Save energy and act in an environmentally friendly way

Sustainability and energy efficiency at Hotel Winzer

Markus Winzer is thinking about the future. What legacy are we leaving for our children? What can we do to use fewer resources and less energy? We sat down with Markus Winzer to find out where the Hotel Winzer stands and how economic and ecological practices can be combined.

The interview with Markus Winzer

Hello Markus, the Hotel Winzer is a hotel with an extensive range of wellness facilities. What motivates you to act in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way?

As a wellness hotel, we are heavily reliant on energy. Our consumption really adds up. There is significant potential for savings that we want to and must utilise to remain successful in the long term. But it’s not just about costs. We also feel a responsibility towards our environment

. After all, wellness doesn’t stop at our guests’ sense of well-being; it’s a holistic concept that guides us in our daily activities too.

What is the current situation in the hotel? What are the biggest energy guzzlers and environmental issues?

From an energy perspective, the heating costs for the pools’ hot water, the sauna heaters and the ventilation heating are a major issue for us. Added to this are the laundry, the refrigeration systems in the restaurant and the lighting.

How much is the monthly electricity bill?

The electricity bill naturally depends on the weather, but we’re already looking at figures in the tens of thousands of euros for electricity and gas. However, the bill would be even higher if we weren’t generating our own electricity using gas.

What about waste?

We’ve managed to reduce our weekly residual waste to 180 litres. That might not sound like much at first, but when you consider that we accommodate nearly 200 guests when fully booked and that a normal household can fill a 90-litre bin in a week, it’s quite an achievement. Of course, this is only possible through meticulous waste separation and daily checks. This allows us to return a lot of waste to the recycling cycle.

Where is there further potential?

There is still potential in fine-tuning. Unfortunately, this isn’t so straightforward with an older heating system. After all, we want to maintain comfort for our guests at all costs. I also see potential in older refrigeration systems, though we hardly have any of those in use anymore. Another thing I can envisage is optimising the running times of the combined heat and power units.

You’ve already made a number of investments designed to make you more energy-efficient. How long does it take for these costs to pay for themselves?

That really depends... With the electric charging stations, for example, it’s a partnership where the hardware is partly free if we provide the infrastructure and make the electricity available to our guests. For the combined heat and power plants, we can draw on subsidies from the EU and the state. That’s certainly helpful. Of course, these machines require regular maintenance, which adds to the gas costs. The majority of the investment is recouped after five to ten years, which naturally makes eligible projects more attractive.

What do you personally do in your everyday life to act sustainably and ecologically?

I sort my rubbish just as thoroughly as we do at the hotel, and I try to choose environmentally friendly products whenever possible when shopping. When cooking, I follow the zero-waste principle.

Thank you for the interview.

Written by Christian Messmer