UK hotels can save millions of pounds by taking simple measures to save water and energy that pay for themselves within two years, an industry finance leader has said.(See Hotels Going ‘Green’ – Premier Inn takes Gold)
Paul Nisbett, chief financial officer of The Hotel Collection, said the group expects to save £360,000 a year after investing £300,000 in energy and water efficiency projects across its 21 UK hotels.The Hotel Collection worked with SaveMoneyCutCarbon to identify projects which would cover their costs within two years, and has made savings by installing LED lighting, eco-smart showers and tap aerators across its estate, as well as an intelligent heating and cooling management system at The Hinckley Island Hotel in Leicestershire.
Mr Nisbett, who is also finance community chair of HOSPA, The Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT, said: “Water and energy efficiency should be on every hotel’s agenda as it can generate substantial savings. We are already saving £360,000 a year across the portfolio by implementing simple efficiency measures which do not impact on our guests’ satisfaction.
“These projects pay for themselves swiftly, deliver lasting savings and add value to the business so we are continuing to identify further ways to cut energy and water bills across our portfolio.”
The savings of £360,000 a year work out to £128 for each of its 2,800 rooms. If the UK hotel industry achieved only half that across its 600,000 rooms, it could cut bills by more than £38 million every year, while saving significant amounts of carbon to help meet UK carbon reduction targets.
SaveMoneyCutCarbon works with hotels and other businesses to identify and implement simple measures to cut bills by becoming more energy efficient. It offers a one-stop solution that includes everything from energy auditing, project management and financial modelling, to technology procurement and product installation.
Water
The Hotel Collection began its efficiency programme with the activity that would generate the fastest return on investment – water saving measures across its 21 hotels. It invested £60,000 to reduce the costs associated with the heating and usage of water, which accounts for around 10 per cent of utility bills in many hotels, installing tap aerators and eco-smart shower devices to reduce the flow of water in taps and showers. The group recouped its costs and saved a further £125,000 in just seven months, and the programme is expected to save it £200,000 each full year.
Intelligent heating and cooling management system
Heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) generally accounts for more than half of a hotel’s energy costs. The £122,000 investment in a new HVAC system at the 362-bedroom The Hinckley Island Hotel is set to save the hotel more than £100,000 a year and pay for itself in just 15 months. The Hotel Collection now plans to roll it out to other hotels in the group.
LED lighting in kitchens
The Hotel Collection has begun a programme in hotel kitchens to replace traditional light fittings with LED panels and tubes. The programme will cost £110,000 and is expected to pay for itself within two years, saving £60,000 a year on energy costs.
LED lighting in conference and function rooms
An overhaul of the lighting system at The Hotel Collection’s Daventry Court Hotel has not only saved money but also led to it winning significant new business. SaveMoneyCutCarbon identified and installed a flexible LED solution that delivers bright light for conferences but warmer tones for weddings. The system includes sensors that turn the lights off when the room is unoccupied. The new lighting has a payback period of less than three years.
It has also initiated a major LED installation programme across 32 Radisson Blu and Park Inn hotels – a project that will see 145,000 LED products fitted in restaurants, function rooms and bedrooms, saving more than £250,000 a year and paying for itself within two and half years.
As HotelDesigns has been pointing out with the example of Premier inn to the fore, these savings involve a small capital outlay for major payback over years – surely a ‘no brainer’ for our profligate industry? Premier Inn reputedly saved nearly a million a year on water charges just by using smart meter numbers to work out maximum water usage time leading to modifying housekeeping methodologies. Sometimes it just needs intelligent analysis of what you have already.
