The impact of the energy crisis on the Hospitality sector is no longer the elephant in the room. The topic has finally become a focus, evident with the conference sessions centred around addressing the issue and annual consumer reporting that reveals how consumers are already taking action to seek out more sustainable options as the collective consciousness grows towards understanding the impact of travel on the climate.

Now that we're all talking about it, we believe that, as an industry, we can act together. Here's our take on how we implement changes, the unexpected positives this brings, and the numbers proving that plenty of good can come from facing the energy crisis head-on.

You might consider the news that rising energy costs have become a priority topic in recent sector conference forecasts, yet more doom and gloom to an already beleaguered post-pandemic hospitality sector. A report by Phocuswright presented to the audience at the 2023 International Hospitality Forum fore fronted the energy crisis as the industry's most pressing challenge. Prominent industry figures have shared their less-than-optimistic projections. Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor, speaking at the Italian Hospitality Investment Conference, predicted that the impact of energy on typical running costs could increase from 8% to 25%.

Before we all collapse in despair, it is worth being reminded that there is power in sharing this knowledge. Now that the energy crisis's impact on the sector's future sustainability is clear, the conversation has shifted with increasing urgency towards finding solutions for reducing the impact of rising costs. Facing the beast, so to speak, are business owners. Over 80% of hoteliers listed on Booking.com cite that the increasing cost of energy prices is their priority concern in 2023. There is some good news to share, with increasing awareness bringing promising new trends. Businesses that actively shift towards providing more efficient stays are becoming attractive to consumers, with 41% of visitors to booking.com actively seeking sustainable hotels and 90% of consumers looking for sustainable options when they do their holiday research (Expedia, 2022). 70% of consumers are willing to choose sustainability over comfort, and on average, are prepared to pay more for services that have a positive impact on the planet and local economies of their holiday destinations (Expedia, 2022) 

Whilst it is promising that the conversation has shifted to face the problem head-on, and articles detailing measures hoteliers can take to mitigate the energy crisis are a positive step change, we must look beyond sharing general information such as switching lamp types, and zoning and look to utilizing thorough research, and harnessing the technologies that will make a lasting impact. 

As a female-led business, we have always worked to navigate change proactively and find the positive it often brings. Considerate has been working on this once-unspoken problem and helping businesses for over 11 years by building tools and implementing practices that have a meaningful impact on running costs. We have worked hard to be at the forefront of sustainable advisory through behavioural changes and developing industry standards for CO2 reporting, CSR frameworks and resource monitoring. We actively promote sustainable, ethical practices and counteracting greenwashing by providing data for our customers that demonstrate what costs actively impact their bottom line. 

We are a proud B-Corp and have taken the 2023 pledge to demonstrate how #WeGoBeyond. Here's how we see the hospitality industry finding its way to reducing running costs, mitigating the energy crisis and securing new, more profitable businesses that are future proofed towards the lasting changes we will face with the climate crisis. We typically work onsite to create bespoke solutions that fit each business uniquely. Here are the essential steps for making change possible in any business: 

• Sit in your plant room! Capture as much data as possible, and learn how your business spends energy on electricity, gas and water consumption. 
• Better still, implement quality energy monitoring systems that monitor your services on a micro (hourly) basis.
• Find ways to use this data wisely. Investing in reporting and analysis to make a bespoke plan tailored to your business's needs will reveal where your inefficiencies lie.
• Educate staff on energy and water usage.
• Share your findings across your business in a translatable format. Give staff the agency to input, give feedback and make changes. 
• Forecast the financial set-up costs vs future savings to ensure you're not missing a beat by implementing more impactful changes such as large-scale detection systems or better insulation services (or overspending unnecessarily).
• Set goals and attainable targets for improving efficiency.
• Rinse, repeat, test, learn and improve. Make savings and mitigate your business's impact on the climate crisis. 

Of course, if you are reading this, you may already know that at Considerate, we provide all of the above as a service and have engineered our tools and platforms to help hospitality businesses of all shapes and sizes reduce costs and their impact on the environment.

Our bespoke services can be tailored to serve every size and shape of business. The figures demonstrate how reducing consumption directly reduces the bottom line. In just one year, a leading UK hotel group we worked with lowered their energy costs by £150k, with per room night energy costs falling by 16.2% and working with Hoxton House hotels, where the base consumption level was reduced by 91%. The brand saved over three times the cost of our Con-Serve monitoring platform in one year. The efficiencies we implemented significantly impacted the hotel's (reportable) output, making 66 tons of CO2e savings, equivalent to 26 flights between London and New York.

Now it is clear why we need to act, and businesses can no longer absorb the cost of the energy crisis. There are positive and practical solutions that will reduce the need to increase the cost to the consumer or force businesses to remove services. Find out how in 2023 at Considerate #WeGoBeyond for your business and make significant savings to improve efficiency.