Responsible Power Partners with Macdonald Hotels in Aviemore Resort to Reduce Energy Consumption

Responsible Power Systems Limited (“Responsible Power”), one of the UK’s leading energy consultants for the hospitality industry, announced that it has won contracts with three additional properties in the Macdonald Hotels & Resorts portfolio located in Aviemore, Scotland. 

The new contracts cover the Highlands Hotel, the Conference Centre and the Leisure Centre which form part of the 429 room Aviemore Resort owned by Macdonald. This win takes the total number of hotels and hospitality assets in Responsible Power’s portfolio up to 32 and highlights the clear financial and energy benefits Macdonald has already achieved with its relationship with Responsible Power.

Responsible Power saves the hotel and leisure industry money by identifying where businesses, buildings and equipment are wasting energy. It converts energy consumption into a manageable variable cost and can increase a hotel’s bottom line profit by up to 25% by reducing energy expenditure.  Energy is the second biggest operational cost in the hotel and hospitality sector behind payroll and heating accounts for 40% of the energy consumption in an average building. Responsible Power guarantees that the cost savings it identifies will exceed its fees.

Responsible Power’s focus is on equipment and employee behavior, working holistically to deliver sustainable cost savings. It ensures key staff take responsibility for optimizing energy consumption throughout the organization. Whether this is booking out the most energy efficient rooms first or making sure that spaces are not heated or cooled unnecessarily, Responsible Power instils everybody treats energy as a precious resource. 

Responsible Power monitors energy usage and profiles customer’s energy consumption before making evidence-based recommendations.  It delivers improvements in efficiency in managing and operating power systems, resulting in greater control, greater reliability and, potentially, reduced maintenance. This results in significant savings to the business and rewards to the staff. In addition, less energy wasted translates into a reduced carbon footprint and demonstrable commitment to sustainability.

In the case of Macdonald Hotels, its carbon footprint over the last 12 months has been cut by 1,919 tons which is equivalent to 408 passenger vehicles being driven for one year or 4,693,741 miles being driven by an average passenger vehicle (ref. US Environmental Protection Agency calculation).

Commenting on the news, Paul Bayliss, Managing Director, The Highlands Hotel, Aviemore said: “The results we achieved working with Responsible Power across the other hotels in our portfolio have been very impressive, so it was an easy decision to develop our long-standing relationship even further. I know we will make material cost savings in Aviemore and that is not just good for our bottom line but will be good for the environment – a key consideration for us as we are in the heart of the beautiful Cairngorms National Park.”

Donald Macdonald, Chairman of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts said: “Macdonald Hotels has been involved with Responsible Power for over four years during which time we have achieved considerable savings, well in excess of expectations. We are pleased to have achieved a large reduction in our carbon consumption as well as gaining an effective management tool to ensure behavioural change which improves our efficiency at lowering energy costs.”