A one-minute hot shower can use more energy than the average household uses for lighting throughout the day. To solve this problem, Oras and the S Group launched a pilot project in February 2023. During the pilot, guests at Break Sokos Hotel Flamingo saved an average of 13% in water and energy. Located in Vantaa, Break Sokos Hotel Flamingo is one of the largest hotels in Finland.
Oras and S Group launched a six-month pilot project to study the impact of real-time feedback on water consumption.
Oras equipped around 100 hotel rooms with Oras Hydractiva Digital hand showers. The operating principle of the hand-held shower is simple: a small water turbine powers a display and indicator light. The shower user can monitor their water and energy consumption in real-time on the screen.
During the pilot, Oras and the S Group compared two identical floors in a hotel.
A leaflet was displayed in the rooms on one floor explaining the purpose of the digital hand shower and the aim of saving water. Guests were free to use the shower as long as they wanted, but real-time feedback encouraged them to reduce their shower use. There was no financial benefit to the guests for reducing water use.
There were no information sheets on the second floor, and the showers did not display feedback.
Digital showers offer both environmental and economic benefits and significant savings. Guests saved an average of 13% water and energy over the 6-month pilot. In the best month, consumption was more than 20% lower than in comparison rooms without the feedback on consumption. The pilot achieved 46% savings per shower compared to the European average.
The results support the UN Agenda 2030 and the S Group's sustainability strategy. Sokos Hotels has been voted the most sustainable hotel chain in Finland by consumers ten times in a row.
In addition, the feedback from hotel guests has been positive and encouraging: many have wanted to participate in water-saving initiatives.
In the future, the aim is to improve the results through better room communication and a 30-litre target for showers.
Positive experiences have encouraged the S Group to expand the use of digital showers. The plan is to triple the number of showers in the Vantaa location.
In spring 2024, another hotel owned by the S Group will join the project. The digital showers will be available to hotel guests in all rooms.
The next step will be a pilot project to test the impact of rewards on responsible shower use.
"Finally, we were able to do something concrete for sustainability. With the digital hand shower, hotel guests feel that sustainablee showering makes a difference. At best, hotel guests achieved savings of more than 20% in water and energy consumption at Break Sokos Hotel Flamingo."
Trial : the Break Sokos Hotel Flamingo used the Oras digital hand shower for 6 months.
Result: average water and energy savings of over 13%.