everything and learned the business," he said. His experience in hospitality, however, began at a much earlier age. He was 5 years old when Bob Hunter started his business. Teague Hunter recalled stories of childhood trips to the beach, during which he would tour hotels with his father along the way. After graduating college, Hunter worked as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and held a position with IBM before he realized that was not what he wanted to do with his life.

THE FIRST QUARTER of 2022 brought better than the national average performance for Twenty Four Seven Hotels. The Newport Beach, California-based third-party hospitality management company also acquired two new hotels in Southern California. Steady growth in year's beginning Occupancy for Twenty Four Seven properties rose steadily during the first three months of the year, hitting 62.9 percent in January, 67.8 percent in February and 76 percent in March. ADR also rose during the same three months, from $142.66 to $160.99 to $174.02. RevPAR followed the same trend, rising from $89.73 to $109.10 to $132.25. Each metric also rose compared to the first quarter of 2021. "We continue to ride the massive wave of momentum that began for Twenty Four Seven Hotels in 2021, when our portfolio grew by 25 percent with the addition of seven new hotels now totaling 25 hotels with more than 3,100 rooms," said David Wani, CEO of Twenty Four Seven. "We will continue to seek third-party management opportunities with well-respected partners and brands in the western U.S., expanding our concentration in these unique markets where we have firsthand experience improving bottom lines and guest satisfaction scores."

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL room revenues increased by $1.1 billion in 2023, similar to 2018 and 2019, though with a lower relative gain due to a larger room base, according to The Highland Group. All three extended-stay segments reported record-high room revenues in 2023, with the upscale segment leading despite previously lagging behind the pandemic recovery. The 6.1 percent increase in extended-stay hotel revenues outpaced the corresponding 5.5 percent gain reported by STR/CoStar for the overall hotel industry, the report said. However, extended-stay hotel supply experienced its smallest annual increase on record in 2023, at just 1.8 percent. Factors such as re-branding, de-flagging of non-compliant hotels, and sales to other sectors influenced supply fluctuations, a trend expected to persist into the first half of 2024, particularly with older extended-stay hotels remaining on the market. The report also highlighted a 6.6 percent increase in economy extended-stay supply, alongside modest gains in mid-price and upscale segments, primarily driven by conversions. New construction in the economy segment is estimated at around 3 percent of rooms open compared to one year ago.

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY hotels experienced their first quarterly decline in RevPAR since the first quarter of 2021, according to The Highland Group. In the first quarter, the segment saw a 1.6 percent drop in RevPAR, despite a 1.5 percent increase in revenues. Demand increased by 1.7 percent, contrasting with a 2.8 percent fall in total hotel demand when excluding upper upscale and luxury segments. STR/CoStar estimated that overall hotel RevPAR, excluding upper upscale and luxury segments, which have minimal extended-stay room supply, increased by 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The Highland Group's 2024 First Quarter U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels report indicated that overall hotel RevPAR and room revenues declined by 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent year-to-date, respectively, excluding upper upscale and luxury segments.

NEW YORK LEADS the top 50 U.S. markets in hotel construction with 47 projects and 7,655 rooms currently underway, according to Lodging Econometrics. The city has a total of 78 projects and 13,549 rooms in its hotel construction pipeline, the 10th largest in the U.S. Projects set to start in the next 12 months include eight projects with 1,079 rooms, while early planning includes 23 projects with 4,815 rooms, according to LE's Q1 2024 Market Trend Report for New York, released before the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. Within the New York market, the three submarkets with the largest hotel construction pipelines are the New York City area (including Brooklyn East, the Bronx, and Staten Island) with 25 projects and 2,096 rooms, the report said. Similarly, the Midtown South area features 11 projects and 2,535 rooms, while the Midtown West/Times Square area has 10 projects and 4,131 rooms. Combined, these submarkets account for 59 percent of the projects and 65 percent of the rooms in the market's total construction pipeline.

