Sustainable tourism has become a priority for the hotel industry in recent decades. With increasing awareness of climate change and the need to reduce the environmental footprint, hotels are increasingly turning to renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, to address these challenges. In this article, we will explore how hotels are implementing solar energy systems to reduce their environmental impact and improve their sustainability.

Benefits of Solar Energy for Hotels

Solar energy offers several significant advantages for hotels in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency. Here are some key benefits:

1. Long-Term Cost Reduction: Although the initial installation of solar panels may be costly, hotels can save on energy costs in the long run by generating their own electricity.
2. Renewable Energy Source: Solar energy is a renewable and inexhaustible energy source, allowing hotels to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and decrease their carbon footprint.
3. Brand Endorsement: Hotels that invest in solar energy can enhance their reputation as sustainable businesses and attract environmentally conscious guests.

Some Hotels with Solar Energy Systems

Several renowned hotels have successfully implemented solar energy systems in their operations. Here are some examples:

Hotel Bambu, Costa Rica: This boutique hotel in Costa Rica is entirely powered by solar energy and uses recycled water systems to minimize its environmental impact.

Hotel Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers: located in Denmark, is a prominent example of sustainability in the hotel industry. This hotel has implemented various initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint, including extensive use of solar energy. With a surface area of solar panels on its roof, the hotel generates a significant portion of its energy from renewable sources, allowing it to operate more sustainably and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. In addition to its commitment to solar energy, the Hotel Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers has also implemented other sustainable practices, such as efficient water and waste management systems, making it a leader in environmental responsibility in the hotel industry.

Six Senses Yao Noi, Thailand: This luxury resort in Thailand utilizes solar panels to heat water and generate electricity, significantly reducing its conventional energy consumption.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite the benefits, the adoption of solar energy in the hotel industry also faces some challenges. Some important considerations include:

1. Initial Costs: The initial installation of solar systems can be expensive and requires a significant investment by hotels.
2. Space Limitations: Some hotels may face space limitations for the installation of solar panels, especially in densely populated urban areas.
3. Maintenance and Durability: Solar systems require regular maintenance to ensure long-term efficiency, which may add additional costs for hotels.

Future of Solar Energy in Hospitality

As solar technology continues to advance and installation costs decrease, more hotels are expected to adopt solar energy systems in the future. With a renewed focus on sustainability, solar energy will play a crucial role in reducing the environmental footprint of the hotel industry and promoting more responsible business practices.

The concept of sustainability has currently become one of the main axes of management in tourism, with this paradigm shift being the result of awareness about the impact that tourism brings to the environment, society, and destinations. In this context, the emergence of sustainable lifehubs has garnered significant attention, signifying a holistic approach to sustainability within the tourism industry.

According to the "Ecological and Sustainable Tourism: Profiles and Trends" report, 66% of tourists are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. The data confirms that the tourism sector is responsible for around 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, of which 1% corresponds to the accommodation sector. Therefore, today at Discorp, we will talk about hotels and sustainable design through the brand Mockuproom, a brand dedicated to conceptualization, design, and hotel furnishing, contributing to the vision of sustainable lifehubs.

Until recently, little importance was given to the architectural component within sustainable tourism; however, as buildings become more visible within the tourism landscape, the need to apply environmental criteria in their construction becomes more evident.

In addition, various initiatives have been launched to align the tourism sector with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); among them, the declaration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations.

Given their large size and high impact on the environment, sustainable hotels are a fundamental element to address within sustainable architecture. In fact, according to a study conducted by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and the Hotel Technology Institute (ITH), 90% of surveyed travelers would choose a sustainable hotel to stay in, and 34% of them were willing to pay more for this type of accommodation.

Taking into account this interest, we will now talk about some of the most important topics surrounding sustainable hospitality, what elements make a hotel considered sustainable.

What is a Sustainable Hotel?

A sustainable hotel is one that is designed respecting the environment and whose operation does not have a negative impact on the place where it is built or its surroundings. Likewise, it actively participates with the local community, using its resources respectfully and promoting the economic and social development of the locality.

Like sustainability in general, a sustainable hotel not only brings benefits to the environment but also helps society and the communities with which it interacts.

What Elements Make a Hotel Considered Sustainable?

For a hotel to be considered sustainable, it must meet at least one of these characteristics:

• Environment, culture, and society of the site where it was built at the time of its design. This means that the hotel will be part of the local landscape, harmonizing with natural elements and, above all, with the people in the place and their culture.
• Respect for the surroundings, both from the natural and social points of view. This includes preserving the biodiversity of the local environment, reducing non-recyclable waste generated, and avoiding the use of non-renewable energy sources that consume local elements and deplete them.
• Contribute to the development of the community and promote local businesses. In this sense, sustainable hotels function as job-generating sources since, on the one hand, the community finds work in the hotel, and on the other hand, the hotel refers travelers to use the community's services.
• Promote the consumption of local products, which brings economic benefits and, in turn, favors the development of the local identity of the destination and enhances the elements that differentiate it from other places.
• Use renewable energy sources to supply most of the hotel's energy requirements. This includes the use of solar energy, wind energy, or the construction of the building with bioclimatic principles.
• Use organic and recycled materials, including construction materials, cleaning materials, hotel consumables, among others.
• Respect the principles of bioclimatic construction so that the use of air conditioning and heating systems can be completely reduced.

Iceland, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Norway are four countries that can already boast of generating all their energy with renewable sources. Although it is true that 100% has not yet been reached during each and every one of the 365 days of the year, it is true that dirty energy sources are already something marginal in these countries. They are the example to follow for the rest of the planet.

