7 Tips for Hotel Energy Management

September 24, 2021

With integrated functionality, controls, sensors, and connected energy management platform capabilities, hotels can reduce energy consumption by 20-50% (depending on facility and location) and lower operating costs.

Hotel energy efficiency is a journey. A detailed understanding of a hotel’s energy consumption patterns, its carbon footprint and its overall compliance with established goals and objectives can be the key to achieving the right balance of efficiency and guest satisfaction.

It is very important to establish a historical baseline for the facility to understand in detail the patterns affecting energy consumption versus the hotel’s bottom line.

There are a few general tips that energy management experts say hoteliers can implement to achieve efficiency savings. The Internet of Things allows for smart connectivity, monitoring, control, asset tracking and more at relatively low cost.

1. Install an energy-saving thermostat based on occupancy to reduce the temperature in unoccupied rooms. Make sure the system can interface with the hotel’s property management system. Being able to manage an aggressive energy-saving profile in a room when it is not sold out can have a significant impact on savings, while preventing temperature drifts that may be unwanted by guests when the room is sold out.

2. Use a real-time occupancy signal from the energy management thermostat to turn off lights in empty guest rooms.

3. Ensure that the guest room energy management system can communicate with the building management system. Furthermore, the ability to view data through a single dashboard can be very useful in monitoring and measuring the energy efficiency of the entire facility.

4. Use run-time data from an energy management system to identify heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units that are operating unusually. Moreover, apply preventive maintenance to ensure that problems are rectified quickly.

5. Embrace the Internet of Things and its future development. Moreover, hotels need to keep their avenues open in the area of connectivity and management – an area that will grow strongly in the next five to seven years. In addition, this space is very fluid, and hoteliers need the flexibility to be able to pivot and embrace the changes that have happened and are coming.

6. Investment in staff and quality products are key. With high staff turnover, hotels may not invest as much in staff training, but it’s worth it for the energy management savings. They should study the data and understand what problems you are having. The analysts will recommend how to solve the problem and how to work more efficiently.

A better product may cost more, but hoteliers have to base it on the value the product brings. The link to that value includes guest comfort, staff convenience, guest feedback, etc. Invest in the products and technology they provide.

7. Give guests the opportunity to understand their habits and how they use energy in the guest room. Give them the opportunity to make a difference in their environment. Motivate them to save energy by educating them about their carbon footprint.

In conclusion, integrating advanced controls, sensors, and energy management platforms can greatly reduce a hotel’s energy consumption and operating costs. Key steps include using energy-saving thermostats, real-time occupancy signals, and ensuring communication between systems. Preventive maintenance, staff training, and quality investments further enhance efficiency. Engaging guests in energy-saving initiatives also contributes to sustainability. This approach balances efficiency, cost savings, and guest satisfaction, making energy efficiency a continuous and adaptive journey.