# STR, Inc.

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/STR%2C_Inc.
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/STR%2C_Inc..md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STR%2C_Inc.
> Source revision: 1335403276
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Division of CoStar Group that provides market data on the hotel industry worldwide}}
{{Infobox company
| name = STR, Inc.
| logo = STR FLAT TEAL WHITE RGB 300dpi.png
| logo_size = 150px
| type = [Subsidiary](/source/Subsidiary)
| industry = [Hotel](/source/Hotel)
| foundation = {{start date and age|1985}}
| founders = Randy and Carolyn Smith
| location = [Hendersonville, Tennessee](/source/Hendersonville%2C_Tennessee)<br>United States
| area_served = Worldwide
| num_employees = 200
| products = Data solutions for the hospitality industry
| parent = [CoStar Group](/source/CoStar_Group)
| homepage = {{URL|https://str.com/}}
}}

'''STR, Inc.''' is a subsidiary of [CoStar Group](/source/CoStar_Group) that provides market data on the [hotel industry](/source/hotel_industry) worldwide, including [supply and demand](/source/supply_and_demand) and [market share](/source/market_share) data. The company has a corporate headquarters in [Hendersonville, Tennessee](/source/Hendersonville%2C_Tennessee), an international headquarters in [London](/source/London), England and offices in [Italy](/source/Italy), [Dubai](/source/Dubai), [Brazil](/source/Brazil), [Singapore](/source/Singapore), [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo), [Jakarta](/source/Jakarta), [Sydney](/source/Sydney), and [Beijing](/source/Beijing).

STR currently tracks 67,000 hotels with over 8 million rooms in 180 countries.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://str.com/industries/hotels | title=STR Hotel Industry Data}}</ref>

The company is also the publisher of HotelNewsNow, a website with news on the hotel industry, headquartered in [Lakewood, Ohio](/source/Lakewood%2C_Ohio).

It is also the sponsor of the Hotel Data Conference.

==History==
STR was founded in 1985 as Smith Travel Research by Randell A. Smith and his wife Carolyn Smith from their kitchen table in [Lancaster, Pennsylvania](/source/Lancaster%2C_Pennsylvania).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://uh.edu/hilton-college/About/Hospitality-Industry-Hall-of-Honor/Inductees/Randy-Carolyn-Smith%20/ | title=Randy & Carolyn Smith | publisher=[University of Houston](/source/University_of_Houston)}}</ref>

They developed a database with names, addresses and phone numbers of hotels in the United States to create the Census Database. Randy Smith was contacted by [Holiday Inn](/source/Holiday_Inn) multiple times and urged to create a market share report.

In 1988, the company launched the first Smith Travel Accommodations Report (STAR), a monthly report that includes data from hotels and measures each property's market share performance against a self-selected competitive set.

In 2008, the company expanded internationally by acquiring HotelBenchmark, a division of [Deloitte](/source/Deloitte), and The Bench.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.brentwoodcap.com/smith-travel-research-acquires-deloittes-hotelbenchmark/ | title=Smith Travel Research Acquires Deloitte's HotelBenchmark | publisher=Brentwood Capital Advisors | date=June 17, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://opreanalyst.com/2007/10/02/str-and-deloitte-join-forces/ | title=STR and Deloitte join forces | publisher=OPReAnalyst | date=October 3, 2007}}</ref>

In 2008, the company launched HotelNewsNow, a website with news on the hotel industry.

In 2010, in partnership with [Baird](/source/Baird_(investment_bank)), the company launched the Baird / Smith Travel Research Hotel Stock Index, a [stock market index](/source/stock_market_index) which tracks the stock performance of 15 publicly traded companies in the hotel industry.<ref>{{Cite press release | url=http://www.rwbaird.com/ab/news/baird-smith-travel-research-hotel-stock-index.aspx | title=Introducing the Baird / Smith Travel Research Hotel Stock Index | publisher=[Baird](/source/Baird_(investment_bank)) | date=June 4, 2010}}</ref>

