Factors affecting energy-efficiency investment in the hotel industry: survey results from Spain

E. López-Bernabé, S. Foudi, P. Linares, I. Galarraga

Energy Efficiency Vol. 14, nº. 4, pp. 41-1 - 41-22

Summary:

Increasing energy efficiency is a major way of saving energy and thus reducing energy expenses. However, adoption of energy efficiency is generally low, as demonstrated by the energy efficiency gap. To understand that gap, this paper analyses the factors that affect how the energy efficiency attribute is rated in investment in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in the hotel industry in Spain. A survey conducted on two hundred owners of hotels, hostels and holiday cottages (referred to jointly here for the sake of convenience as “the hotel industry”) shows that the value placed on energy efficiency is influenced not just by climate conditions, environmental concern and type of hotel but also by other attributes of the HVAC system such as brand reliability, price and performance. The hotel industry may also be identifying EE as a proxy for quality rather than savings. Designing the right energy-efficiency policy entails accounting for potential responses by agents, and this analysis helps identify those drivers to which they may or may not respond.

Keywords: Hotel industry . Energy-efficiency HVAC system . Barriers . Environmental attitudes . Energy efficiency investments

JCR Impact Factor and WoS quartile: 3,134 - Q3 (2021); 3,100 - Q3 (2022)

DOI reference: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-021-09936-1

Published on paper: April 2021.

Published on-line: April 2021.

Citation:
E. López-Bernabé, S. Foudi, P. Linares, I. Galarraga, Factors affecting energy-efficiency investment in the hotel industry: survey results from Spain. Energy Efficiency. Vol. 14, nº. 4, pp. 41-1 - 41-22, April 2021. [Online: April 2021]