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In 2020, the shock of the pandemic caused supply and demand energy fluctuations. This was followed by the 2022 Ukraine–Russia war which led to a full-scale UK energy crisis. And now, with global uncertainty and conflict in the Middle East impacting international gas deliveries, the energy crisis feels like a constant pressure for domestic and commercial users.
But after five years of crisis, what have we learned about energy supply, its use and future security and stability? Here are the five lessons for hotel owners, particularly multisite operators, that can help control costs and build a strong, sustainable future:
Procurement strategies have changed. The traditional fixed price multi-year energy deals that many hotels and hotel groups have historically relied on to stabilise budgets are no longer the answer for risk management. With the ability to monitor markets daily, flexible purchasing contracts offer much better value and, when combined with a robust risk-management hedging strategy, provide the flexibility to secure the right energy for the right amount, rather than being tied to a fixed amount and service-contract rates. While oil prices have soared this year, the energy market isn’t as high as it was 18 months ago. For hotels, where occupancy levels fluctuate seasonally and energy use varies significantly between sites, flexible procurement allows operators to align purchasing with real demand rather than outdated forecasts.
With UK electricity markets heavily influenced by international gas supply and demand, more businesses are investing directly in renewable generation to decouple their electricity spend from outside factors and reap both financial and ESG benefits. This has seen companies match their energy use with UK-generated renewable energy. Where self-generation isn’t possible, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) allow businesses to agree prices directly with UK generators and match their energy requirements to generator output. Innovative procurement models are now making the benefits of PPAs and time-matched renewable electricity accessible to businesses that may previously have considered them out of reach.
And while traditionally renewable energy used to come at a premium, falling prices due to an increasing generator pool, market volatility, flexibility and the chance to eliminate Scope 2 Emissions reporting and other exemptions makes green energy prices beneficial. For hotels, renewable energy procurement also supports growing guest expectations around sustainability, corporate travel requirements and ESG reporting for conference and business clients. And investors and banks are increasingly offering better finance rates (up to 50% better) to sustainable businesses demonstrating impact, an important consideration for hotel owners or groups looking to refinance or expand their portfolios.
Reducing reliance on the national grid by investing in solar PV, waste heat recovery, heat pumps and other measures can help stabilise supply and control costs. For hotels, on-site generation is particularly attractive because many sites have consistent baseload demand from laundry, kitchens, pool and spa and HVAC.
Diversifying supply reduces exposure to price volatility, particularly where hotels can use more of the energy produced on site. Solar PV may also provide additional income where excess electricity is exported to the grid through an appropriate export tariff. Multisite operators may also standardise technologies across estates to support consistent maintenance, procurement and installation.
There’s the old saying that the cheapest kWh is the one you don’t use. Energy is one of the largest controllable operating costs for many hotels, particularly those with leisure facilities, kitchens and 24-hour operations. Therefore, it’s vital that a business understands where energy is being used and whether it’s being wasted. Temperature regulation is often a major energy load, including guestroom heating and cooling, hot water, ventilation, air handling units, boilers and chillers. Costs can easily increase where systems are poorly controlled, running in unoccupied spaces or not matched to actual demand.
With the rise of data and the digitalisation of systems and processes, energy profiles can be created for each hotel site, enabling comparisons across the building or multiple sites to identify underperforming buildings or equipment. Temporary clamp-on meters, sub-meters and sensors can also be installed at circuit or equipment level. When this data is analysed correctly, it can help identify energy wastage, reduce avoidable consumption and support targeted investment decisions.
While energy audits are compulsory for qualifying large organisations through the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, smaller businesses can also benefit from structured reviews. Some hotels may be eligible for funding, loans or subsidised schemes for efficiency upgrades, insulation, low-carbon heating or solar installations.
Electricity prices for businesses have typically risen by 10%–30% since February, so it’s important to check for any billing mistakes or anomalies that could add further cost pressures.
For multisite hotel operators, billing complexity is often multiplied with different meters, tariffs, inconsistent data and legacy contracts inherited through acquisitions. Digitalisation and the rollout of AI help spot real-time anomalies, but with many businesses faced with upwards of 25 individual energy cost lines it’s important to separate these, understand them and check they reflect consumption accurately. Centralising energy management across the estate can also unlock significant savings, ensuring procurement, monitoring and reporting are consistent and controlled.
While there’s no single silver bullet for solving the ongoing crisis, taking steps to better understand energy usage and control costs can lead to significant savings. With energy security and domestic supply resilience high on the political agenda, there’s a continued shift towards renewables, offering businesses new opportunities to capitalise on green energy, decarbonise and progress towards sustainability goals. The rapid rise of AI and data management also brings new opportunities for waste management and energy procurement. So, while remaining commercially viable is challenging, the longer-term outlook is positive, with more renewables powering the UK economy.