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL occupancy declined across 59 MSAs in 2023 compared to 2019, primarily due to significant ADR growth over the past three years, according to The Highland Group. Additionally, extended-stay hotel RevPAR surged in more than 80 percent of MSAs, with ten of them, including four major hotel markets, experiencing gains exceeding 10 percent. Despite an 8 percent increase in the number of extended-stay hotel rooms under construction in the 100 largest MSAs over the past year, the figures remain below pre-pandemic levels, the report said. The resurgence in occupancy was notably led by smaller markets, where strong ADR increases and supply expansion played pivotal roles in driving the lowest occupancy recovery indices for MSAs in 2023.

THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline grew 9 percent by both projects and rooms year-over-year, according to the latest U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics. It stood at 5,545 projects with 658,207 rooms at the close of the first quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the hotel construction pipeline in the top 25 markets in the U.S. also registered year-over-year growth in the first quarter. Dallas had a record 184 projects with 21,810 rooms at the close of the first quarter, followed by Atlanta with 144 projects containing 18,242 rooms, Los Angeles tally stood at 118 projects with 19,066 rooms, Phoenix with 117 projects with 16,100 rooms and Nashville had 115 projects containing 15, 354 rooms, LE report revealed. In another report, LE analysts also detailed the leading franchise companies and their brands in the construction pipeline at the close of the first quarter. Marriott International tops the charts with 1,499 projects containing 181,377 rooms, followed closely by Hilton Worldwide, with a record-high count of 1,436 projects with 161,359 rooms, and then InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 809 projects containing 80,679 rooms. Combined, these three franchise companies comprise 68 percent of the projects in the total U.S. pipeline, LE said.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE dipped slightly in the second week of August in line with seasonal trends, according to STR. However, ADR and RevPAR increased compared to the same period in 2019. Occupancy was 68.5 percent for the week ending August 13, down from 69.9 percent the week before and dropped 4.6 percent from 2019. ADR was $152.34 for the week, down from $154.48 the week before and increased 15.8 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $104.30 during the week, fell from $108.04 the week before and up 10. 5 percent from 2019. Among STR's top 25 markets, only Norfolk/Virginia Beach reported an occupancy increase, up 0.4 percent to 80.1 percent, over 2019.

KNOWLAND, A HOSPITALITY data-as-a-service provider, recently integrated a sub-market filter into its search and dashboard functions, adding to its market snapshot and new-to-market capabilities. This new feature enables precise filtering down to the sub-market level within larger markets, identifying localized opportunities, Knowland said in a statement. "To stay agile in this competitive industry, hotel sellers must be savvy about community activity," said Jeff Bzdawka, Knowland's CEO. "With this localized market view, they see opportunities in their immediate area rather than sifting through broad datasets. We continue to innovate our platform with new features and functionalities to help sales teams excel in account-based selling and automate the sales process for better outcomes." Hotel sales teams rely on detailed data analytics for sourcing new business, Knowland said. The sub-market filter provides accessible metrics on top neighborhoods, aiding teams in adopting an account-based selling approach.

GOPPAR FOR U.S. hotels in February exceeded the levels of the pre-pandemic comparable time period and was the highest since October 2022, according to STR's February 2023 Profit & Loss data. EBITDA was the only key bottom-line metric on a per-available-room basis to come in lower than February 2019, STR said in a statement. GOPPAR reached $77.37 for the month, up 1.6 percent over the same month in 2019, TRevPAR stood at $217.20, up 3.7 percent, and EBITDA PAR was $51.63, down 0.6 percent against February 2019. Labor costs were $73.70, a 2.9 percent increase. "The profit-and-loss metrics followed typical industry trends, improving from the prior month," said Raquel Ortiz, STR's director of financial performance. "Both GOPPAR and GOP margins were the highest since last fall, while profit margins came in just one percentage point below 2019. Profit margins for limited-service hotels are further behind in recovery than full service, likely due to increasing labor costs that bear heavier weight on the bottom line." "An increase in top-line group demand is beginning to show in the bottom line, as catering and banquet revenues are inching closer to 2019 levels and meeting space rentals and services charges surpassed that threshold. On a per-operating-room basis, nearly all F&B revenues outpaced the pre-pandemic comparables," Ortiz added. Of the major markets, 10 realized both GOPPAR and TRevPAR levels higher than the 2019 comparables, the statement said. "February was a slower month for markets that are more dependent on groups and conventions, such as Atlanta, San Francisco and Minneapolis," Ortiz further said. "Warmer markets have remained at the top, with Phoenix showing the highest TRevPAR recovery and second highest GOPPAR recovery for the month, helped by peak season and Super Bowl LVII."

