STR, Inc.
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hotel industry market intelligence |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Randy Smith, Carolyn Smith |
| Headquarters | Hendersonville, Tennessee , United States |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Market intelligence, HotelNewsNow, Hotel Data Conference |
| Parent | CoStar Group |
STR, Inc. operates as a division of CoStar Group, delivering comprehensive market intelligence on the global hotel industry, including detailed analyses of supply and demand trends and market share metrics. Its corporate headquarters are situated in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with additional offices positioned internationally in locations such as London, Italy, Dubai, Brazil, Singapore, Tokyo, Jakarta, Sydney, and Beijing.
STR monitors a portfolio of 67,000 hotels encompassing more than 8 million guest rooms across 180 nations.
The company also manages HotelNewsNow, a dedicated news platform for the hotel sector based in Lakewood, Ohio, and serves as the organizer of the Hotel Data Conference.
History
Established in 1985 by Randy and Carolyn Smith under the name Smith Travel Research in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, STR initially focused on assembling a database covering the U.S. hotel market. In 1988, it introduced the Smith Travel Accommodations Report (STAR), a monthly performance report offering comparative market share data among hotels and their competitors.
STR broadened its international reach in 2008 by acquiring HotelBenchmark from Deloitte and The Bench, alongside launching the HotelNewsNow platform. Subsequently, in 2010, STR collaborated with Baird to create the Baird / Smith Travel Research Hotel Stock Index, which tracks stock performance of 15 publicly listed hotel corporations.
In 2016, STR expanded its capabilities by acquiring LJ Research, a Scotland-based firm specializing in consumer insights within tourism. LJ Research’s principal offerings included Visitrac, an online customer feedback survey system, and LJ Forecaster, a tool designed for hotel benchmarking.
In October 2019, the company was purchased by CoStar Group for $450 million, enhancing CoStar’s expertise and presence in hospitality data analytics.
Antitrust lawsuit
In February 2024, a proposed consumer class action suit was initiated against CoStar, the parent company of STR. The complaint alleges involvement in a price-fixing scheme alongside luxury hotel chains such as Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, InterContinental Hotels, Loews, and Accor. It asserts that these entities utilized STR’s research reports to exchange competitively sensitive information and sustain artificially inflated hotel room rates.