Six Senses Con Dao, Vietnam, the perfect paradigm of the 'Eco Hotel'
(F) ACTORS
The greenest side of Fitur 2013 brought together in its first action this year the major players in sustainability and tourism: on the one hand, the Energy Service Companies (representing Gas Natural Fenosa, Prosolia, and Balantia) and on the other the Hotel industry (Ana Climente, director of the Sun Palace Hotel, and Coralía Pino, as representative of the Hotel Technological Institute and host of the conference) .
The relation of necessity of these two worlds part of a paradigm shift and in times of environmental debate: “Hotels do not need to buy fuel: they want hot water in their rooms” . With this simple phrase, José Revert (Prosolia) put on the table a change of scenery, that of energy decentralization: why buy primary energy to then generate the services provided by the hotel (heating, hot water, lighting, spas ...) if we can invest, directly, in energy efficiency and save?
SPEAKING IN SILVER
According to the history of the hotels with which Prosolia has worked, it is calculated that a sun/beach type hotel with around 100,000 stays per year spends an average of €30,000 on gas oil/year (to which we must add around €2,500 annual maintenance). However, on the other hand, it is estimated that reducing emissions, environmental impact and energy consumption it is possible to save between 3% and 6% of the operating expenses of the hotels.
This is the case of the ** Hotel Sun Palace in Alfaz del Pi **, its director Ana Climente was concerned about the hotel's electricity consumption. After carrying out a preliminary study monitoring the hotel's activities, it was deduced that the savings would be produced effectively in a sustainable management of the hot water in the rooms and in the heated pool. Climente then scrapped the idea of solar panels and invested in a new efficient boiler. Results? Given the €80,000 of consumption that it faced at the beginning, it was possible to save 23% of energy, (about €18,000 per year).
Other cases of energy efficiency were also presented on this table, such as the Bouganville, Lanzarote Park and Playa Gaviotas hotels, which managed to increase between 14% and 24% your energy savings.
BARRIERS
An Energy Services Company proposes an efficiency plan based on the hotel's spending history and this "tailor-made suit" is implemented. After the initial investment to implement the new plan (despite being high), savings are achieved year after year and an ecological improvement. Sounds perfect, right?
Nevertheless, the results are not immediate and the initial investment is high . During the discussion table, the main problems in this binomial tourism-sustainability emerged: the initial uncertainty of hoteliers attached to the duration of the contracts with these companies (which are usually at least five years old)... And the big bump: the small hotels and those who they are not open 365 days a year ; hotels in which the savings are perceived to a lesser extent and in a longer term. Undoubtedly, awareness plays an important role, but the Energy Services Companies find themselves with the role of drawing alternative plans, highly personalized, with different types of contracts. according to the needs of the hotels, whatever their characteristics : two don't play if one doesn't want to.
BINOMIAL GOLD?
The solvency in the tourism sector is evident (for the time being and despite the crisis situation). In addition, the high occupancy levels of the hotels and their operation almost all year round, make this sector the candy that all Energy Service Companies would like . On the other hand, hotels can see in this new way of using resources, a latent way of saving, year after year. And, not least, the descent of emissions and the reduction of the ecological footprint , is an imperative issue that transcends all. The next step seems to be the obvious one: remove the barriers that stand between small hotels, intermittent opening hotels and this energy option. Not forgetting awareness. The great war horse.