If you’ve worked in hotel revenue management, you’ve probably heard colleagues mention the ‘STAR report’ before you even knew what it was.
Such reliance on jargon isn’t unique to the hospitality industry but that’s no help to someone who wants to understand the basics of hotel revenue management without asking what might feel like naïve questions like ‘erm, what’s a STAR report?’
Although you may now have a better understanding of STAR and how to use them in a conversation, there are still some questions that might be on your mind.
We’re happy to help. This guide breaks down everything hoteliers need to know about STAR reports – from what they include to how to use them for smarter revenue management.
What is a STAR Report in the Hospitality Industry?
The Smith Travel Accommodations Report – commonly known as the STAR report – is a benchmarking A tool widely used in the hotel industry for comparing a property’s performance to its competitors and the broader market.
Published by STRSTAR reports in the hotel sector are used to drive data-driven decision making in hospitality revenue and management.
Originally named Smith Travel Research (STR), STR was established in 1985. It is now well-known for its historical hospitality statistics, analyses, and benchmarking.
In 2008 it was renamed STR Global and now operates under CoStar Group as a parent company, providing insights to hotels in more than 180 countries. STR has a long and distinguished history in benchmarking hospitality. The reports are based on anonymized, aggregated data from thousands of hotels. STR ensures your property’s data is never individually identifiable—only averages across a competitive set are shown, preserving confidentiality while allowing for reliable benchmarking.
While the terms ‘STR report’ and ‘STAR report’ are sometimes used interchangeably, it’s helpful to know that ‘STAR’ specifically refers to the performance benchmarking report produced by STR. So, in this context, when a hotelier says they’re looking at their STR data or STAR report, they’re usually talking about the same thing – the detailed report that compares a hotel’s performance to its competitive set Market averages.
The STAR Report is a report that provides a core of information. key performance indicators (KPIs) Like hotel occupancy, average daily rates (ADR), and revenue per room available (RevPAR), along with index scores that indicate how a property performs relative to other properties in the market. Although widely used,
Depending on the subscription, STAR reports can be delivered weekly, monthly or even daily. If used consistently, these reports can become an integral part of your toolkit for monitoring performance.
Why are hotels concerned about STR?
Receiving the report is just half of the story. Hotels care about STR reports because they provide essential context, revealing how your hotel compares to a hand-selected competitive – a group of similar hotels in their market – as well as to the wider local or regional market.
In fact, STR’s benchmarking data – particularly the Revenue Generation Index (RGI) – is often used as a performance benchmark for hotel chains and can even play a role in hotel financing. Ownership groups often set RGI targets for each property, and lenders will consider the STR’s performance when evaluating mortgages or investment opportunities.
This benchmarking method allows hotel teams to identify whether they are performing well, or not. If, for example, a revenue increase appears positive, but if the competition is growing faster, the STAR report reveals that it’s time to reevaluate pricing, distribution, or marketing strategies.
Hotels use STAR Reports for monthly and weekly performance evaluations, forecasting and budgeting, as well when reporting to asset owners or managers. These reports can be used to evaluate the impact of promotions, events or renovations or plan a new project or repositioning a brand. The STAR reports are useful for putting a hotel’s performance in a broader perspective.
Hotels trust STR because of their industry-wide participation. The data comes from a wide network of properties. This ensures real-world benchmarks and market conditions that are accurate. mistakes it’s easy to make.
The data aggregated from the comp set provides a reliable benchmark without exposing the individual hotel performance. This gives hotels confidence in the accuracy of the insights.
In an industry where competitive dynamics shift constantly, STAR reports help hotels stay focused, agile and aligned with market realities – making them a key part of any savvy revenue strategy.
How do you obtain a STAR rating for your hotel or resort?
Getting a STAR report for your hotel is a straightforward process – but it does involve a few key steps to ensure the data is both accurate and meaningful.
The first step is enrolling your hotel in STR’s data-sharing program – the whole system is based on a quid pro quo. This means agreeing to submit your performance data – typically occupancy rate, ADR and total room revenue – on a regular basis. You don’t have to worry about your hotel’s information being identifiable by others.
STR will provide you with benchmarking data that compares your performance to a set of comps you choose. This comp set includes hotels that have similar characteristics, such as location, size and class.
If you are looking for information about a specific hotel market instead of a group of hotels, then you can order a market trend report in lieu of or as an addition to a STAR. These aggregate data for entire cities, segments or regions.
The cost of STR is usually based on three factors: the type of report you need, the frequency of reporting (daily weekly or monthly), and the amount of detail that you require.
A basic STAR report is available for a nominal fee at most hotels. Reports with more detail or frequency (such as daily data) can be charged at a higher price. You may have access to corporate reporting tools if you are part of a large hotel chain.
If used correctly, an investment in STR Reporting should pay for itself in the long run through the clarity it brings and the strategic insights you gain, helping to make your business more competitive.
What’s in a STAR-report?
We’ve already established that a STAR Report provides a snapshot on how a hotel performs relative to its competitors and the market. It focuses on a few key performance indicators (KPIs) that are important. foundational to revenue management. These metrics are not only used to track the performance of your property, but they also reveal opportunities and threats for your positioning on the market.
Here is a breakdown on the key KPIs that are included in a STAR Report:
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Occupancy (%)The percentage sold of the available rooms in a period. This shows how well the hotel captures demand.
