Business electricity for hotels

An eighty-bedroom hotel we work with had been on a single rolling supply contract since 2019. Three years of rolled-over rates on a property with twenty-four-hour demand and substantial laundry, kitchen and HVAC load. By the time we got involved, the unit rate was sitting more than 40% above market.

Hotels carry one of the highest electricity demands per square metre of any commercial property type. Guest rooms run continuously, the kitchen and laundry are heavy single loads, and HVAC is on year-round. The bill is large enough that even a small unit-rate improvement is meaningful, and the contract structure choice (fixed, flex, basket-tracking) can matter as much as the rate itself.

This page covers how we help UK hotels review their electricity contracts. The mechanics of switching are in our business electricity switching guide. Our business electricity service covers the open UK market across every commercial sector.

How we help hotel operators

We start by pulling every meter at every hotel into one view. For independent properties this is usually one main supply plus any landlord-tenant arrangement on serviced areas. For chains and hotel groups it can be dozens of meters across the estate, often on a mix of contracts.

From there we work through the contract type (fixed, flex, basket-tracking), the unit rate against current market, the standing charge structure, any half-hourly supplies and their KVA capacity charges, and reactive power where it shows on the bill.

Why hotel electricity bills are different from a typical commercial account

Half-hourly metering and capacity charges

Hotels above roughly 100kW maximum demand are settled on half-hourly metering. That changes the conversation significantly. Capacity (KVA) and reactive power charges appear on the bill. The agreed import capacity might be set higher than actual peak demand requires, which costs money every month regardless of consumption.

We’ll review whether the available capacity matches actual peak demand, and whether the contract type (fixed, flex, basket-tracking) is sensibly chosen for the property’s risk appetite.

Multi-property hotel chains and groups

For hotel chains and groups, electricity is rarely managed centrally. Each property was contracted on its own timeline. Portfolio consolidation onto a single supplier with one renewal cycle simplifies admin and often improves the rate via aggregated volume.

How a hotel electricity review works