The Business Case

In many Mediterranean destinations, a cubic metre of water typically costs around 2.20 €. Using a hotel in Rhodes that operates with 50,000 guest nights each year, the table below shows the difference that switching to best practice water consumption for bathroom fittings can make a huge difference, both environmentally and financially. 

Typical Water Consumption versus Best Practice Water Consumption per Guest Room, Rhodes

A hotel with 120 rooms, operating at 80% occupancy for 6 months would therefore save an average of 

• 500€ on water used for showers, 

• 3,300€ on water used for flushing toilets, 

• 200€ on water used for handwashing and 

• 500€ by changing cleaning practices to flushing toilets once during the room clean rather than multiple times.  

A total average saving of 4,500€ each summer season simply by making small but important changes. The return on investment for switching to low flow installations is usually less than a year.

How much money are leaking toilets costing your business?

Typically, hotels will always have a few leaking toilets at any one time. This is due to worn cistern seals degrading over time, causing water seepage. There are a couple of telltale signs that staff can look out for:

• A yellow stain inside the bowl from constant water leakage.

• A slight rippling on the bowl's water surface, which suggests a slow trickle from the cistern.

• The sound of running water, which often indicates a faulty flush mechanism.

A moderate leak in one toilet can waste up to 0.5L/min and 20m³ per month.  Using our example hotel in Rhodes, this means that 1 toilet left unrepaired could waste approximately 308€ per summer season - enough to be able to invest in two water efficient toilets or in the installation of low flow solutions in 10 guest rooms. 

Business Case: Towel/Linen Reuse System

Towel and linen reuse programs offer significant business benefits for hotels, primarily in water and cost savings. A reduction of just one laundry item per guest night can lead to substantial financial advantages over the course of a season or year. Implementing such programs requires minimal investment, mainly for guest communication and staff training, which can be quickly offset by the substantial reductions in laundry costs. The calculations below are relevant to research undertaken in a number of four and five star hotels in Rhodes.

• Current Situation
  Average of 3.5 laundry items per guest night
  Laundry cost: 0.50 € per item

• Improvement Strategy
  Reduce to 2.5 laundry items per guest night by introducing a towel/linen reuse program.

• Cost Savings

  • Reduction of 1 laundry item per guest night

  • Savings of 0.50 € per guest night

  • Total annual savings (based on 50,000 guest nights):
    0.50 € × 50,000 = 25,000 €

Associated Costs
Guest communication materials, labeled laundry baskets, and staff training – all minimal and quickly offset by savings.

Whilst not accounted for here, a reduction in laundry items also has a direct impact on reducing chemical and energy use, generating additional environmental and financial benefits.

You can find more details of this particular research here. LINK

The business case for a smart irrigation system

Gardens are beautiful extensions of the hotel facilities, but they also are a major water-consuming factor in many destinations. They often require up to several hundred litres per tourist per day to irrigate, while this demand is influenced by their size and design, as well as the chosen plant species. In an average resort hotel, irrigation will be responsible for 30–50% of overall direct water use (in a city hotel, this may be lower at 5–25%).

• Initial situation: 75 litres per guest night used for irrigation.

• Installing a smart-control system for sprinklers: Reduction of irrigation by a third (25 L / day)

• Total savings at 50,000 guest nights: 1,250 m³ per season = 3,000 €.

• One-off cost of smart control system: 2,000 €.

• Return on Investment: Less than one year.

The Seaside Palm Beach Hotel in Gran Canaria reduced annual water consumption by around 6000 m³ and are now saving approximately 7,000€ every year thanks to a smart irrigation system.  Download their case study here. LINK

The business case of water reduction is not limited simply to the reduction of the hotel’s water bill, there are a number of other metrics to consider, some of which are linked to reputation, compliance and staff & guest engagement.  The table below describes some additional metrics and how to measure them.