How a Marriott is slashing its energy bills

Hotel managers know that it takes a lot of running around and pleasant smiles to keep guests happy but it also takes a lot of electricity and gas to feed, warm and sleep dozens of people.

Business Gas.com work with hoteliers up and down the country, ensuring they get the best deal on their energy and helping them to keep customers happy.

The Marriott group, which spends almost £60 million on energy in some 140 hotels across Europe, has taken steps to reduce its energy consumption at peak times by instituting a new ‘demand-response’ program.

Other hotels can learn some important lessons about consumption management from the Marriott project.

What is a demand response program?

As you might expect, total national energy consumption varies throughout the day. During hours of darkness, when most people are asleep, total demand is low. At other times like when lots of people are watching England play football energy consumption can be very high.

Because it is difficult to manage the supply of energy, the National Grid attempts to moderate the demand for energy. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to charge flexible energy purchasers higher premiums during periods of peak demand.

In turn, this gives flexible energy purchasers an incentive to reduce consumption. So, for example, some manufacturers might perform the most energy intensive processes at night when there is less pressure on the grid.

Hotels though, do not often have this luxury because they have to effectively cater for every guest need. They cannot simply switch out the lights in the evening time because the rest of the country is tuning into Coronation Street.

Hotel electricity

What is the Marriott doing to reduce demand?

The Marriott hotel near Regent’s Park in London has adopted a new energy-demand-management programme which is helping them to save money, as well as the environment.

A control box installed at the premises has the power to remotely turn down all elements of the hotels energy usage. At times of peak demand, it can control the consumption of air conditioning, fridges and ice boxes, as well as a whole host of other appliances. And importantly, the hotel says that it can do all of this without any customers noticing.

The hotel has managed to introduce a complete waste reduction package, which is not only saving them money but is also bolstering the hotel’s green credentials.

The hotel chain has plans to put all of its eligible UK hotels on a demand-response programme, potentially saving a considerable amount each year.

Applying the Marriott lessons to your hotel

If you run a hotel, or a chain of hotels, which purchases energy flexibly, then you might be able to reduce your consumption by learning lessons from the Marriott.

Reducing demand at peak times is the name of the game, so first of all you need to evaluate when peak times may be. This will vary according to factors like the weather, or the time of year but by paying attention to market reports you should be able to identify patterns of peak demand.

This can be done by, for example, turning down temperatures in the evening time when demand on the National Grid is greater. You should attempt to find the most effective balance between keeping customers happy and saving money on your energy bills.

Other ways of reducing hotel energy bills

Reducing consumption is not the only way to slash your hotel energy bills. There are a number of other ways in which you can reduce your monthly energy spending which do not involve micro-managing demand.

One such way is to talk to an energy broker and get them to secure you the best deal form a supplier. Or alternatively, join a buying group and take advantage of increased economies of scale by purchasing as part of a group.

Find out if you can reduce your energy bills by calling a member of our team today on 0800 157 7175