There are four nations that constitute the spearhead in the energy transition towards renewable sources. In reality, they have practically completed that transition and have left fossil fuels behind. How has it been possible? In all cases, they are processes that began many years ago and, furthermore, they always had their governments as staunch defenders of this transformation.

Iceland

Iceland is a country that, above all, consumes a lot of energy per capita, which is quite understandable if you take into account the low temperatures that are recorded throughout the year. Furthermore, it has been a historically poor nation. In fact, until the 1970s it was included in the category of developing countries by the United Nations.

Its economy was always based on agriculture and fishing. And, as for the sources to generate energy, they have always been fossil fuels, fundamentally imported. Therefore, it did not seem like an example of sustainability. And yet, the Icelandic political authorities decided to change course around 1980.

This is how Iceland, with 360,000 inhabitants, radically transformed its conventional energy mix for one based on domestic renewable sources. Renewable energies surpassed 99% of energy production in the 1980s and have continued to do so ever since. Today, all of Iceland's electrical power is generated by hydroelectric and geothermal power.

Without realizing it, the energy was on the island itself and, moreover, free and clean. Volcanoes provide geothermal energy in abundant amounts. And, on the other hand, hydroelectric power is the other most important source of supply.

In Iceland, geothermal energy is used, in addition to generating electricity through large steam turbines, to provide heating for entire cities through centralized urban systems, to melt snow on sidewalks, to heat swimming pools, to supply energy for fish farming, greenhouses and food or cosmetics processing. 95% of the houses in the country are heated with this energy, recalls the Ph.D. in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid, Ignacio Mártil.

Keep in mind that Iceland is the first country in the world in energy consumption per capita, with 194.2 megawatts per hour. And the first on the planet in electricity consumption per capita, with 54.7.

Uruguay

Uruguay is a country of 3.4 million inhabitants that is setting an example to the world on how to take advantage of clean energy sources. Above all, it takes advantage of the potential of its rivers for hydroelectric generation and, in addition, makes a significant investment effort in this matter, because it dedicates 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually to a global plan to reorient energy towards renewable sources. 

As a result of all this, already in 2016, it exceeded 90% of renewable generation and in 2018, it was the first country in South America in electricity production from renewable sources, with 97%. The latest known data from the State Electricity of Uruguay, UTE, are very encouraging as they indicate that 98% of the electricity consumed in the country during the year 2019 came from renewable sources. 55.6% comes from hydroelectric plants, another 33.6% from wind installations, 6% comes from biomass, 2.8% from photovoltaic energy and 2% from solar thermal.

According to UTE, 2019, in addition to being a record year for renewables, was also a record year for total electricity generation (14,000 GWh) and that exported.

Regarding energy exports, almost 3,000 GWh were sold to Brazil and Argentina during the year that has just ended, the equivalent of 21% of Uruguayan electricity demand, a percentage never reached before. Of the total exported, 80% went to Argentina, and the remaining 20% ​​to Brazil.

In 2019, the Government and the UTE company developed all kinds of energy efficiency projects and programs, efficient and sustainable mobility, waste recovery, circular economy and energy communes.

Rural households that did not have access to the electricity grid were also reached. Five pilot electrification projects with off-grid solutions are currently being implemented. These houses, which until now had no electricity, have substantially improved their quality of life.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica, a heavenly country blessed by nature, has 5.5 million inhabitants. Currently, it generates more than 99% of its electricity through five different renewable sources: hydroelectric power (78%), wind power (10%), geothermal power (10%), biomass and solar power (1%).

The main one is, as in the previous case, the hydraulics that, according to the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, ICE, generates 78% of the electricity. This is because its privileged location in the middle of the Caribbean Sea allows it to take advantage of this resource.

Costa Rica has promoted the use of renewable energies since the middle of the last century in order to conserve the environment and free itself from dependence on oil-producing countries.

According to Tabaré Arroyo, author of the study 'Leaders in Clean Energy', this long history has been successful thanks to two key mechanisms that have facilitated the penetration of renewable energies into the energy mix. The first, a specific system of auctions by technology that allowed to increase the contracting of additional capacity. The second, a program that encourages consumers to produce energy by selling excess energy to the grid.

Likewise, Costa Rica has chosen to encourage the purchase of electric cars by eliminating the taxes associated with them. It will also promote the creation of an infrastructure of charging stations throughout the country, trusting that the development of more autonomous and cheaper batteries will do the rest. In addition to optimizing the public transport service thanks to the adoption of an electric train with a capacity for 250,000 people, almost 74 kilometers long and three lines and 42 stations in 15 cantons of the country.

Norway

Norway (5 million inhabitants) is the great European benchmark in terms of sustainable energy sources. Since 2018, Norway has approached 100% renewable production throughout the year, and its main source is hydroelectric energy, responsible for more than 96% of the total generated. It was the Norwegian fjords and the energy obtained from the force of the water that started Norway on its successful clean energy path already at the end of the 19th century.

The rest of the supply comes from wind, solar and biofuels, although to a much lesser extent.

Norway is also leading green transport, not only by land, but also by sea (some of the first electric boats operate there) and in less than a decade it has proposed to turn its mobility around, betting on the electric vehicle.

Paradoxically, Norway has achieved a high standard of living thanks to the hydrocarbon industry, a fuel that it tries to bury in the past.

• The natural and cultural resources are conserved for their continued use in the future, while they report benefits;
• Tourism development is planned and managed in a way that does not cause serious environmental or socio-cultural problems;
• The environmental quality is maintained and improved;
• It seeks to maintain a high level of satisfaction of visitors and the destination retains its prestige and commercial potential; Y
• The benefits of tourism are widely distributed throughout society.

Its construction is sustainable

Help the community or the surrounding environment

Use ethical products

It has an eco-friendly certification