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE fell in the first week of August compared to the week before following seasonal patterns, according to STR. However, ADR and RevPAR were up compared to the same period in 2019. Occupancy was 69.9 percent for the week ending August 6, down from 71.9 percent the week before and dropped 5.7 percent from 2019. ADR was $154.48 for the week, decreased from $158.32 the week before and increased 15.1 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $108.04 during the week, down from $113.90 the week before and up 8.5 percent from 2019. St. Louis reported the largest occupancy increase during the week, up 7.1. percent to 75.9 percent, over 2019, among STR's top 25 markets. Oahu Island (84.6 percent) led major markets in absolute occupancy during the first week of August, followed by Seattle (84.8 percent), and San Diego (83.8 percent).

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE remained relatively flat during the third week of January, according to STR. Tampa, Florida, led the top 25 markets in terms of occupancy. Occupancy was 48.7 percent for the week ending Jan. 22, and it was 48.8 percent the week before. It was down 15.9 percent from the comparable week in 2019. ADR was $122.17 for the week, almost same as the week before at $122.12 and down 1.4 percent from two years ago. RevPAR reached $59.52, it was $59.57 the prior week and down 17.1 percent from the same period two years ago. None of STR's to 25 markets recorded an occupancy increase during the period compared to two years ago. Tampa came closest to its pre-pandemic comparable in the third week, down just 1.7 percent to 72.1 percent. It also posted the largest ADR rise, up 14 percent to $151.74. The only RevPAR increase was also registered at Tampa, up 12 percent to $109.39.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE saw a significant increase in the first week of December compared to the previous week, with improvements in hotel occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, according to CoStar. Year-over-year results also reflected positive trends. Occupancy rose to 58.7 percent for the week ending Dec. 9, up from the previous week's 54.2 percent, reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 1.1 percent. ADR increased to $153.36, compared to the previous week's $144.88, showing a 4.5 percent uptick from the prior year. RevPAR also soared to $89.98, compared to the prior week's $78.54, indicating a 3.3 percent decrease from the corresponding period in 2022. Among the top 25 markets, Boston saw the largest year-over-year occupancy increase, surging by 4.1 percent to 72.7 percent. Helped by Miami Art Week and Art Basel, Miami reported significant increases in ADR, soaring 48.8 percent to $314.55, and RevPAR, jumping 67 percent to $262.16.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE increased in the third week of February mainly due to Presidents' Day weekend, according to STR. The data research firm also reported improvement for the week compared to 2019. Occupancy was 59.1 percent for the week ending Feb. 19, up from 54.6 percent the week before and down 8.4 percent for the same period in 2019. ADR was $140.11 for the week, increased from $133.72 the week before and up 8.4 percent from two years ago. RevPAR was $82.87 for the week, up from $73 the week before and down just 0.8 percent from the same period two years ago. Norfolk/Virginia Beach recorded the only occupancy increase among STR's top 25 markets in the third week of February, up 5.7 percent to 55 percent, over 2019. According to the report, Miami posted the highest ADR increase during the period, increased 28 percent to $347.48, followed by Super Bowl LVI host, Los Angeles, which was up 26.4 percent to $225.07.

EXTENDED-STAY ROOM SUPPLY increased by 1.8 percent in February due to it being a leap year, consistent with the average monthly increase observed over the last two years, according to The Highland Group. February marked 29 consecutive months of 4 percent or less supply growth. Additionally, the change in supply has remained below 2 percent for more than two years, with both metrics significantly falling below the long-term average. The 18.8 percent surge in economy extended-stay supply, along with a modest increase in mid-price segment rooms, is largely attributed to conversions, The Highland Group said. Meanwhile, new construction in the economy segment is estimated at around 3 percent of open rooms compared to a year ago. 2024 first half supply trends Supply change comparisons have been affected by rebranding, segment realignment in The Highland Group's database, and the de-flagging of hotels failing to meet brand standards, along with sales to multi-family apartment companies and municipalities, the report said. This trend is expected to persist into the first half of 2024, particularly with older extended-stay hotels still available on the market.