Sustainability in hotels affects guests, business travelers, and day-to-day operations—from procurement and water use to energy performance. As you’ll see, demand and compliance pressures shape what hotels prioritize, including reported efforts on water and energy. We’ll also connect these actions to outcomes and benchmarks, from water-efficient retrofits and measurable emissions improvements to certification targets and market realities for sustainable tech and materials.
Key Takeaways
- 63% of consumers consider sustainability when choosing a hotel
- 49% of business travelers say sustainability is important when choosing accommodations
- 32% of hotels report that water conservation is a top sustainability priority
- $1.5 billion is the estimated global market value for sustainable tourism initiatives (industry estimate in The Business Research Company report)
- $2.2 billion global market for green building materials in 2023 (industry market sizing from IMARC Group)
- $9.8 billion global smart buildings market size in 2024 (industry market sizing from MarketsandMarkets)
- Low-flow showerheads can reduce hot water use by 25% to 60% (US EPA WaterSense specification guidance)
- Food waste reduction initiatives can reduce disposal and purchasing costs, with US EPA noting 21% of retail food waste is recoverable (EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy materials)
- 1,381,000 metric tons of CO2e per year were avoided by Wyndham through sustainability initiatives (Wyndham Group sustainability report figure)
- Hilton reported 61% reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per square meter since 2014 (Hilton ESG report metrics)
- Accor reported 22% reduction in total energy consumption per occupied room since 2017 (Accor Universal Registration Document / ESG metrics)
- A 2020 peer-reviewed review found that hotel sector interventions reducing energy and water often yield measurable improvements in resource efficiency with payback periods ranging from 1 to 5 years depending on retrofit type (systematic review)
- A peer-reviewed life cycle assessment found that food and beverage supplies can represent up to 30% of a hotel’s total environmental impact depending on procurement and menus (journal LCA study)
- Hotels can reduce water consumption by 20% to 40% using water-efficient fixtures in retrofit programs (peer-reviewed water management hotel study)
Sustainability is driving hotel choice and costs, with major savings possible through energy, water, and waste actions.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
63% of consumers consider sustainability when choosing a hotelhttps://www.hotelmanagement.net/operations/63-of-travelers-consider-sustainability-when-choosing-a-hotel
02
49% of business travelers say sustainability is important when choosing accommodationshttps://www.concierge.com/resources/insights-and-trends/sustainability-in-business-travel/
03
32% of hotels report that water conservation is a top sustainability priorityhttps://www.hotelmanagement.net/sustainability/green-hotel-initiative-water-conservation-top-priority
04
91% of hotels expect sustainability regulations to increase operating costshttps://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4098156.html
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In today’s hotel industry trends, sustainability is a major deciding factor for guests and businesses with 63% of consumers and 49% of business travelers factoring it into their stay choices, even as 91% of hotels anticipate that upcoming regulations will raise operating costs.
