A Guide for Hotels: Boosting Profits with Energy Efficiency & Conservation

Introduction

Getting Started with Energy Savings

As any hotel operator knows, keeping guests happy requires a high level of service and comfort. Traditionally this has also meant a high level of energy consumption - but it doesn't need to be that way. Through energy efficiency and conservation measures, you can dramatically reduce energy use and utility bills - helping to limit greenhouse gas emissions, preserve the environment and protect California's energy security - all while improving the guest experience and your bottom line.

Hotels, especially full-service facilities, have a wide array of energy uses and a correspondingly wide array of savings possibilities. From lighting to cooling to cooking, you can easily save energy, money and the environment.


Saving Energy is Easy

This guide is designed to show facility managers many of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to reduce energy use and costs in hotel operations. With this knowledge, managers can either take simple steps or work with engineers and energy consultants to develop comprehensive plans.

By taking some of the steps outlined in this guide many facilities have been able to reduce their energy use by up to and over 20%, saving them tens - even hundreds - of thousands of dollars a year. These changes can also improve the guest experience through better aesthetics and a more comfortable indoor environment.

In California, the generation of electricity is a major source of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. By reducing electricity and natural gas consumption, California hotels can directly contribute to the fight against global warming. If every hotel took comprehensive energy efficiency actions, the effect would be the same as removing hundreds of thousands of cars from the road.

Whether you run a small bed and breakfast or a 1,000-room hotel and convention center, the basic steps toward lower energy use are the same:

  • Conduct an energy audit to determine where and how your facility uses energy.
  • Create an energy savings plan and enact changes to reduce use.
  • Monitor and measure energy use to determine success.

The increased focus on energy and climate change in California makes this an ideal time to take action to save energy. The state has implemented a wide range of new laws and programs to improve building efficiency, promote alternative energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions. By taking steps to cut energy use at your facility, you will be helping California protect its energy grid from disruption and lower emissions of greenhouse gasses - both while ensuring that your facility meets current and future building code standards for efficiency. The state and local utilities are also offering a wide range of incentive programs to make saving energy even more beneficial to your business.

Leading by Example: Marriott International

Through a wide array of 2006 programs, Marriott International has saved 4,700,000 kWh of electricity, 136,000 therms of natural gas and $672,000. Programs include extensive evaluation and planning to ensure maximum energy efficiency, actions to cut CO2 by 2% per room, promotion of a linen re-use program, a "group re-lamp" program to ensure maximum lighting efficiency, as well as peak-load reductions. Together, Marriott's programs have cut CO2 emissions by nearly 4 million pounds. Marriott International is a 5th Annual Flex Your Power Award winner.