“A massive decarbonisation of the hotel sector is needed”

What are the levers that are currently encouraging hotel operators to reduce the environmental impact of their assets?

Sophie Gautier: First of all, we can see that environmental regulations are becoming stricter at European level, as well as in France. Hotels have to comply with a number of requirements, including energy audits and a tertiary sector decree requiring them to reduce consumption.

Jean-Baptiste Raphanaud: Some of these regulations have been refined over the years to make them more effective. They now make it possible to envisage the implementation of decarbonisation strategies over the long term. This is the case with the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and its translation into French law. In order to assess buildings, it now requires their actual performance to be measured, rather than their theoretical performance as was the case just a few years ago.

Sophie Gautier: As well as the regulatory aspect, the hotel sector is also being encouraged to make a commitment by a wide range of players. Investors and the banking sector are increasingly keen to see their assets decarbonised. End customers are also pushing for this.

Customers who, at the same time, want to maintain the same level of comfort…

Sophie Gautier: This is one of the equations that the hotel sector is trying to solve, by reconciling sobriety and comfort. For example, some customers want their rooms to be air-conditioned to a relatively low temperature. This does not necessarily mean that it will be at this temperature 24 hours a day. So we need to put in place intelligent systems that both satisfy the customer and meet our energy management targets.

How is the French hotel sector responding to these environmental demands?

Jean-Baptiste Raphanaud: The hotel sector has a fairly high level of expectations in its DNA, and a hotel is assessed every day by each of its customers. Added to this is an ability to manage property over the long term, without waiting for major renovations. This operational culture can easily be applied to the energy and environmental transition that the sector needs to make.

The concept of sobriety is also relatively well integrated in France. It’s a cultural fact that can be seen in the day-to-day practices of our hotel teams, and one that we are striving to share with all our partners in Europe.

Decarbonising hotels is a central element of this strategy. How can it be implemented?

Sophie Gautier: We face a major challenge: we need to carry out this decarbonisation on a massive scale, across a large number of assets. This requires planning which, in addition to a dynamic of continuous efforts within the hotels, must include ‘stages’ such as the installation of a heat pump or the overall renovation of the building.

These efforts will enable Covivio to achieve the targets set for its hotels in Europe by 2030, i.e. a 70% reduction in CO₂ emissions (in terms of carbon intensity per m²) compared with 2010.

We also need to have full technical control over the solutions deployed, so as not to affect the quality of our assets. We carry out trials of each solution before deciding to deploy it on a larger scale. At the Meininger hotel at Porte de Vincennes in Paris, for example, we tested a system that uses the heat from waste water from showers to pre-heat domestic hot water. This drastically reduces energy requirements, but comes with operating constraints, and we are taking the time to build up feedback.

Jean-Baptiste Raphanaud: Fossil fuel phase-out, energy efficiency and sobriety make up the triptych of our decarbonisation strategy, in that order. The use of heat pumps to produce domestic hot water and for heating is the most important lever. However, this is still a fledgling market, and we are working to diversify technical solutions and control deployment costs. Building intelligence is also a strategic lever that can deliver energy savings of up to 15%, in particular by improving ventilation management in meeting rooms and restaurants.

Finally, the involvement of hotel staff will be essential. Our strategy aims to improve the quality of the information available to them and their involvement. This is the key to achieving lean and efficient hotel management, while enhancing the customer experience.

The period after 2030 will be a new stage in the decarbonisation process. The challenge is how to meet the objectives of the CRREM (Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor) framework. This tool, financed by the European Union, defines a trajectory for reducing greenhouse gas emissions up to 2050 for each asset. Beyond 2035, decarbonisation targets can only be met with the arrival on the market of a new generation of industrial solutions (much more efficient heat pumps and urban networks, new insulating materials and glazing, building systems that are self-learning thanks to AI in particular).

Sophie Gautier: As well as their operations, hotels also need to rethink the way in which they are transformed. The logic of the circular economy and the maintenance of existing structures must take precedence. It’s very concrete: how can we ensure that rooms last longer? How can we introduce designs that emit less CO₂ while providing a better customer experience?

Does the importance of decarbonisation mean that asset management tasks are changing?

Sophie Gautier: In recent years, the issue of decarbonisation has been integrated into Covivio’s core business as an asset manager. It is now one of the essential factors we take into account when we look at renovating our hotels. It’s a strategic subject that no longer just concerns specialists in environmental issues. In fact, training courses have been organised for our teams so that every asset manager can take charge of this issue and work to move the yardsticks.