4 Benefits of Making Your Hotel Energy Efficient
Guests are pushing the green revolution into the hotel sector and it's not just a fleeting trend. Ecotourism has grown 30% worldwide in recent years, with guests willing to pay more for ‘green tourism’.
So how can smaller and boutique hotels profit from this? By prioritising energy-efficient practices, opportunities exist for every hotel to become green. Green hotels attract new guests, while efficient practices keep operating costs low and profit high.
Hotels who invest in energy efficiency will profit from:
1) Reduced Operational Costs
Hotels can easily cut their energy consumption by 20 – 35% without changing a guests’ experience or comfort. By reducing how much energy your hotel uses, you can lower your energy bills, lower your operating costs, and lower your carbon footprint.
Quick low and no-cost solutions can include:
- Conducting an energy audit
- Introducing dimming systems
- Having separate HVAC systems in lobbies, service areas and guest rooms
- Covering pools and saunas to minimise heat loss
- Asking guests to opt-out of housekeeping
- Training staff in green policies and energy efficiency
- Checking you are getting the best rate from your utility provider
Long-term solutions include:
- Upgrading all lighting to LEDs
- Installing occupancy and motion sensors in bathrooms, corridors etc.
- Upgrading to highly efficient boilers, cooling systems and appliances
- Integrating a building management system
- Installing green roofs, insulation, and protective coverings
Green and energy-efficient technologies can become self-funding by reducing overall operating costs. Any money saved can then be reinvested into the hotel for further green initiatives.
2) Meeting Customer Demand
Booking.com found that the number of travellers seeking out eco-friendly accommodation rose to 68% in 2018. While 67% are willing to pay up to 5% more for services if it has a positive environmental impact.
Hotels can use this to their advantage by positioning themselves as an eco-alternative. Showing that you’re actively reducing your hotel’s energy use can meet the demand for eco-conscious travellers. Meaning your hotel attracts a new clientele while staying a step ahead of the emerging sustainable trend.
But hoteliers must act quickly: soon green initiatives will become a necessity for all hotels.
3) Improved Hotel Image
As a hotelier, it's wise to show you’re working on your corporate social responsibility. Promoting your green activities on your website, through social media, in your hotel lobby and guest room directories will help to improve your brand image.
There are also various awards, labels, and recognition's available to green hotels. These are great in reaching new audiences and drawing eco-conscious guests to your location. Hotels may even find new business through corporations who want to align with socially engaged companies.
An improved brand image can also help increase your employee retention rates. Staff are more likely to stay with a company long-term that’s social values mirror their own. By encouraging environmental action through team-work, motivated staff also tend to give better customer services and working practices. So, by increasing staff loyalty, you can help reduce staff turnover and lower the money spent on hiring and training.
4) Less Environmental Damage
Hotels attract guests by their location and the surrounding environment. So, its important hotels work on protecting the environment that sustains them.
Booking.com revealed that travellers are willing to make ‘luxury adjustments’ to stay somewhere green. By making your hotel energy efficient, it can lead to a healthier and happier hotel environment for your guests, staff, and the community. Energy-efficient lighting, improved air quality and heating management all help in reducing environmental harm without affecting the guests' experience.
But one of the simplest ways to lessen your impact is by getting energy from renewable sources, such as wind, solar and hydro. While it’s hard for smaller and boutique hotels to produce their energy, they can source renewable energy from utility companies.
Along with saving money on energy bills, renewable energy sources can cut a hotels CO2 emission. In turn, supporting the growth of the renewable sector and minimising the impact on the environment.
Thanks to a push from travellers, hotel sustainability is on the rise. Becoming energy-efficient is the key to success for hotels who want to keep in front of the competition and meet guest demand head-on. As we’ve seen, the benefits to a hotel's bottom line can be huge.
At Green Network Energy, we’re keeping energy as simple as possible with our 100% renewable energy deals. If you’d like to find out more, visit us at the Hotel360 event to talk to our expert business advisors.
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