Hotels are Taking Steps to Curtail Their Energy and Water Appetites
Date Posted: August 6, 2019
Posted In: Discussion, Projects,
From Building Design+Construction: A new report about Sustainability in Hotels finds the hospitality industry is still consuming more energy and water than most other commercial and residential sectors. The report, from the Urban Land Institute Greenprint Center for Building Performance, also identifies ways that hotels are becoming more sustainable, and singles out examples of hotels that have taken the necessary steps to reduce their environmental footprint.
The global hotel industry comprises about 184,000 hotels containing almost 17 million rooms, a number that has increased 17.7% from 2008 to 2018.
Of commercial buildings, hotels are among the highest energy and water users per sf (see chart below). The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimates that hotels account for about 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a number that is only expected to increase as the industry continues to experience growth and demand. To stay within the 2-degree Celsius threshold for temperature increase agreed upon by the Paris Climate Accord, the hospitality industry would need to reduce emissions 66% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
The report states that opportunities to improve energy, water, and waste efficiency are widely available for hotels of all types, through operational changes such as utility benchmarking and temperature setpoint adjustments, as well as technical updates like high-efficiency water fixtures or LED lighting installations.
Investments in high-efficiency energy management systems, HVAC retrofits, or on-site renewable energy, require longer project planning and more overall effort. Achieving projects of this magnitude requires collaboration between owners and operators, but can pay long-term dividends for hotels in utility savings and guest comfort.
OPERATING INCOME IS DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY
According to a recent survey of 72,000 Hilton guests, around one third said they prefer hotels with environmental and social programs. Among guests younger than 25, that number jumped to 44%.
Last week, Bee + Hive, a not-for-profit association that unites hotels and partners committed to sustainable tourism, launched a booking platform that will give travelers the ability to plan a vacation based on sustainable experiences.
“Sustainable design is what the market wants,” says W. Edward Walter, ULI’s Global CEO. “Younger and older generations place a high priority on green and sustainable development in how and where they live, work, and play. It’s also what cities need, as they seek to become more resilient, competitive, and livable.”
That being said, the report indicates that the biggest driver of sustainability initiatives in the hotel sector is the potential to improve an asset’s net operating income. “Hotels are a unique asset in that they reap all utility savings from sustainability projects directly to their bottom line, without having to share those savings with tenants.”
In the U.S., hotels in many cities are subject to mandatory utility benchmarking and other building-focused sustainability legislation. New York City’s new building emissions legislation, passed in April 2019, sets carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions targets for all building types (for hotels: 9.87 CO2e per sf by 2024 and 5.26 CO2e per sf by 2030).
Many U.S. cities have developed incentives for real estate to “go green” that apply to hotel properties. In Nashville, developments that achieve LEED certification (or another green certification) in the central business district can obtain a density bonus that scales with the stringency of the certification.
Even without sustainability requirements, sustainable features are a strong way to ease community concerns about development, decreasing time spent on approvals and improving project viability. many in the hotel industry have set internal goals for reducing their impact on the environment.