12 Stocks for a Hospitality Rebound

The COVID-19 pandemic brought travel to a screeching halt two years ago, and since then, leisure and business travel -- heck, just going out to eat or to a movie -- has recovered only in fits and starts. Until now.

While masks are coming down, gas and other prices are going up, but there may well be enough pent-up demand to make this a summer of recovery for the hospitality providers of the world. Here are some publicly traded companies that stand to benefit from any such surge.

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Twelve of the 25 most visited theme parks in the world have Disney in their names. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) owns more than theme parks, of course. ESPN and ABC, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm also belong to this corporate giant.

Walt Disney World alone covers about 43 square miles -- roughly the size of San Francisco -- and within that Florida complex, Magic Kingdom is the single-most-visited park on the planet, with an estimated 21 million visitors in 2019 before the pandemic.

Visiting Disney World itself is such an imperative for so many families that this company deserves the top spot on this list of hospitality companies poised for a post-pandemic rebound. That would be a nice way to mark the 100th anniversary of this iconic operation founded in 1923.

ALSO READ: 3 Reasons to Buy Walt Disney Stock and 1 Reason to Hesitate

Founded in 1927, Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) is the world's largest hotel chain, with about 1.4 million rooms in nearly 8,000 hotels operating under 30 brands in 139 countries and territories.

Marriott makes its money from operating and franchising, as well as third-party licensing and branding and more, in a diverse revenue stream that seems bound to grow as more people get up and go in the months ahead.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) has only been in business since 2008, but its name has already become a noun that means "a place to rent" -- often a private home or similar setting -- and primarily in vacation-oriented places like resort towns. This company makes its money from commissions it gets from each booking, and that's likely to be on the rise as the pandemic wanes.

ALSO READ: Could Airbnb Be a Millionaire-Maker Stock?

Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) is the largest cruise ship company in the world, commanding about 40% of the industry's passenger traffic. Along with ships cruising under the Carnival name, the company's holdings include other such well-known lines as Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa, and Cunard.

COVID-19 hit this market about as hard as any other, but smooth sailing could be ahead soon, and that rising tide should help get the profit party going again for Carnival.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXP) has been around since 1994 and continues to dominate online travel search, booking, and referrals. Along with its namesake site, Expedia's holdings include the Vrbo short-term booking brand -- a prime competitor of Airbnb -- as well as Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, and trivago.

People who begin their trips online very often begin them with an Expedia holding, and that means more business as recreational travel rallies.

5 Stocks Under $49

Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor

We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

With just over a million rooms and about 6,200 properties in its portfolio, Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLTN) ranks second only to Marriott International among hotel franchisers and operators. Among its more recognizable brands are Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn, Embassy Suites, Hampton, Doubletree, and Homewood Suites.

Hilton is even older than Marriott, tracing its roots to Conrad Hilton and Cisco, Texas, in 1919.

ALSO READ: Best Hospitality Stocks

Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) is also one of the world's largest owners and franchises of hotels. Their best-known brand: Holiday Inn. There are other major brands in this portfolio of nearly 6,000 hotels and 880,000 rooms in about 100 countries -- including Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Kimpton, and Hotel Indigo.

Their wide range of prices and locations stands this company -- which traces its roots to 1777 and a British brewery -- in a good position to grow with a resurgent travel market in the near future.

While names like Marriott and Ritz-Carlton are on the marquis, companies like Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) are often the owners and operators of said properties.

Host bills itself as the largest lodging real estate investment trust (REIT), with a portfolio of 80 luxury, high-end properties, including 75 in the United States. Other brand names in its portfolio of about 44,400 sweet suites and individual rooms include Westin, St. Regis, and Four Seasons.

ALSO READ: Real Estate Investment Trusts: What They Are and How to Invest in Them

Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND) is ready to make hay from stir-crazy adventurers ready to head out on land or sea, with guided trips to Alaska, the Galapagos, Antarctica, and beyond (and if there is a beyond to that, Lindblad is likely to find a way to get you there).

Launched in 1979, this company is still led by its founder, Sven-Olof Lindblad, son of the late Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish immigrant to the U.S. who's often credited with pioneering adventure travel in the 1950s.

If you think gaming and conventions will spring back big-time from the pandemic swoon, you might want to consider a stake in MGM Growth Properties (NYSE:MGP). This REIT buys, owns, and leases big casino gaming, entertainment, and leisure venues, including some that are also major convention draws.

Its 16 premier destination properties include 32,400 hotel rooms, 1.5 million square feet of casino space, and 3.6 million square feet of convention space. They're primarily in Las Vegas but also include MGM Northfield Park near Cleveland, Ohio, and Empire Resort Casino in Yonkers, New York.

5 Stocks Under $49

Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor

We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) specializes in convention centers and country music, as in the Grand Ole Opry at Opryland; the legendary Ryman Auditorium in its hometown of Nashville, Tennessee; and Ole Red Gatlinburg in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Ryman also owns five of the 10 largest non-gaming convention center hotels in the United States, based on indoor meeting space. Those include such prominent venues as the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor near Washington, D.C.

ALSO READ: Investing in Hospitality REITs

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is a REIT with a portfolio of properties with enough diversity to appeal to nearly any staycationer or vacationer, especially families.

While its 353 properties include 175 movie theaters, the company also leases its space to 18 waterparks and other amusement parks, 11 ski resorts, eight experiential hotels, and more than 50 eat-and-play properties such as Topgolf.

We'll see whether the widespread hopes for a return to pre-pandemic levels of leisure and business travel will come true. It does stand to reason that pent-up demand will spur people to share some wealth with the airlines or load up the minivan this summer, and if you're of that mind, the hospitality stocks above might merit some consideration for space in your portfolio.

Marc Rapport has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Airbnb, Inc. and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival, EPR Properties, InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Growth Properties (Class A), Marriott International, and Ryman Hospitality Properties and recommends the following options: long January 2023 $115 calls on Marriott International, long January 2024 $145 calls on Walt Disney, and short January 2024 $155 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.