Farnek Avireal general manager Markus Oberlin explains why today’s substantial savings make sustainability a compelling business proposition for hotels and the key to great management
Prior to the noughties, sustainability in the hotel industry mattered only to committed eco-warriors or those endearingly described as tree-huggers. Sustainability was niche, embraced mainly by boutique hotels.
How times have changed. Even 10 years ago, who would have imagined that hotels today would be employing sustainability managers?
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Sustainability is now firmly on the hospitality agenda, as hotels adopt a more CSR-orientated approach to their business management and are more aware than ever of their corporate image. But what does it really mean? Installing low-energy light bulbs, motion-sensor water taps and light switch timers and hope that your utility bills fall? No, sustainability has become far more sophisticated than that.
As an example, to attain Green Globe (a global travel and tourism sustainability certification programme) hotels must meet 348 exacting standards. But more importantly — and here’s the tipping-point — hotel managers and owners have realised that besides being the right thing to do, there is a direct correlation between cutting carbon emissions and water consumption, and cutting utility bills. In fact it can even drive in higher-priced business.
Win-win situation
This win-win situation has been the catalyst for the green revolution in hotel operations globally in recent years and there’s a lot at stake. On average 6-8% of a hotel’s turnover is spent on energy and water, and roughly the same percentage is spent on regular or routine maintenance. Indeed a 400-bedroom hotel could save at least US $5 per guest room 365 days a year — it’s enough to give a financial controller sleepless nights!
Hotels in the Middle East region still lag behind many other more mature markets, but they are catching-up fast. An award-winning survey conducted by Farnek Avireal revealed that five-star hotels in Dubai used up to 225% more energy than hotels in Europe. They consumed 1250 litres of water per guest compared to 350 litres in Germany and used up to 325 KWh per square metre versus 100 KWh in German hotels.
Now to be fair to Dubai hotels, they naturally maximise their air conditioning, especially during the summer and guests do tend to take more showers when in a hotter climate, so one would expect higher consumption. But here’s the upside, so are the potential savings — and as any seasoned general manager will tell you, what do bigger savings make? Bigger bonuses!
So where can a general manager find these illusive savings? To do this comprehensively hotels need to benchmark their performance with similar sized hotels locally. Software such as Hotel Optimizer for example (an online tool), can monitor a hotel’s performance month by month and compare it with a cross section of similar hotels, as well as providing detailed analytics and cost saving indications.
By using advanced technology like this, hotels can calculate and manage their CO2 emissions, including the real cost of wasteful energy and water consumption as well as the property’s non-recyclable waste production.
Utilise all departments
But savings can be made in all areas of the hotel. Housekeeping can use environmentally-friendly cleaning chemicals that need a fraction of the water other cleaning products need. Grey water can be recycled to irrigate gardens and flower beds, or lay artificial grass to cut out irrigation costs completely.
Much has been made of solar energy in the UAE, but it can be highly cost effective and there are a number of pool covers now on the market that can help reduce evaporation, especially when the pool is not being used at night.
Turning to revenue generating benefits, sales and marketing departments can also profit — a US travel poll showed that nearly 50% of travellers surveyed said they would be prepared to pay up to 10% more to stay in a sustainable hotel.
But be warned! Long gone are the days when the highlight of a hotel’s annual environmental campaign was picking up litter off the beach and posting photographs online. Both leisure and business travellers want to see more commitment than that.
However, if your hotel does get it right saving $5 per room-night and potentially increasing your room rates by up to 10% — all of a sudden sustainability makes a compelling business proposition. Now who would have thought that 10 years ago! For more details visit: www.farnek.com
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