The Surprising Power of Words: How Guest Behaviour Impacts Your Hotel's Energy Bill
Augos explores the surprising impact of guest behaviour on hotel energy bills. Learn how normative prompts (e.g., 'Most guests...') and precise measurement unlock significant, zero-cost savings in South African hotels.
The Challenge: Guest Behavior as an Unpredictable Cost Factor
You invest heavily in efficient HVAC systems, lighting, and plant, yet energy bills remain stubbornly high. Why? A crucial, often underestimated factor is guest behavior. How guests interact with in-room controls, particularly air conditioning, can drastically sway energy consumption, regardless of your building's core technical efficiency.
Simply asking guests to "save energy" often fails because it provides no social incentive and no compelling reason to change behavior. The challenge is finding ways to encourage energy-conscious actions without compromising guest comfort.
The Augos Solution: Normative Prompts & Precise Measurement
Augos champions insights from behavioral science, which demonstrate that normative prompts ("Most guests...") are more effective than direct requests at encouraging energy savings. Framing the desired behavior as a common or popular choice taps into our natural inclination to align with social norms.
Effective Normative Prompt Example: "Most guests find 22°C comfortable and efficient"—this subtle shift suggests that the words we use might be as important as the technology we install.
Measurement Technology: We provide the precise measurement technology needed to accurately quantify the impact of different communication strategies on real-world energy consumption. Our custom data views allow you to track room-level consumption before and after implementing normative prompts, validating which strategies work best in your specific property.
The Result: Zero-Cost Behavioral Energy Savings
This data-driven approach allows hoteliers to move beyond estimation and verifiably prove which prompts work best in their specific climate and property type. The result is a zero-cost intervention that delivers measurable savings without compromising guest comfort.
Augos can help you run your own "Nudge & Analyse" pilot program at your South African property, measuring the exact impact of normative prompts on guest behavior and energy consumption. This ties into broader baseload reduction strategies, as reducing unnecessary HVAC usage directly lowers your property's continuous energy consumption.
Key Takeaways
Guest behavior significantly impacts energy consumption regardless of system efficiency
Normative prompts ("Most guests...") are far more effective than direct requests to save energy
Zero-cost communication strategy requires no capital investment but delivers measurable savings
Precise measurement technology is essential to quantify impact and validate strategies