In the busiest month of the summer season, a hotel in Mamaia Nord has decided to voluntarily reduce its electricity consumption. Hotel Nyota will almost completely turn off the building's architectural lighting during the month of August, without reducing the services offered to tourists.
The air conditioning is not turned off. The services in the rooms are not reduced. The restaurant, swimming pool or tourist facilities are not changed.
What can be turned off without affecting the guests' vacation is turned off: the decorative lighting of the facade. From Monday to Thursday, the facade of the Nyota Hotel will remain completely turned off. On weekends, the architectural lighting system will only operate for one hour per night. Previously, the lights remained on from sunset to sunrise.
They reduce consumption, although they already produce solar energy
The interesting part is that we are talking about a hotel that has already invested heavily in producing its own energy. A photovoltaic system with an installed capacity of 240 kW operates on the building , which covers part of the daily consumption of the unit. According to data transmitted by Nyota representatives, this is the largest photovoltaic system currently installed at a hotel on the Romanian coast.
In other words, the decision does not come from the situation of an operator that has not invested so far in reducing dependence on the national network. On the contrary.
The hotel already produces energy during the day, but has chosen to further reduce nighttime consumption, which it can eliminate without affecting tourists. And here, in fact, is the relevant message.
What can be stopped without the tourist feeling it?
In the height of the season, a hotel cannot simply turn off its essential installations. The air conditioning must work. The rooms must have electricity. Kitchens, refrigerators, elevators, swimming pools and all the services related to the operation of a hotel unit continue to consume energy.
However, there is also consumption that is not essential to the tourist experience. In Nyota's case, this is architectural lighting.
The hotel's facade is one of the most easily recognizable in the northern part of the resort, and its nighttime lighting is part of the building's architectural concept. In August, the picture will be different.
“The illuminated facade is a defining element for Nyota at night, but there are times when responsibility towards the community and the balance of the network come first,” says Răzvan Dobre, general manager of Nyota Hotel. He specifies that the reduction in lighting does not influence the comfort or experience of tourists staying at the hotel.
The measure is announced at a time when energy consumption increases sharply with high temperatures, including due to the intensive use of air conditioning installations. On the coast, a peculiarity also appears: in the summer months, the region's usual consumption is added to that produced by hundreds of hotels, restaurants, terraces, clubs and other seasonal businesses. And in Mamaia and Mamaia Nord, August means the peak of the season.
A single hotel turning off its facade obviously doesn't solve the energy consumption problem. But the example raises an interesting question for the entire industry:
What consumption can be reduced without the tourist losing anything from the vacation they paid for?
Because sustainability in tourism doesn't necessarily mean that the tourist accepts less comfort. It can also mean that the hotel identifies those things that consume energy, but that can be temporarily turned off without affecting the service offered.
