ENERGY CONSERVATION IN HOTELS: A GREEN APPROACH
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter highlights the importance of hospitality and tourism industry, its growth in the last few years and future prospects. The large amount of energy usage and energy consumption pattern in hotels and the impact it has on en- vironmental degradation has been studied. The guidelines to reduce this con- sumption have been proposed. The design of the hotel and its operational as- pects has been dealt with in detail to propose the changes needed to conserve energy. The financial investments necessary to bring about the changes from the conventional approach towards the green approach have been assessed.
The return on such financial investment and the associated payback period has been studied. The challenges encountered while implementing such moves have been discussed. Along with the economic viability of such changes, the positive role they would play in job creation, alleviation of the communities surrounding the property and nurturing biodiversity too, have been dealt with.
The roles and motivations of various stakeholders to adopt green initiatives to save energy have been studied. It calls upon the policy makers to provide incentives to the hospitality and tourism industry to invest in the sustainabil- ity ventures, which would lead to long-term environment preservation. Case studies from across the world to illustrate the points mentioned above have been included in the relevant sections. In the end it proposes model through which the hotels can adopt a green approach.
The importance of the tourism industry can be gauged from the fact that more than 1 billion tourists have traveled the world in year 2012 and US$ 1.3 trillion was generated in export earnings. This sector accounts for one in 11
jobs and contributes 30% to the world’s services exports (UNWTO, 2013).
The world has become a global village. People travel more now for work and leisure as compared to the past decades. Tourism is one of the main sources of earning foreign exchange for the developing and least developed countries in the world (UNCTAD, 2010). Increase in the world’s population is leading to depletion of the natural resources. The energy consumption in the world is nearly three times than what it was 40 years ago and coal, oil and natural gas are used to meet 80% of the energy needs (Accor Hotels, 2013). Their reserves are limited and take millions of years to replenish and the combus- tion of these resources pollutes the environment. The global CO2 emissions are estimated to increase from 31.6 gigatons in 2011 to 37 gigatons in 2030 (UNEP, 2013). Tourism sector contributes 5% of the total gas emissions in the world. The burning of fossil fuels resulting in harmful emissions and climate change limits the business growth of this sector. This effect is particularly pronounced in the case of wildlife, beach and winter sports destinations. Most international hotels chains are aware of the environmental degradation and have set targets to reduce the GHG emissions. The target set by InterConti- nental Hotel group is reduction of CO2 emissions by 25% by 2017, Marriott International by 20% and Hilton Worldwide by 20% in 2009–2014 (Zientara and Bohdanowicz, 2010). The promotion of renewable sources of energy has the potential to save 220–560 gigatons of carbon emissions worldwide from 2010 to 2050 (UNEP, 2013).
The tourism industry is being influenced by the four trends of globaliza- tion, urbanization, demographic changes and climatic changes. Tourists tend to consume greater resources than at home people, therefore, their impact needs to be studied to minimize the same. There is a growing trend towards ecotourism the growth rate of which is estimated to be six times that of the industry growth rate in general, which indicates the desire of the mankind to explore the realms of the nature. Many developing countries have potential for ecotourism due to their natural environment, cultural heritage and oppor- tunities for adventure activities (UNEP, 2013). Sustainability of the current hotels and new ones has become a major issue for the policymakers, devel- opers, hotel chains, technocrats and designers throughout the world. The re- cent natural calamities like hurricanes, floods, droughts and cloud bursts have brought the focus on prevention measures to stop the continuous degradation of the environment and on preservation of the ecosystem. Whether an existing hotel is refurbished or a new one is constructed, it requires natural materials and large amounts of energy for its operation. The green approach in the ho- tels is associated with overcoming the negative effects of energy and water us-
age, waste reduction, improving the indoor air quality, preserving the natural environment, bio-diversity, culture and heritage of the region.
The hotels design should be such that energy is conserved, energy effi- cient fixtures and equipment should be chosen and periodic maintenance of the same should be adhered to. In a survey of Dutch, Italian and German tourists 63% took account of the hotel’s environment protection measures while deciding their accommodation. Robinot and Giannelloni (2010) in their study found that the environmental initiatives by the hotels contribute to the customers’ satisfaction when they evaluate them favorably. The hospitality industry’s response to these demands and meeting the ever-increasing guest expectations are critical for success. It should be the endeavor of the manage- ment to maintain a high level of performance on these initiatives. The chal- lenge facing the current generation is to make their hotels green, that is, to introduce sustainability measures so that the needs of the future generations are not compromised.
Hotels vary in sizes and the facilities they provide depending upon their location for example whether they are located on an island, mountainous re- gion, coastal area or city center. There is variation in the energy consumption pattern in each hotel based upon the services they provide. The location of the hotel determines whether the bulk of the energy is being consumed for heat- ing or cooling and the requirements for de-humidification. Hotel operations are energy intensive as heating, cooling, refrigeration, ventilation, lighting, preparation of food and beverages, cleaning, recreational facilities, etc., all require energy equipment. Further the demand for energy in the hotels is di- rectly proportional to the number of guests staying at the hotel. The market share of emerging economies is expected to increase from 47% to 57% in the next two decades. With international tourist arrivals projected to reach a 1.8 billion in 2030, tourism is bound to play an important role in the world econo- my (UNWTO, 2013). There is a growing trend among tourists to travel longer distance for shorter duration of time, which too leads to greater consumption of energy. The time-starved tourists try to accomplish and enjoy as many ac- tivities as possible in their short vacations. The greater health consciousness has led to increasing use of gymnasium facilities, swimming pools, spas, etc., located in the hotels, which are energy intensive facilities. So the demand for energy is going to increase with each passing year. Hence, there is need to as- sess the reduction in energy consumption by the hotels and the effectiveness of the measures they employ.
3.2 ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERN AND GUIDELINES