{{anchor|LJ Research}} In 2016, STR acquired LJ Research, a market research agency,<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/51676/STR-acquires-LJ-Research | title=STR acquires LJ Research | work=Hotel News Now | date=June 22, 2016}}</ref> which was rebranded as Tourism Consumer Insights.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.mrs.org.uk/researchcompany/str | title=STR Market Research Agencies The Research Buyers Guide | publisher=mrs.org}}</ref> LJ Research was based in [Edinburgh](/source/Edinburgh), [Scotland](/source/Scotland), and established in 1998.<ref name="Bain2016-06-24">{{cite news |last=Bain |first=Simon |date=2016-06-24 |title=Analytics giant STR buys LJ Research for 'market-leading data' |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald-1130/20160624/282445643356267 |newspaper=[The Herald](/source/The_Herald_(Glasgow)) |via=[PressReader](/source/PressReader) |accessdate=2020-06-01 }}</ref> Lynn Jones, who led the Edinburgh and Lothian Tourist Board's research division, created a spin-off company, LJ Research.<ref name="Bain2016-06-24"/> Two of LJ Research's products were Visitrac, the company's online survey system that is used for customer feedback, and LJ Forecaster, a hotel benchmarking system that monitored trends based on achieved and future performance.<ref name="Bain2016-06-24"/>

In October 2019, the company was acquired by [CoStar Group](/source/CoStar_Group) for $450 million.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191001005467/en/CoStar-Group-Acquire-STR-Global-Leader-Benchmarking | title=CoStar Group to Acquire STR, a Global Leader in Benchmarking & Analytics for the Hospitality Industry | publisher=[Business Wire](/source/Business_Wire) | date=October 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.costargroup.com/costar-news/details/costar-group-third-quarter-2019-revenue-grows-15-and-net-income-increases-34-year-over-year-company-closes-str-acquisition | title=CoStar Group Third Quarter 2019 Revenue Grows 15% and Net Income Increases 34% Year-over-Year; Company Closes STR Acquisition | publisher=[CoStar Group](/source/CoStar_Group) | date=October 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://skift.com/2019/10/01/hotel-data-giant-str-acquired-for-450-million/ | title=Hotel Data Giant STR Acquired for $450 Million | first=Andrew | last=Sheivachman | work=[Skift](/source/Skift) | date=October 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Costar-acquires-STR | title=STR hotel data giant sold to CoStar Group for $450M | first=Kevin | last=May | work=Phocuswire | date=October 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2019/10/03/costar-announces-intention-to-buy-prominent-hotel.html | title=CoStar announces intention to buy prominent hotel analytics provider | first=John | last=Brasier | work=[American City Business Journals](/source/American_City_Business_Journals) | date=October 3, 2019}}</ref>

== Antitrust lawsuit ==
In February 2024, a proposed consumer [class action](/source/class_action) lawsuit was filed against CoStar, the parent company of STR, accusing the company of participating in a [price-fixing](/source/Price_fixing) [conspiracy](/source/conspiracy), in which it allegedly conspired with a group of luxury hotel operators, including [Hilton](/source/Hilton_Hotels_%26_Resorts), [Hyatt](/source/Hyatt), [Marriott](/source/Marriott_Hotels_%26_Resorts), [InterContinental Hotels](/source/InterContinental), [Loews](/source/Loews_Hotels), and [Accor](/source/Accor), to keep hotel room prices artificially high, using research reports produced by STR to facilitate the sharing of competitively sensitive information among commercial rivals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scarcella |first=Mike |date=2024-02-21 |title=CoStar, luxury hotels hit with US consumer price-fixing lawsuit |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/costar-luxury-hotels-hit-with-us-consumer-price-fixing-lawsuit-2024-02-21/ |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=[Reuters](/source/Reuters)}}</ref> 

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}

==External links==
* [https://str.com/ STR]
* [http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/ HotelNewsNow.com]
* [http://www.hoteldataconference.com/ Hotel Data Conference]
* [http://hospitalityworldnews.com/ Latest Hospitality Updates]
* [http://hospitalityworldnews.com/category/travel-tourism/ Real Time Travel Updates]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:STR, Inc.}}
Category:1985 establishments in Tennessee
Category:2019 mergers and acquisitions
Category:American companies established in 1985
Category:American corporate subsidiaries
Category:Companies based in Tennessee
Category:Hospitality companies established in 1985
Category:Travel and holiday companies of the United States
Category:Hendersonville, Tennessee
Category:Travel-related organizations

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [STR, Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STR%2C_Inc.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STR%2C_Inc.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.