Energy-Saving Tips for Hotels: Reduce Your Costs Today

Energy-Saving Tips for Hotels

It’s a well-known fact that electricity in South Africa is no longer a reliable source of energy and coupled with the fact that electricity is expensive, hotels are encouraged (although sometimes through necessity and not at whim) to find alternative and renewable energy sources. There are many ways to reduce your energy bills with just a few adjustments to your electricity, water as well as your heating and cooling systems so that the bill at the end of the month is less stressful. Statistically guests confirm that they abandon their ‘’green initiatives’ when they stay at hotels – they expect fresh linen and towels every day, open a new shampoo bottle or soap every time they shower and so on. So as hoteliers, it’s important to find ways to keep costs down.

(Source: https://www.idahopower.com/)

Energy saving ideas

Housekeeping:

Open the curtains to let natural light flow in to brighten the room.
Turn off lights, aircons or heaters when rooms are being cleaned or are unoccupied. 19 – 21 degrees is usually a recommended or comfortable room temperature for guests.
Wash linens and towels at a lower temperature
Report water leaks as soon as you find them. (toilets or taps)

Rooms:

Install low-flow showerheads and aerators
Switch to low-flow or dual flush toilets and make sure your toilet flappers are not leaking (regular checks annually would save you a fortune in lost water revenue)
Use LED light bulbs and switch off lights when you don’t need to have them on.
Inform guests that only if they require new towels should they place their old ones in the bath so that staff know to replace them with clean ones.
Replace mini amenities with dispensers with ones that cannot be removed but can be replenished.

General building and public areas:

HVAC systems provide heating and cooling, as well as filtration, fresh air and humidity control. Use an energy management system (EMS) to prevent conditioning space when it is not necessary
Modify your HVAC heating and aircon units to include more energy efficient technologies like heat pumps.
Use solar water heating systems for hot tubs.
Use daylight sensors for your lights so that they only come on when it’s dark
Replace your standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs which last longer and use about 75 percent less energy than standard one.
Service your heating and cooling equipment regularly.

Get everyone involved

Energy saving is not limited to hotel management only. It’s the responsibility of management to educate and train staff as well as guests on ways to improve energy efficiencies. Incentivise staff to come up with ways to reduce energy consumption. Make it fun, offer incentives or rewards for ideas and always keep this top of mind with your employees and even with your guests. Small notes in bedrooms to remind guests of best practises do help. And if you want to take it the extra mile for guests, why not follow in the steps of Crowne Plaza who offer a free meal voucher to guests who generate electricity on their gym bicycle. Such a fun way to incentivise guests!

Tell us your thoughts

These are a few energy saving tips that we think work best in hotels or resorts. Please drop us a line to tell us what you think, and if you have a tip or idea that you think will benefit the hospitality industry – we would love to hear your feedback.