We all love to go away to hotels with not a care in the word; however, the reality is that every bit of electricity that we use in our rooms costs the hotel a quite sizeable amount of money. Throughout the hospitality sector alone, UK businesses spend in excess of 1.3 billion in annual energy costs. But what is it that costs so much and what can businesses do to reduce this amount? In the article we’ll find out just how much energy UK hotels use and how much can be saved.
Average usage per room
According to Travelodge, the average room in their hotel chain is around 91m2. Using data from The Department of Environment , assuming that each m2 of hotel room uses around 0.55 kWh per day (low end usage), we can assume that each hotel room will use, on average 50 kWh per day.
Considering that the average business or holiday hotel has between 50-150 rooms, we can assume that the average energy usage per day in a standard hotel (guest rooms only) would be between 2,500 – 7,500 kWh depending on the amount of rooms. Just to put this into perspective, the average UK family household uses around 3,100 kWh of electricity in the entire year.
So, we now know the usage, but how much does this equate to in pounds and pence? Taking the average price per kWh of electricity in the UK of 16.84p, according to Selectra , we can see see that this would cost between 421 – 1263 per day! That is an extreme amount of money to be spending every single day for electricity costs, but considering the amount that is charged for a room, profit margins are still high. If we assume that the a hotel with 50 rooms is fully booked, charging 70 per night, then this 421 would only represent 12% of revenue.
How to reduce costs
Just like all UK businesses, hotels should always think about switching their energy tariffs every year at most. The price disparity across the energy market is ginormous. Switching from the most expensive tariff on the market to the cheapest could make that 421 around 250, it really does make that much of a difference. This would reduce the revenue representation to as little as 7%.
Switching energy tariffs is without a doubt the number one way to save money on your business energy bills. If you haven’t switched before or you haven’t in a few years, you will have most likely been put onto the most expensive tariff that your supplier has to offer by default. This may be part of the reason why your energy bills are so high. This doesn’t just apply to electricity, but to gas as well. Head to a comparison engine now and get a free quote! Switching tariff shouldn’t take more than a few weeks, so the sooner you get sorted, the better!
Optimum room temperatures
Besides switching tariffs, you could also get a Building Analytics Automation System (like the Fault Detection and Diagnosis Software) that can monitor and optimize HVAC systems accordingly to building weather. Of course, guest bedrooms can generally be altered by the temperature settings in the room, but it’s good to have a comfortable base setting that’s optimal for energy saving that, hopefully, won’t be changed by guests. Using the information provided by Gazprom Energy in their fantastic article about hotel energy efficiency, you can see the below recommendations:
Bars & lounges – 20-22 C
Guest bathrooms – 26-27 C
Restaurants & dining rooms – 22-24 C
Guest bedrooms – 19-21 C
Corridors – 19-21 C
Kitchens – 16-18 C
Laundries – 16-19 C
What you have to remember is that every single degree that you fight back against the natural temperature costs you money. Multiplied against all the many rooms in the hotel, it’s going to cost you a lot of money. As such, temperature control should be of utmost importance to you and your hotel.