Inside IHG's New 'Net Zero' Hotel

IHG has opened its first net zero hotel, which it says is the first of its kind in Western Europe. Located near the airport in Exeter, UK, Voco Zeal Exeter Science Park has 142 rooms and runs entirely on renewable energy.

While IHG owns the brand, the hotel itself is owned by Zeal Hotels, a hotel development company. Tim Wheeldon, managing director at Zeal, said building a net zero hotel takes longer because of the challenges in sourcing materials and navigating local building regulations.  

“We’ve just taken the whole jigsaw puzzle of building and running a hotel and put it back in a slightly different way. It has taken us five or six years to do that in terms of design and procurement but we have proved that is possible,” he said. 

Construction starts with sourcing low-carbon materials. The hotel’s build generated 25% fewer emissions than a standard hotel, with carbon credits offsetting the remaining footprint.

More than 60% of the concrete used came from waste and recycled building materials. But finding a construction company willing to take on a net zero project wasn’t easy.

“We brought them on about 18 months before you would normally bring a contractor. We knew if we just designed a hotel and then got planning permission for it, then sent it out on a tender basis to contractors and construction companies, that the chances are we’d get them all back saying, 'No, we’ve never done anything that before and that there’s too much of a risk,'” Wheeldon said.

“There are companies out there that will do this, but there will be costs involved in doing it and it’s just not mainstream at the moment. If you fast-forward 10 years, this will be the standard. You won’t even get funding for a development in 10 years' time unless it’s net zero in terms of design.”

What Makes the Hotel Net Zero?

Wheeldon said the biggest emitter in hotels is energy use, including electricity, air conditioning, and heating.

“It’s all to do with carbon emissions, the amount that is emitted during the term of construction and also the day to day operation,” Wheeldon said. 

The hotel has over 2,000 square meters of solar panels, generating more than 305,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually. 

During months with low solar output, the hotel will use renewable energy from the UK grid. 

Another hotel Wheeldon operates nearby spends £300,000 a year on electricity. 

With its own solar power, Wheeldon projects that Voco Exeter Science park’s electric bill will be between £80,000 and £100,000 annually.

Furnishings also play a role in a hotel’s carbon footprint. Much of the furniture was made from recycled materials or sourced from the circular economy.

Another big source of emissions in hotels are food and clearing products.

Wheeldon said he tried to tackle this through local sourcing and recycled materials such as lighting and table lamps, which are all made from recycled plastic. 

To reduce the carbon footprint of food, the hotel sources products from local producers.

“​​You do go into some hotels and guests may say, well, I'd like a Heineken, please,” Wheeldon said. “Here you’ll get a Devon made beer.”

But aligning suppliers with net zero goals isn’t easy. It took three years to prepare suppliers for the hotel’s sustainability standards.

“Our vegetable supplier, when we first approached them we asked for their CO2 credentials but he said he had no idea what we were talking about and that he had never been asked for that before. After a few months, we spoke again and he had produced the data. He is now supplying us.”

Are Net Zero Hotels More Expensive?

Recycled materials, solar power, carbon-neutral food and recycled furniture - it all sounds expensive. 

But is a net zero hotel actually more costly to build and run? Not by much in this case, Wheeldon said.

“I built a similar hotel not far away and the cost is not that much different. But we want to make this repeatable so that other hotel developers can do the same thing,” he said.

According to Wheeldon, a night at Voco Zeal Exeter Scient Park is not that different from a night at a standard four-star hotel.

“It may change in the future and become more expensive once we become established. People might want to come and that might increase demand. We are already seeing very good business demand.”

Why Don’t Hoteliers Make All New Hotels Net Zero?

IHG revealed in its recent annual report that the company is likely to miss its 2030 goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 46%. Emissions have instead risen by 7.2% since 2019.

IHG told Skift it is focused on helping hotel owners cut their carbon emissions in a commercially viable way.

“We can see our guests are becoming increasingly aware of environmental challenges and concerns about the impact of their travel,” said Joanna Kurowska, IHG’s vice president and managing director for UK and Ireland.

“Many travellers are now actively seeking out companies that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability through their practices and initiatives. And it’s not just leisure travellers, with almost all of our top global corporate accounts setting net zero or carbon-neutral targets, hotels offering sustainable stays remain attractive to corporate clients looking to meet their own sustainable travel commitments,” she said.

She added however that large hotel brands face unique challenges because they typically operate on an asset-light model.

IHG only owns a handful of its 6,600 hotels, with most controlled by independent owners.

“Capital expenditure budgets are controlled by the asset owners,” said Kurowska. “The external landscape around sustainability is constantly evolving, and there are a number of external factors which impact hotel owners’ ability to make a significant impact on carbon emissions.”

Access to renewable energy also varies worldwide, making it easier for hotels in countries like the UK to cut emissions than those in fossil fuel-heavy markets.

Kurowska also stressed the need for cheaper and more accessible sustainable technologies.

“There is also limited availability, maturity and cost challenges to low-carbon technologies that are central to hotel infrastructure, such as building materials. Despite these headwinds we continue to look for solutions and drive the agenda forward at a sector level,” Kurowska said.

Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.