related to cost saving, the findings have highlighted a major savings potential for hotels in Dubai and throughout the region, boosting their bottom line performance.

The industry norm for benchmarking energy consumption is to compare consumption to the total air conditioned area in kWh / m2. However the hotel industry can use other more focused benchmarks including water consumption per hotel guest for example. To prepare a level playing field, total consumption was divided by service units, which represented one guest night, four food and beverage covers or ten conference delegates.

The results were recorded by using internet based software www.hotel-optimizer.com and then compared with similar surveys carried out in Europe. It revealed that hotels in Dubai on average used between 650 -1,250 liters of water per guest and consumed 275-325 kWh of power per square meter. In stark contrast, similar hotels in Germany for example used only 350 liters of water and 100 kWh per square meter, a difference of 225 percent.

Some industry analysts would argue that the vast difference in climate would account for the huge differences, but Markus Oberlin, General Manager, Avireal Middle East LLC, disagrees, “Hotels in European countries with temperate climates endure cold winters when they need heating and due to global warming much longer and warmer summers when they need cooling. The energy output differential should not be three-fold.“

In terms of water usage, Oberlin commented, “It is valid that in hot climates, guests may bathe more often and outdoor swimming pools evaporate water. But in Europe many hotels recycle rainwater which reduces their consumption. True it doesn’t rain so much in Dubai, but hotels could easily reuse bath or shower water for toilet flushing. The bottom line is that there are great opportunities for major cost savings.“

But it’s not just about cost savings, “Reducing costs maybe the key driver but hotels should also recognize the considerable benefits of sound CSR policies and the positive effect they have on the environment,“ added Oberlin.

Saving energy in buildings can start with easy steps such as simply switching off lights, A/C and other electrical devices when not in use. Also turning off taps and maintaining sprinklers can make significant savings on water consumption. For more complex buildings such as hotels professional energy consultants can conduct energy audits to uncover any or all of the potential energy and water savings. Through the use of the latest technology, there are now new products available on the market which can reduce the energy consumption of a chiller by up to 20 percent.

“This is a massive saving when one considers that a chiller alone is responsible for around 60 percent of the total electricity bill for most large buildings especially hotels. These products could easily reduce the total electricity cost of a large hotel immediately by 12 percent,“ concluded Oberlin.

PIN/ AMEINFO.COM