Holistic approach for reducing occupants’ energy consumption in hotel buildings

In the United States, there are about 47,000 hotels that spend an average of $2,200 per room on energy annually. Studies have reported that guests' energy-related behavior is one of the main factors that impacts energy consumption in hotel buildings. However, there has been limited number of studies that provides practical and efficient energy-use reduction strategies based on guests' energy-related behavior in hotel buildings. Existing research studies are limited to commercial and residential buildings showing guest impact on the energy consumption in the hotel buildings. To address this research gap, this study aims to: (1) develop a set of interventions and incentives to change hotel guests' energy-related behavior with minimum technological investment, and (2) provide guidelines and suggestions to decision makers in the hospitality industry to reduce energy consumption in hotel buildings. To achieve this, energy reduction interventions and incentives were designed and investigated on hotel guests' energy-related behavior by using Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicated that the proposed interventions and incentives were effective in changing hotel guests' energy-related behavior in hotel buildings. The findings of this study will guide decision makers in the hospitality industry (e.g., hotel owners and hotel managers) with developing more effective energy reduction strategies tailor to their guests’ energy-related behavior without any technological investment.