STR Hotel Industry Indicator Rises for Fourth Consecutive Month

The Hotel Industry Pulse Index, or HIP, is composite indicator that gauges business activity in the United States hotel industry in real-time, similar to a GDP measure. The latest monthly change brought the index to a reading of 86.6. The index was set to equal 100 in 2000. HIP's six-month growth rate, which historically has signaled turning points in U.S. hotel business activity, continued to improve. After 20 months of the six-month growth rate being negative, the measure has gone up four consecutive months.

During May, the six-month growth improved upon April's growth of 7.5 percent by gaining 11.4 percent. This compares with a long-term growth rate of 3.2 percent, which is the same as the 38-year average annual growth rate of the industry's GDP.