Although energy management technology has been available for almost 20 years, the hospitality sector has been slow to adopt it. That is beginning to change, as hotel operators look to improve financial performance at the property level despite a slow-moving economy.
According to a new report from Navigant Research, the global market for energy management in the hospitality industry – including guest-room energy management systems (GR-EMSs) and enterprise-level energy management software – will grow from $473 million in 2013 to $968 million in 2020.
"Guest room energy management systems are finding their way into an increasing number of hotels being built today," says Eric Bloom, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. "The market is quickly moving toward next-generation systems that not only make individual rooms more efficient, but also are networked, turning hotels into smarter buildings that can achieve new levels of efficiency and participate in demand response markets."
Hotels require specialized energy management technology because today's general building energy management systems are rarely designed to meet the technological needs of individual hotel guest rooms, such as distributed control systems, sensors, and software algorithms. Guest room energy management is going through a dynamic period of transition from autonomous, room-centric HVAC control, according to the report, to property- and portfolio-wide integrated energy monitoring, control, and management.
The report, "Energy Management in the Hospitality Industry", analyzes the current state of the market for hotel guest room energy management systems, including the related hardware, software, and services components. The report outlines the market and technology issues that are affecting the growth and adoption of GR-EMSs around the world. Global market forecasts for the GR-EMS market, with separate breakdowns by product and hotel segment, system type, and region, extend through 2020. The report also examines the competitive landscape, as well as the best practices and market trends that will shape energy management in the lodging industry for the rest of the decade. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.
