The California Hotel & Lodging Association (Sacramento, CA) and ECS Energy (Carlsbad, CA) have received funding from the State of California to enable members of the association to cut their energy consumption and thereby save substantial amounts of money.

The contract, which was obtained through the joint efforts of the association and ECS, will enable 105 California lodging properties to reduce substantially their energy usage, thereby saving significant amounts on their energy bills while also helping the state deal with its ongoing energy challenges.

The program will give 105 hotels/motels with at least 75 rooms three significant measures to reduce the amount of energy that they use:

  • First, participating hotels/motels will receive $62 per guest room toward the purchase of a guest room energy management system (EMS). Typically, a guest room equipped with an EMS experiences a savings of 30-50% on the cost of heating and cooling the room. The payback on the installation of an EMS in a hotel/motel is generally less than one year.
  • Second, each participating hotel/motel will benefit from the free installation of sophisticated monitoring systems that will tell the innkeeper where, when, and how the property is using energy. This will enable the innkeeper to cut energy usage even further.
  • Third, each participating innkeeper will receive free for one year expert energy-usage analyses and consulting reports that will result in the innkeeper being able to reduce energy to the lowest feasible level, thereby saving even more money.

"We asked ECS to design a program that would provide real bottom line solutions to our members needs and would allow California's lodging industry to take the forefront in responding to Governor Davis' call to conserve energy and be responsible business citizens during the ongoing energy crisis we are all facing," said Jim Abrams, CH&LA executive vice president.

This program will operate by means of a contract between the California Energy Commission and ECS. ECS will manage the implementation of the contract.

The California Hotel & Motel Association is the nation's largest state lodging industry trade organization, with more than 1,750 member properties comprising 192,000 guest rooms in bed and breakfast inns, hotels, motels, guest ranches, resorts, spas, condominiums, and time shares throughout the state.