Embracing Green Tourism: The Benefits Of Making Your Hotel Energy Efficient

Green or ecotourism is a booming growth market that has increased by 30% in recent years on a global scale. With guests driving the “green revolution” within the hotel sector, this is no fleeting trend but something that is very much here to stay. The good news is that guests are more than happy to pay a little more for green tourism.

For many smaller, boutique hotels the big question is how can they cash in on this move towards ecotourism? Energy-efficient practices are something that every hotel can adopt in order to attract a completely new demographic, and these more efficient practices can help to reduce operating costs whilst boosting profits.

The benefits

Those hotels that are willing to make the changes and embrace green tourism will find that there are a number of benefits available to them.

Reduced operational costs

Without any change to the comfort or experience for guests, it is possible for a hotel to reduce its energy consumption by between 20 and 35%. Lower energy consumption means lower energy bills and operating costs and of course a reduced carbon footprint. Some of the ways of achieving this are:

• Changing lighting to LED
• Taking an energy audit to see where you can make improvements
• Researching your utility provider to ensure you have the best tariffs
• Asking guests to opt-out of daily housekeeping
• Covering pools when not in use to reduce heat loss
• Upgrading boilers, appliances and cooling systems to more efficient ones
• Installing insulation and green roofs
• Using motion and occupancy sensors in less used areas

Meeting guest demand

More and more potential guests are looking for eco-friendly accommodation, and they are willing to pay a little more for a hotel that has a positive impact on the environment. This can be used to your advantage to attract more customers. Getting in on the emerging sustainability trend now will help you make a name for yourself.

Improve the image of your hotel

Using your website, social media or both to promote any green activities your hotel is undertaking can only be a good thing that will help to boost your brand. Green hotels can participate in various awards, and gain labels and recognition which they can display to help boost their visibility to eco-conscious travellers. This can also make them a more interesting option for companies who are looking to use more sustainable hotels for business purposes.

If your social values mirror those of your staff, then this could also help with staff retention and this, in turn, could reduce the amount that you need to spend on hiring and training.

Reduced environmental damage

The surrounding environment and location of your hotel will help to attract guests, so it is important to work to protect this.

Using renewable energy is one of the easiest ways in which you can lessen your impact on the environment. When you make your hotel more energy efficient through renewable sources you can make the surrounding environment a healthier and happier place for everyone. For smaller hotels this may not be possible to do on their own, but it is possible to source renewable energy from utility companies.

If you want to find out more information, please visit our D-energi trading page here. For the latest energy tariffs, do get in touch with D-ENERGi for the expertise and experience. For more energy saving tips and advice on how to improve the energy efficiency of your business premises, check out more of our D-ENERGi blogs.