Wellington and Queenstown had the highest annual energy consumption per room at over 17,000kWh. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Wellington and Queenstown had the highest annual energy consumption per room at over 17,000kWh. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Five-star hotels use almost twice as much energy on a per-room basis as three-star hotels.
It might not sound shocking, but it’s a key statistic revealed in a new report by Hotel Council Aotearoa (HCA) on how the sector uses energy, water and recycling.
The comprehensive Hotel Sector EnergyUse Survey covers the 2023 calendar year and details how 134 of New Zealand’s hotels use resources. The hotels concerned comprise roughly 53% of NZ’s hotel room supply.
For the first time, it allows hotels to compare their own energy, water and recycling habits with their peers.
The initiative was championed by the Hotel Industry Sustainability Group, which was formed by Kanika Jhunjhnuwala, chief sustainability officer for Hind Management and Sudima Hotels.
Jhunjhnuwala said visitors to New Zealand want to see evidence of our position as a green tourist destination.
“New Zealand needs to raise its climate and sustainability efforts around commitments and their verification. Hotels’ leadership role in this national challenge, which I am trying to orchestrate, involves placing ESG [environmental, social and governance] at the centre of business models, setting sustainability objectives and defining metrics to track,” Jhunjhnuwala said.
Kanika Jhunjhnuwala is chief sustainability officer for Hind Management and Sudima Hotels. She formed the Hotel Industry Sustainability Group to enable hotels to collaborate on sustainability.
The results
According to the survey, annual natural gas use makes up 43% of emissions from stationary energy use by hotels.
Annual electricity purchased from the grid accounts for 31%, while annual LPG use makes up 24%. Annual stationary diesel use makes up 2% of emissions.
Almost twice as much energy is consumed in five-star properties on a per-room basis as in three-star hotels. However, luxurious properties had more on-site energy generation.
Several factors contribute to the higher usage patterns, including that larger and more luxurious hotels typically have larger guest rooms, more public spaces and other energy-using amenities such as meeting spaces, spas and additional food and beverage outlets.
Wellington and Queenstown had the highest annual energy consumption per room at over 17,000kWh.
Water usage on a per-room basis provided some more interesting findings, namely that the lowest usage was found in hotels in Auckland’s Central Park and in Wellington, using between 58,000-80,000 litres annually.
The highest by some measures was found in the Nelson/Marlborough region, using over 250,000 litres annually. However, the area features extensive grounds that require irrigation and lower key counts, something urban areas don’t have to account for.
The survey found that Queenstown, which also has high water usage per room, does not separately charge for water on a volumetric/usage basis.
Looking at waste per room, the proportion of total waste diverted from landfills varied considerably between regions.
Wellington hotels appear to generate more waste on a per-room basis, while five-star hotels generate more waste per room than lower-rated properties.
Hotel Council Aotearoa strategic director James Doolan.
HCA strategic director James Doolan said you can’t improve what you don’t measure.
“The hotel industry has a long history of being data-driven. We wanted to take the first steps to building a repository of real-world data on energy usage that hotels in Aotearoa can measure themselves against,” Doolan said.
Doolan believes better information will lead to smarter capital investment and ultimately to faster decarbonisation.
“Many hotels talk a good game on environmental sustainability, but we know that the next generation of travellers will demand real-world data and verification when businesses make claims around sustainability.”
Jhunjhnuwala said that setting goals, measuring progress and being transparent means New Zealand businesses can avoid “greenwashing”.
“These survey results are a good first step for our hotels in understanding emissions and other environmental impacts and adapting their operations in order to do the right thing.”
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.