In 2020, the shock of the pandemic caused supply and demand energy fluctuations. This was followed by the 2022 Ukraine–Russia war which led to a full-scale UK energy crisis. And now, with global uncertainty and conflict in the Middle East impacting international gas deliveries, the energy crisis feels like a constant pressure for domestic and commercial users.
But after five years of crisis, what have we learned about energy supply, its use and future security and stability? Here are the five lessons for hotel owners, particularly multisite operators, that can help control costs and build a strong, sustainable future:
Procurement strategies have changed. The traditional fixed price multi-year energy deals that many hotels and hotel groups have historically relied on to stabilise budgets are no longer the answer for risk management. With the ability to monitor markets daily, flexible purchasing contracts offer much better value and, when combined with a robust risk-management hedging strategy, provide the flexibility to secure the right energy for the right amount, rather than being tied to a fixed amount and service-contract rates. While oil prices have soared this year, the energy market isn’t as high as it was 18 months ago. For hotels, where occupancy levels fluctuate seasonally and energy use varies significantly between sites, flexible procurement allows operators to align purchasing with real demand rather than outdated forecasts.
With UK electricity markets heavily influenced by international gas supply and demand, more businesses are investing directly in renewable generation to decouple their electricity spend from outside factors and reap both financial and ESG benefits. This has seen companies match their energy use with UK-generated renewable energy. Where self-generation isn’t possible, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) allow businesses to agree prices directly with UK generators and match their energy requirements to generator output. Innovative procurement models are now making the benefits of PPAs and time-matched renewable electricity accessible to businesses that may previously have considered them out of reach.
And while traditionally renewable energy used to come at a premium, falling prices due to an increasing generator pool, market volatility, flexibility and the chance to eliminate Scope 2 Emissions reporting and other exemptions makes green energy prices beneficial. For hotels, renewable energy procurement also supports growing guest expectations around sustainability, corporate travel requirements and ESG reporting for conference and business clients. And investors and banks are increasingly offering better finance rates (up to 50% better) to sustainable businesses demonstrating impact, an important consideration for hotel owners or groups looking to refinance or expand their portfolios.
Reducing reliance on the national grid by investing in solar PV, waste heat recovery, heat pumps and other measures can help stabilise supply and control costs. For hotels, on-site generation is particularly attractive because many sites have consistent baseload demand from laundry, kitchens, pool and spa and HVAC.
Diversifying supply reduces exposure to price volatility, particularly where hotels can use more of the energy produced on site. Solar PV may also provide additional income where excess electricity is exported to the grid through an appropriate export tariff. Multisite operators may also standardise technologies across estates to support consistent maintenance, procurement and installation.
There’s the old saying that the cheapest kWh is the one you don’t use. Energy is one of the largest controllable operating costs for many hotels, particularly those with leisure facilities, kitchens and 24-hour operations. Therefore, it’s vital that a business understands where energy is being used and whether it’s being wasted. Temperature regulation is often a major energy load, including guestroom heating and cooling, hot water, ventilation, air handling units, boilers and chillers. Costs can easily increase where systems are poorly controlled, running in unoccupied spaces or not matched to actual demand.
With the rise of data and the digitalisation of systems and processes, energy profiles can be created for each hotel site, enabling comparisons across the building or multiple sites to identify underperforming buildings or equipment. Temporary clamp-on meters, sub-meters and sensors can also be installed at circuit or equipment level. When this data is analysed correctly, it can help identify energy wastage, reduce avoidable consumption and support targeted investment decisions.
While energy audits are compulsory for qualifying large organisations through the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, smaller businesses can also benefit from structured reviews. Some hotels may be eligible for funding, loans or subsidised schemes for efficiency upgrades, insulation, low-carbon heating or solar installations.
Electricity prices for businesses have typically risen by 10%–30% since February, so it’s important to check for any billing mistakes or anomalies that could add further cost pressures.
For multisite hotel operators, billing complexity is often multiplied with different meters, tariffs, inconsistent data and legacy contracts inherited through acquisitions. Digitalisation and the rollout of AI help spot real-time anomalies, but with many businesses faced with upwards of 25 individual energy cost lines it’s important to separate these, understand them and check they reflect consumption accurately. Centralising energy management across the estate can also unlock significant savings, ensuring procurement, monitoring and reporting are consistent and controlled.
While there’s no single silver bullet for solving the ongoing crisis, taking steps to better understand energy usage and control costs can lead to significant savings. With energy security and domestic supply resilience high on the political agenda, there’s a continued shift towards renewables, offering businesses new opportunities to capitalise on green energy, decarbonise and progress towards sustainability goals. The rapid rise of AI and data management also brings new opportunities for waste management and energy procurement. So, while remaining commercially viable is challenging, the longer-term outlook is positive, with more renewables powering the UK economy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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