e-forecast’s HIL regains lost ground

DURHAM, New Hampshire—The U.S. Hotel Industry Leading Indicator, or HIL, went up 0.6 percent in February, gaining ground after last month’s 0.1-percent decline, according to economic research firm e-forecasting.com in conjunction with STR.

HIL is a composite leading indicator that, on average, leads the industry’s business activity four to five months in advance. The latest increase brought the index to a reading of 111.8. The index was set to equal 100 in 2000.   The indicator’s six-month growth rate, which is a signal of turning points, went up by an annual rate of 12.2 percent in February, after going up 12.6 percent in January. This compares to a long-term annual growth rate of 3.5 percent, the same as the annual growth rate of the nation’s overall economic activity. To put this in perspective, this growth rate was down to negative 15.7 percent at the deepest part of the recession during January 2009.  Click here for full story from HNN/STR…