Assessment of the energy efficiency practices in the hotel industry

The study evaluates the application of the energy efficiency practices in the hotel industry. It explores the determinants of energy consumption in three and four-star hotels in Macedonia. The research investigates the impacts of several elementary components of the energy practices, by measuring the current level of influence. The data were obtained by an online survey conducted among managers and processed by descriptive statistics and factor analysis. The results point out some alarming facts, i.e. these types of hotels lack policies on general environmental issues. The managers pose some high awareness of the benefits produced by this concept, which is due to the highly positive perception of the environmental protection. The lack of subsidies at local and national level is identified as the most profound constraint along with the technical limits of the hotel facilities and costs increase. The study recommends some new approaches in challenging the hotel industry to decrease the operating costs and suggests that managers are in need for better understanding of the importance of the energy efficiency practices.