Two Effective Strategies to Reduce Hotel Energy Costs

In the current economic climate, hotels, conference centers, and resorts find themselves constantly searching for ways to reduce operating expenses. The hospitality industry, like any commercial enterprise, is driven largely by operating margins. With the economy still struggling, hotels seek intelligent ways to improve P&L performance without cutting back on offered services.

Lodging Hospitality features an article in its September issue that gives two ways that hospitality properties can reduce energy expenditures: 1) engaging in demand response measures to reduce the cost of electricity; 2) increasing energy efficiency to reduce energy usage. The article was contributed by Gerrit Reinders of Telkonet.

Utility companies refer to the management of electricity consumption in response to supply conditions as demand response and may encourage customers to reduce their usage in response to market prices. In most cases, demand response is targeted at reducing peak demand to balance electricity production and consumption.

The article also notes that taking measures to promote energy efficiency allows buildings to use less energy to perform the same tasks. Installation of an energy management system allows a hospitality property to reduce energy usage while still providing heating and cooling for guests. Both “using less” and “paying less” have positive financial and environmental effects.