Launched earlier this year, the H2Otel Challenge encourages hotels to assess water use, learn about best management practices for reducing water, and track their results.
The challenge is designed for any individual facility with five rooms or more, including properties owned by hotel chains and management groups. Participants benefit from free technical webinars, outreach materials, water-saving tips, and case studies from similar sites.
Approximately 15% of total water use in commercial and institutional facilities in the U.S. comes from hotels and other lodging businesses, according to the EPA. The largest consumers are restrooms, laundry operations, landscaping, and kitchens.
Estimates suggest that implementing water-efficient fixtures and practices in commercial buildings can decrease operating costs by approximately 11%, energy consumption by 10%, and water use by 15%, finds the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
After upgrading its restroom fixtures with high-efficiency toilets, showerheads, and faucet aerators, a San Antonio, TX, hotel is saving 7 million gallons of water and $35,000 in water and sewer bills each year, notes the EPA. There is also the added benefit of fewer maintenance calls from its 397 guest rooms due to the newer fixtures.
To learn more about assessing, changing, and tracking water use at any building, see WaterSense’s comprehensive guide WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and Institutional Facilities available for free download.
