This report, commissioned by the Energy and Environment Alliance, provides an up-to-date assessment of the energy usage of the hotel and accommodation industry, put into the context of the wider UK economy energy usage. As well as examining the change in overall energy usage, we
analyse the split between fossil fuel energy and renewable energy, as well as taking into account the growth of the accommodation sector by looking at energy use on a per room basis. Finally, we examine the energy intensity of the sector compared to the economy as a whole.

Key conclusions

– The overall UK economy has seen a material decline in its energy usage since 1990, and
particularly over the past 10 years. By contrast, the accommodation services sector has
seen a substantial increase in energy usage over the same period.

– While the accommodation segment represents only a small part of the total UK
economy’s energy usage, its proportion has doubled since 1990 to 0.6% of total energy
use, or 1.0% when excluding consumer usage.

– However, over this period the accommodation industry has significantly expanded, and
now represents a much larger part of the overall economy. Therefore, we also look at
energy usage on a per hotel bed basis; since the turn of the century, energy usage per
hotel bed is down c.20%, and it has largely tracked that of the overall economy.

To download the full report, click here.