On average, one hotel guest uses about 350 litres of direct water per day (although these figures vary significantly depending on accommodation types and their facilities.  In fact, that figure can rise to as much as 875 litres per guest per day at properties with golf courses (although golf courses are ideally suited to reuse treated greywater).

It is much more difficult to calculate indirect water volumes consumed as a result of the hotel infrastructure and complimentary activities, for example, water used during the processing of fossil fuels to provide energy to the hotel, or water that is embedded into the cultivation, production, transport, storage and cooking of food.  This water is essentially “hidden” and we are not always aware of the impacts, but it contributes to the hotel’s overall water footprint.

• For every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity your hotel consumes from the grid, the power plants that provide you with this electricity use approximately 10 liters of water, mainly for cooling purposes. It’s an invisible water footprint that you don’t see, yet it contributes to your indirect water footprint.

• Most large hotels rely on evaporative cooling towers for air conditioning. Each kWh of chiller or tower fan energy typically corresponds to 0.7–1.4 L of water lost to evaporation and drift, further adding to your indirect water footprint.

An important percentage of a hotel’s indirect footprint come from the food it serves.  According to the WTTC, agriculture and food production are responsible for two thirds of the total water footprint in the tourism sector. 

The water-intensity of foods is primarily related to the amount of water taken up in the production process. For example, the large amount of water necessary to produce a beef steak results from the fact that cattle are plant-eating animals and “accumulate” large amounts of water during their lifespan.Vegetable and fruit plants also take up certain volumes of water during their growth, but not as much as is needed to produce meat.

The below diagram shows other significant statistics.  You can download a high resolution version of this diagram here.  It is excellent for reminding staff of the hidden water footprint of foodstuffs. 

PICTURE

The procurement of food, in addition to energy management, therefore play a significant role when you are developing an integrated and holistic water management strategy for your hotel.  For top tips on how to generate energy savings from water reduction measures click here.  LINK PICTURE