As water conservation becomes a priority, the hotel industry is seeking innovative ways to save water without compromising guest experience. In this Hotel Designs exclusive, Andy Frampton of hansgrohe explores how integrating water-saving tactics into holistic hotel design can boost efficiency, cut costs, and highlight water’s value as a vital resource…
According to the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, a hotel can use an average of 1,500 litres of water per room per day. When you compare this with an average UK household using around 142 litres per person per day (or around 500 litres per average household per day) this is a significant figure.
Water use is also one of the key factors driving the sustainability agenda which is increasingly influencing hotel concepts, component specification and long-term design thinking.
Societal demands for greener and cleaner solutions are on the rise as consumers look to solutions that have a positive impact on the planet and mitigate harm. As a result, hotel designers and operators are more mindful of the sustainability debate than ever.
The compact Hydraloop system collects and treats greywater from appliances and bathrooms, making it safe for reuse in toilet flushing, landscaping, and laundry. | Image credit: hansgrohe
But while sustainability-driven topics have been part of hotel design discussions for some time, it is only in recent years that it has begun to gain real traction as stakeholders react to demands from a number of sources.
Designers now have a multitude of solutions at hand to better support water-linked sustainability ambitions, and still delight users seeking a memorable hotel stay experience.”
Growing consumer, regulatory and commercial pressure to act sustainably has meant the supply chain has also had to evolve. Hotel design teams and specifiers are being questioned about sustainability credentials, both for the products they are advocating, as well as the operating processes they deploy.
With greater water consumption awareness linking into improved water management objectives, designers now have a multitude of solutions to hand to better support water-linked sustainability ambitions and still delight users seeking a memorable hotel stay experience.
The next step for water recycling
Hansgrohe has a longstanding commitment to sustainable water management, having previously offered greywater recycling systems. At the Annual Hotel Conference 2025 in Septembers, Hansgrohe will be showing the latest Hydraloop greywater system.
Thanks to Hydraloop’s cutting-edge technology, the next step has been taken in greywater recycling, integrating modern advancements such as IoT connectivity, minimal maintenance, and enhanced system efficiency.
The compact, cabinet-sized treatment system collects wastewater from showers, bathtubs, washing machines and condensation water from heat pumps, air conditioning systems and tumble dryers, known as greywater, and cleans and disinfects it in an innovative biological process.
As more building certifications require projects to meet sustainability criteria for planning permission…[Hydraloop] enables design teams to tap into the potential of greywater recycling at the right time.”
The result is high-quality, certified recycled water suitable for more energy intensive yet necessary applications such as toilet flushing, landscaping, and in-house laundry functions.
Striking a balance between user experience, efficiency, resource conservation and regulatory requirements is a challenge, but as more building certifications require projects to meet sustainability criteria for planning permission, this effective and reliable solution enables design teams to tap into the potential of greywater recycling at the right time.
Greywater recycling offers a smart, timely solution as sustainability standards rise | Image credit: hansgrohe
Finally, when it comes to general bathroom product solution specification and ongoing operation, committing budgets in areas such as sanitaryware with demonstrable environmental benefits, such as proof of sustainable manufacture, reduced water consumption and flow rates during operation, can make a real difference and further build the positive impact carefully considered design choices can have.
The onus is on all parts of the supply chain, from hotel concept and design through to solution manufacturers, to advocate for and deliver the greener answers; and, increasingly, clients visiting hotel spaces are demanding to see more of.
In the end, the showering and bathing moment is about much more than physical hygiene – it’s also a moment of mental renewal. To ensure that this feel-good experience does not come at the expense of valuable resources, such as water, we need to see increased levels of innovative water-saving technologies at the heart of hotel design and future thinking.
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Main image credit: hansgrohe
