Energy Management in the Lodging Industry in Times of Crisis: An Integrated Theoretical Model for Operational Efficiency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jmh.3999Keywords:
Cost Management, Energy Efficiency, Hotel Industry, Water Rationalization, Energy Crisis, Activity-Based Costing, Operational OptimizationAbstract
Purpose: The tourist lodging industry faces high financial vulnerability owing to the volatility of basic input prices and to recurrent energy and water supply crises. This article presents a quantitative strategic cost-management methodology focused on energy efficiency and the rational use of water resources in medium and large-scale hotels.
Methodology: A conceptual model based on activity-based costing and the allocation of marginal costs per occupancy (overnight stay) is developed, evaluating technological interventions such as flow aerators, high-efficiency showerheads, and centralized technical management systems. The model is validated through a case study of a 130-room hotel with an average occupancy rate of 72%.
Findings: Marginal investments in flow-control devices significantly reduce water consumption per guest-night, lowering the variable cost per occupied room and optimizing the RevPAR and GOPPAR indicators, while ensuring an investment payback period of less than 12 months.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The proposed integrated model constitutes an original contribution to the management-control field by linking efficiency engineering with analytical cost accounting within a mathematically formalized conceptual framework. The integration of real-time intelligent data-monitoring systems is discussed as a determining tool for building sustainable competitive advantages in the Chilean and Latin American hospitality sector.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mirko Vera Campos
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