Summary
The Group was experiencing a steep increase in energy costs and began to put in place good housekeeping measures throughout all its hotels. But, with an annual energy bill across all eight hotels of approximately £500,000 a year, the Carbon Trust was contacted for expert advice to identify ways to further reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
Energy saving recommendations
Four of the hotels were selected as being representative of the Group’s sites: The Leyland in Preston, Willow Bank in Manchester, The Queen in Chester and Llyndir Hall in Rossett, Chester. The aim was to survey these and identify energy saving opportunities that could be generally applied to the whole organisation, as well as opportunities specific to individual hotels. The results were turned into a practical action plan with the following recommendations:
- Ensure that energy efficiency is included in all procurement decisions, such as more energy efficient lighting, good quality controls, condensing boilers, and high efficiency freezers
- Commit to an energy-responsible policy, and nominate someone to have responsibility for driving forward the objectives and co-ordinate energy efficiency initiatives throughout the sites
- Sign up all hotels in the group to the Hospitable Climates Programmes – a partnership scheme set up between the Hotel and Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) and the Carbon Trust. The programme provides hospitality and leisure managers with a series of free energy saving fact files, training materials, case studies, newsletter and an online discussion forum
- Arrange for energy training for staff who can influence energy consumption on site – primarily managers and team leaders. It is recommended the advice then be formalised into a series of written instructions
- Encourage guests to be energy aware
In addition, for the two sites with swimming pools, energy saving recommendations included:
- Fit pool covers, to reduce evaporation
- Reset the hot water heater for pool showers from 70˚C to 60˚C.
Realising the savings
The Carbon Trust identified that the Feathers Hotel & Catering Group could reduce its overall MWh energy consumption by 18.7%, saving around £87,000 a year on its energy bill on an on-going basis. The cost of implementing the measures was estimated to be around £45,000, giving a simple payback period of six months.
Philippa Craig, Group Financial Accountant at The Feathers Group, said: “The Carbon Trust helped us identify and prioritise actions which we could take forward across the Group. One year on, we’ve managed to achieve a 24% energy consumption saving and are continuing to make further improvements and find new opportunities to become more energy efficient."
"Since the survey was carried out we’ve purchased an eight-story block, adjoining the Queen Hotel, which we plan to convert into a 91 bedroom hotel after a major refurbishment. To ensure this building will be energy efficient we have arranged for Low Carbon Building Design advice from the Carbon Trust.”
“We’re also encouraging staff to be more energy efficient at home by issuing newsletters with energy saving tips so that we can contribute to carbon emission reductions both as a group and as individuals.”
Find out more about our on-site Carbon Surveys (available for businesses in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales).
See carbon saving advice for hotels and the hospitality sector, or call the Carbon Trust Advice Line on 0800 085 2005.