Summer in Spain coincides with the high season of the hotel sector. The occupancy of hotels throughout the territory is growing significantly and, with it, energy consumption in these establishments is skyrocketing. But, in a scenario marked by climatic factors and as a main consequence the scarcity of water in many regions of the country, sustainability is essential, as a matter of responsibility to the environment and also for economic reasons, for the profitability of the business. In addition, having a greater number of customers also requires better organization.
To achieve this sometimes complicated balance between guaranteeing the well-being and comfort of guests and seeking the economic and environmental sustainability of the hotel, as well as better management, technological solutions are needed that offer tools to achieve these objectives.
Below, we review three of the main areas that technological innovation is helping to improve significantly in the hotel sector.
Energy Efficiency in HVAC Systems
The installation of HVAC systems in hotels it has become a priority. Air conditioning, especially in summer, is a must; In many areas of Spain, a room without air conditioning is synonymous with a vacant room. But it also needs to be as efficient as possible.
To this end, the concept of 'smart room' or smart rooms. The technological solutions provided by HVAC systems allow the Monitoring and automation ventilation, AC or heating individually, adapting it to the particular needs of each guest and allowing a Full Control on consumption. In addition, these systems collect and analyze information that allows a Conscious and more responsible consumption.
At TALAT, we have carried out various works in hotels to implement the use of home automation and better telecommunications that transform these establishments into smart hotels. A concrete example of a technological solution for HVAC systems is the KNX installation in the rooms of the Hotel Hipotels Flamenco 4* of Cala Millor, the Hotel Gran Meliá Victoria in Palma de Mallorca, the Meliá Le Blanc Hotel in Menorca or the Hotel Hipotels Mediterráneo 4* in Sa Coma, where we also installed GPON networks.
Use of natural resources
In the hotel rooms of the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Manacor, we also installed KNX and, in addition, we introduced other technological solutions to improve the efficiency of this sports-hotel complex. Some of these solutions are focused on the use of natural resources.
We have carried out many projects to introduce the use of renewable energies in hotels, especially in Geothermal and aerothermal, but also for the reuse of vital resources such as water. At the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre, for example, we carried out a project to take advantage of rainwater, in addition to carrying out installations of photovoltaic energy and solar thermal energy. Along with the use of natural resources such as water or heat, we also offer solutions for the use of organic waste, and thus use biomass to produce DHW (domestic hot water).
Geothermal energy is another of the technologies that is growing the most in the hotel sector. We have several projects, but the case of the Hipotels Playa de Palma. This large hotel complex, which has a 4* hotel and a 5* hotel, has the largest open geothermal energy in the Balearic Islands, which moves one million litres of seawater per hour.
This, together with other technological solutions for energy efficiency such as the home automation of all electrical installations or the installation of aerothermal systems and photovoltaic solar panels, have made this hotel complex certified as a Sustainable building nZEB (near-zero net energy building).
Centralized management systems
The Building Management Systems These are software in which the information provided by sensors or other devices in smart rooms is connected to an application from which this data is accessed and the air conditioning or lighting equipment is controlled.
On the other hand, both The management of human resources and hotel reservations has also been digitized. These programs allow for more efficient organization, improve communication between teams, are transparent, and facilitate incident resolution.
All this, which has obvious benefits, can be counterproductive if you have to work with two or three management programs. Therefore, having a single tool for centralized hotel management, that brings together all functions in one place, is very useful.
TALATSmartHotel It is a tool for the intelligent management of hotels. On the same platform you can find the analysis of energy data, incident control or the building management system. It is a software that is easily integrated with the specific characteristics of each establishment, as it is based on modules that can be activated according to the preferences and needs of each hotel.
This is a flexible and scalable technological solution, which adapts to both small hotels and large complexes. In all cases, what it allows is to improve the efficiency of all the processes involved in hotel management. To learn more about how this tool works or to know what are the right solutions for your project, Call so that we can advise you and offer you a personalized plan.