Did you know your hotel may literally be flushing money down the toilet? These days, technology plays such a pivotal role in creating sustainable, environmentally thoughtful business practices that can save your hotel valuable resources while also adding to its bottom line. We learned about one such novel business solution at the HFTP Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) hospitality technology startup pitch competition, co-located at HITEC North America 2024 this past June in Charlotte, N.C.
Susan Springsteen, president and co-founder of H2O Connected, took to the E20X stage and got right to the point when she said, “Let’s talk about how to make money with toilets. “The [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] states 20 percent of the 300 million tank toilets in the United States are wasting 50 gallons of water a day at any one time,” she continued. “We don’t want any of those to be your toilets.”
H2O Connected offers a wireless device called The LeakAlertor Wireless PRO, which comes with a smart water height sensor that can monitor water usage and detect issues with tank toilets including a faulty fill valve, leaky flapper, inefficient flush volumes, running toilets and overflows. The device sends communications to a proprietary gateway that specifies a diagnosis, location, severity (down to a fraction of a gallon), and cost, both in gallons and dollars—a significant metric for hotels, given the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) 12th Revised Edition now includes water usage as a monitoring requirement.
The USALI 12th Revised Edition was released last month after undergoing an incredibly meticulous, thorough remodeling process to ensure the publication aligns with contemporary practices and industry trends. In updating the USALI to its 12th Revised Edition, the Global Finance Committee (GFC) and HFTP reached out to partner with the AHLA Sustainability Committee to enhance the Utilities-Schedule 9 in the USALI 11th Revised Edition to become the new Energy, Water, and Waste (EWW) of the USALI 12th Revised Edition, with a new EWW-Schedule 9 and new EWW metrics section to align with existing industry metrics. The new metrics provide improved monitoring and benchmarking of EWW cost and consumption.
Managing EWW cost, utilization and environmental impact may improve a hotel’s profitability, enhance compliance with environmental regulations and reduce its environmental footprint. It is also becoming increasingly vital for hotels to demonstrate a commitment to sustainable business practices, as the typical hotel guest of today now considers it a top priority when making their travel plans.
These are all benefits of implementing new and emerging technologies that have been specifically designed with these expectations in mind. Springsteen referenced results of one property that has used their services: "Eighty-eight percent of their toilets had at least one water-wasting issue which, without [our device], would have added $15,000 to their annual water bill. In addition to boosting profits, we are helping you save the planet. You save water, you lower the burden on the electrical grid, and [you] maximize the guest experience—because your guests aren't annoyed by a loud or malfunctioning toilet." Not to mention, guests are happier with hotels that demonstrate care about the environment.
It was clear that Springsteen’s four-minute pitch resonated with the audience, as H2O Connected ultimately secured the E20X People’s Choice Award, a distinction earned by popular vote among attendees. Learn more about the startup at www.leakalertorpro.com.
You can also learn more about the USALI 12th Revised Edition at usali.hftp.org, where you can find an archived webinar and blog post that dives into the publication’s new EWW section.
This article was originally published in the January edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.