02 · Category
Market Size8 stats
01
$1.5 billion is the estimated global market value for sustainable tourism initiatives (industry estimate in The Business Research Company report)https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/sustainable-tourism-global-market-report
02
$2.2 billion global market for green building materials in 2023 (industry market sizing from IMARC Group)https://www.imarcgroup.com/green-building-materials-market
03
$9.8 billion global smart buildings market size in 2024 (industry market sizing from MarketsandMarkets)https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-buildings-market-215545139.html
04
$6.3 billion global energy management systems market size in 2023 (industry market sizing from Fortune Business Insights)https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/energy-management-system-market-102591
05
$1.1 billion global sustainable packaging market size in 2023 (industry market sizing from IMARC Group)https://www.imarcgroup.com/sustainable-packaging-market
06
$35.2 billion global environmental consulting market size in 2023 (industry market sizing from Grand View Research)https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/environmental-consulting-services-market
07
$14.4 billion global waste management market size in 2023 (industry market sizing from Fortune Business Insights)https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/waste-management-market-102165
08
$3.7 billion global green finance market size in 2023 (industry market sizing from OECD/industry synthesis)https://www.oecd.org/environment/green-finance/green-finance-towards-sustainable-decarbonised-growth.htm
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size angle, the sustainability push in hospitality is already backed by major spending scales, from $1.5 billion in sustainable tourism initiatives to $35.2 billion in environmental consulting in 2023, alongside fast growth areas like $9.8 billion smart buildings and $6.3 billion energy management systems.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis2 stats
01
Low-flow showerheads can reduce hot water use by 25% to 60% (US EPA WaterSense specification guidance)https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads
02
Food waste reduction initiatives can reduce disposal and purchasing costs, with US EPA noting 21% of retail food waste is recoverable (EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy materials)https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For cost analysis, adopting low-flow showerheads can cut hot water use by 25% to 60%, while food waste reduction can lower both disposal and purchasing costs since 21% of retail food waste is recoverable.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics6 stats
01
1,381,000 metric tons of CO2e per year were avoided by Wyndham through sustainability initiatives (Wyndham Group sustainability report figure)https://s28.q4cdn.com/122363217/files/doc_financials/2023/ar/Wyndham-Hotels-Resorts-ESG-Report-2023.pdf
02
Hilton reported 61% reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per square meter since 2014 (Hilton ESG report metrics)https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/about-hilton/esg/
03
Accor reported 22% reduction in total energy consumption per occupied room since 2017 (Accor Universal Registration Document / ESG metrics)https://www.accor.com/en/newsroom/2023-04-accor-sustainability-report-2022
04
ENERGY STAR reports that hotels can score 75 or higher to be eligible for certification, reflecting superior energy performance (ENERGY STAR Hotels benchmarking thresholds)https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/portfoliomanager-compare/
05
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager’s weather-normalized Energy Use Intensity (EUI) benchmark is used to compare facilities and drive reductions (ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager documentation)https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/portfoliomanager-help
06
LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance requires measurement and verification of energy use (LEED credit requirements)https://www.usgbc.org/credits/om-eap1
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics in hotel sustainability, major brands are showing measurable gains such as Hilton cutting scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per square meter by 61% since 2014 and Accor reducing energy use per occupied room by 22% since 2017, while frameworks like ENERGY STAR and LEED emphasize verified, benchmarked energy performance.
05 · Category
Emissions & Water6 stats
01
A 2020 peer-reviewed review found that hotel sector interventions reducing energy and water often yield measurable improvements in resource efficiency with payback periods ranging from 1 to 5 years depending on retrofit type (systematic review)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118370
02
A peer-reviewed life cycle assessment found that food and beverage supplies can represent up to 30% of a hotel’s total environmental impact depending on procurement and menus (journal LCA study)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.108
03
Hotels can reduce water consumption by 20% to 40% using water-efficient fixtures in retrofit programs (peer-reviewed water management hotel study)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124720
04
Laundry is often a major water and energy use driver in hotels; studies commonly report laundry represents 10% to 30% of total hotel energy and water demand (peer-reviewed hotel operations study)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.146
05
A typical hotel guest can consume on the order of hundreds of liters of water per day; one major U.S. assessment reports ~300–400 liters/day per person in accommodations (peer-reviewed water use in tourism accommodation)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.11.025
06
Baselining and auditing under ISO 14064 enables quantification of greenhouse gas emissions for hotels across scopes 1, 2, and 3 (ISO 14064 standard scope quantification requirement)https://www.iso.org/standard/66453.html
Interpretation
Emissions & Water Interpretation
For the emissions and water lens, the data points to big, actionable savings, since water-efficient retrofit programs can cut hotel water use by 20% to 40% while energy and water focused interventions are shown to improve resource performance, and laundry alone can account for about 10% to 30% of total hotel energy.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Sustainability In The Hotel Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-hotel-industry-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Sustainability In The Hotel Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-hotel-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Sustainability In The Hotel Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-hotel-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)