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Average daily rateThe average revenue per room sold. ADR This tool helps you to assess pricing strategy, rate competitiveness and other aspects of your business.
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Revenue per available room (RevPAR)The ADR of your hotel is calculated by multiplying the occupancy by ADR. RevPAR This is a key indicator of revenue performance.
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Index ScoresThe index for each KPI shows the performance of your hotel in comparison to your comp set. (An ADR index 110, for instance, indicates that your hotel has outperformed your comp set by 10%.
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Percentage ChangeThe reports include comparisons of performance over time.
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Segmentation of data and the day-of-weekDepending on your subscription level, STAR reports can also be broken down by leisure/business. segments or weekdays vs weekends.
These data points provide a clear picture of your performance and areas for improvement. The STAR report will help you to keep your strategy grounded in actual market data, whether you are adjusting pricing, evaluating promotional offers, or refining forecasts.
While STAR reports offer a solid retrospective view based on historical performance data, STR also offers Forward STAR – a separate report that provides visibility into future occupancy trends using on-the-books reservations. This allows you to compare your forward pace with the market.
Many hoteliers use tools such as Benchmark Insight by Lighthouse. It combines historical and forward-looking metrics – including occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR – with real-time updates pulled directly from your PMS, so you can react faster and make informed decisions with up-to-date market context.
How to read a STAR rating?
The STAR report may seem intimidating at first but once you get the hang of it, it can be a very useful tool. The report is usually divided into sections according to time periods (daily weekly monthly), segments and comparisons.
Each section contains three terms and familiar KPIs. The previous section also covers these, but with our reading glasses on, let’s have a closer inspection, because they are meant to help you put your performance in perspective:
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IndexThe index shows your hotel’s performance in relation to the comps you have set. If you have an index of 100, then your hotel is performing at par. Above 100 indicates outperformance. Below 100, underperformance.
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RankIt will tell you where you stand in your KPI set. For example, ‘3 of 7′ means you’re third out of seven hotels. This helps to identify gaps in performance.
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Percentage ChangeYou can use this metric to monitor growth and decline over time. A +5% increase in occupancy, for example, shows an improvement over the same period of last year.
If you want to maximize the value of a STAR report by identifying patterns, look beyond individual figures. You may be consistently performing better on occupancy, but you might not be as successful in ADR. This realization may indicate that you need to adjust your pricing. Or are you ranked low in RevPAR despite decent occupancy? If this is the case, you may want to optimize your strategy in terms of room rates and mix of business.
The report can be used to determine the effectiveness of hotel marketing campaigns or special events. This report is especially helpful for spotting market changes early, so you can adjust your strategies before competitors.
Ultimately, a STAR Report is more than a scorecard. In fact, it’s a tool for diagnostics. If you review it regularly and interpret the results in context, you can make smarter decisions to improve your market position.
Do not rely on STR alone to determine your hotel’s success
STAR reports can be a useful benchmarking tool but they have some limitations. The accuracy and relevance of the data depend heavily on the quality of your comp set – and an unbalanced or outdated group can easily skew your insights.
You won’t be able to see how each competitor is performing because STAR reports show only group averages. This makes it difficult to identify who is changing strategies or gaining market share.).
STAR reports also focus on only rooms revenue metrics and ignore other revenue streams such as food and beverage, or ancillary service. They don’t also take into consideration qualitative factors, such as the guest experience or perception of a brand.
Lastly, remember to factor in reporting lags – even daily data is retrospective. This is not a tool for making real-time decisions. To get a complete picture, STAR Reports should be combined internally with forward-looking tools, broader market intelligence, and internal data.
Lighthouse provides a number of different solutions to assist you in monitoring your own data and interpreting it. performance metrics.
We’d like to draw your attention to Benchmark Insight. Benchmark Insight is designed for modern revenue teams. It provides a real time view of your performance compared to the market. Daily updates are pulled directly from your PMS. It tracks occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, pickup and pace, and more – across both historical and future-looking data – so you can respond to market shifts as they happen.
It also includes Smart Compset, an AI-powered, dynamic competitor set that reflects actual consumer buying behavior – not just static hotel attributes. You set the comparison criteria and update them in real time. This allows you to benchmark your hotel with properties that are important.
Benchmark Insight lets you:
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Early detection of trends is possible by analyzing both historical and prospective data.
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Benchmark occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, pickup and pace – all in one place, updated daily
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Use your PMS to get real-time insight into market changes.
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Smart Compset – an AI-powered tool for customizing your compset based on actual booking behaviors
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Focus on the properties with which you are in direct competition and adjust your strategies accordingly.
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Lighthouse’s user-friendly dashboard is a great way to save time.
With daily updates and a clear view of the market, drawn from the most diverse and trusted data set in the hospitality industry, Benchmark Insight gives you instant clarity on your competitive position – and where to focus next.
Lighthouse
Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) is the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry. We convert complexity into confidence through actionable insights, business analytics, and price tools that maximize revenue. We are constantly innovating to provide the best platform to hospitality professionals so they can price more effectively, understand the market better, and measure performance more accurately.
Lighthouse is the one and only solution trusted by 65,000 hotels worldwide. We are committed to providing the best customer service and delivering an unmatched experience. We treat our customers as true partners. Their success is ours.
