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Hotels are relentless in measuring their performance – until it comes to utilities, which account for around 3–10% of operating costs but are often the least actively managed. Occupancy, RevPAR, labour costs, and guest satisfaction are tracked daily, often hourly. Yet energy and water are still, in many cases, managed reactively – reviewed once a month when the bill arrives and typically paid without meaningful analysis.
Hotels operate some of the most complex, energy and water-intensive environments in the commercial property sector. They run 24 hours a day, powering guest rooms, kitchens, washing, spas, pools and HVAC systems. But despite this complexity, many properties still lack clear visibility into how efficiently these systems are performing – and that’s where value is lost.
Most hotels rely on historic reporting, and by the time the data is collected and reviewed, delays have already led to unnecessary cost and more complex maintenance challenges. This is what we describe as operational drift.
Operational drift isn’t caused by major failures. It’s the result of incremental inefficiencies and wasteful practices that build up over time unnoticed. We’ve seen hotels consuming three times the expected level of water due to an undetected underground leak – simply because no one had visibility beyond the monthly bill, with costs creeping up as the leak grew and never setting off any alarms.
In another case, a stuck distribution valve caused multiple boilers to fire unnecessarily for weeks. Nothing had technically “broken”. The system had just drifted – and fuel costs climbed quietly in the background.
Even when systems are checked, the insight is often limited. A boiler recorded at 85% efficiency during an annual service may look reassuringly good, but that figure reflects performance on a single day. From that point, efficiency can steadily decline (sometimes dramatically) without being detected. That’s the problem with snapshots. They create comfort, not control.
In most areas of life, we understand the importance of ongoing performance monitoring. We service our cars, track our health and monitor financial performance continuously.
Yet hotels – high-value, operationally complex assets – still tend to rely on periodic, system-wide “health checks”. The challenge is that an annual service isn’t always enough: in some cases it’s unnecessary, in others it leaves months of unnoticed drift.
Instead, many rely on periodic reporting. By the time the data is compiled into spreadsheets, it is often months old and outdated. It may satisfy compliance requirements, but it does little to track real time performance to help operators identify issues early or prevent unnecessary waste.
The challenge isn’t a lack of intent. Hotel teams are under increasing pressure to manage costs while meeting rising sustainability expectations.
The reality is that most hotels simply don’t have access to the level of specialist expertise required to continuously monitor and optimise performance. Energy engineers, building performance analysts and sustainability experts are rarely embedded at property level.
Staff turnover adds another layer of complexity. When experienced engineers leave, operational knowledge and data often goes with them – and performance gradually declines.
The result is an industry that knows efficiency matters, but lacks the analytical expertise and tools to assess and improve performance quickly.
At the same time, the stakes are rising. Corporate travel buyers, investors and guests are placing increasing importance on sustainability credentials. Booking platforms are introducing filters that allow travellers to prioritise environmentally responsible properties. Large corporations are under pressure to select hotels that can demonstrate credible ESG performance.
Efficiency is no longer just about cost control. Every £1 saved drops directly into bottom line profits preserving hard revenue and brand positioning. Hotels that cannot demonstrate strong performance risk being excluded from key demand channels.
Improving efficiency does not always require large capital investment. In many cases, initial gains of 4–7% can come from identifying and correcting inefficiencies early, with further savings unlocked through targeted investment.
The hospitality industry has spent decades perfecting revenue management. It understands how to optimise pricing, demand and distribution with precision. Operational performance has not yet reached the same level of maturity. But it will.
And when it does, the hotels that succeed won’t be those with the biggest budgets – but those with the clearest visibility, the fastest feedback loops, and the ability to act before inefficiencies become costs.
Because in an industry where margins are tight, operational drift isn’t just a technical issue. It’s a financial one hiding in plain sight.
Hotels are relentless in measuring their performance – until it comes to utilities, which account for around 3–10% of operating costs but are often the least actively managed. Occupancy, RevPAR, labour costs, and guest satisfaction are tracked daily, often hourly. Yet energy and water are still, in many cases, managed reactively – reviewed once a month when the bill arrives and typically paid without meaningful analysis.
Hotels operate some of the most complex, energy and water-intensive environments in the commercial property sector. They run 24 hours a day, powering guest rooms, kitchens, washing, spas, pools and HVAC systems. But despite this complexity, many properties still lack clear visibility into how efficiently these systems are performing – and that’s where value is lost.
Most hotels rely on historic reporting, and by the time the data is collected and reviewed, delays have already led to unnecessary cost and more complex maintenance challenges. This is what we describe as operational drift.
Operational drift isn’t caused by major failures. It’s the result of incremental inefficiencies and wasteful practices that build up over time unnoticed. We’ve seen hotels consuming three times the expected level of water due to an undetected underground leak – simply because no one had visibility beyond the monthly bill, with costs creeping up as the leak grew and never setting off any alarms.
In another case, a stuck distribution valve caused multiple boilers to fire unnecessarily for weeks. Nothing had technically “broken”. The system had just drifted – and fuel costs climbed quietly in the background.
Even when systems are checked, the insight is often limited. A boiler recorded at 85% efficiency during an annual service may look reassuringly good, but that figure reflects performance on a single day. From that point, efficiency can steadily decline (sometimes dramatically) without being detected. That’s the problem with snapshots. They create comfort, not control.
In most areas of life, we understand the importance of ongoing performance monitoring. We service our cars, track our health and monitor financial performance continuously.
Yet hotels – high-value, operationally complex assets – still tend to rely on periodic, system-wide “health checks”. The challenge is that an annual service isn’t always enough: in some cases it’s unnecessary, in others it leaves months of unnoticed drift.
Instead, many rely on periodic reporting. By the time the data is compiled into spreadsheets, it is often months old and outdated. It may satisfy compliance requirements, but it does little to track real time performance to help operators identify issues early or prevent unnecessary waste.
The challenge isn’t a lack of intent. Hotel teams are under increasing pressure to manage costs while meeting rising sustainability expectations.
The reality is that most hotels simply don’t have access to the level of specialist expertise required to continuously monitor and optimise performance. Energy engineers, building performance analysts and sustainability experts are rarely embedded at property level.
Staff turnover adds another layer of complexity. When experienced engineers leave, operational knowledge and data often goes with them – and performance gradually declines.
The result is an industry that knows efficiency matters, but lacks the analytical expertise and tools to assess and improve performance quickly.
At the same time, the stakes are rising. Corporate travel buyers, investors and guests are placing increasing importance on sustainability credentials. Booking platforms are introducing filters that allow travellers to prioritise environmentally responsible properties. Large corporations are under pressure to select hotels that can demonstrate credible ESG performance.
Efficiency is no longer just about cost control. Every £1 saved drops directly into bottom line profits preserving hard revenue and brand positioning. Hotels that cannot demonstrate strong performance risk being excluded from key demand channels.
Improving efficiency does not always require large capital investment. In many cases, initial gains of 4–7% can come from identifying and correcting inefficiencies early, with further savings unlocked through targeted investment.
The hospitality industry has spent decades perfecting revenue management. It understands how to optimise pricing, demand and distribution with precision. Operational performance has not yet reached the same level of maturity. But it will.
And when it does, the hotels that succeed won’t be those with the biggest budgets – but those with the clearest visibility, the fastest feedback loops, and the ability to act before inefficiencies become costs.
Because in an industry where margins are tight, operational drift isn’t just a technical issue. It’s a financial one hiding in plain sight.
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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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