Improved Energy Management in the Hotel Industry, Energy Key Performance Indicators, Benchmarking, and Taxonomy Methodology

Kelvin E. Martínez Santos, Patrik Thollander () and Mario Álvarez Guerra Plasencia
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Kelvin E. Martínez Santos: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos 55100, Cuba
Patrik Thollander: Department of Management and Engineering, Division of Energy Systems, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Mario Álvarez Guerra Plasencia: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos 55100, Cuba

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: Energy management in the hotel industry remains a cornerstone in mitigating climate change. To successfully deploy energy management practices, correct energy KPIs are needed. Moreover, the development of a uniform taxonomy on how to classify hotel industry final energy use is crucial in succeeding with energy management in the hotel industry and to enable benchmarking beyond the supply of energy. This work proposes a methodology to develop a taxonomy of final energy use in hotels. The methodology consists of five steps and five levels, allowing them to gradually disaggregate the final use of energy following different classification criteria. The methodology is applied to a hotel, validating the feasibility of the proposed methodology to more accurately identify the areas of greatest final energy use and provide further insights. Results indicate that the main electrical energy use emanates from HVAC (30.4%), tap hot water (24.8%), food process (20.6%), and lightning (7.1%). Key findings include the development of a structured framework that allows hotel managers, energy professionals, and policymakers to systematically assess and benchmark energy performance; and the classification levels provide a standardized method for identifying energy-intensive operations, enabling the implementation of targeted energy-saving measures.

Keywords: taxonomy; hotel industry; energy use; energy management; energy key performance indicators (KPIs) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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