Insider: Energy Management for the Little Guy
By Mark Breuker, Director of Client Solutions, Advantage IQ
Mr. Mark Breuker
Small operators and large hoteliers who need to maintain billing control are often left out of the services energy management companies provide.
Operators with less than 40 sites often can’t justify the cost of a full-service solution, while some larger hoteliers don’t like to leave bill-paying to energy managers. And managing so many other parts of the business makes staying on top of energy costs difficult.
But that’s changing. In my article “Energy Management for the Little Guy,” in this week's Hotel Business Review, I describe a new solution some energy management companies offer for smaller operators who can’t afford full-service solutions.
It’s a fax/scanner option that lets smaller operators pay their own bill, but also fax the invoice to the energy manager for auditing. And it lets larger operators with over 40 sites maintain bill payment control, and still reap auditing benefits by using powerful scanners to send hundreds of invoices to the energy management company.
Through the fax/scanning solution, energy managers can:
Put operators on the correct rate schedule, which can cut as much as 1 to 2 percent per site. Find and correct billing discrepancies, saving hoteliers 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent on average. Pool energy loads with other operators to procure a bulk rate through a third-party supplier, and save as much as much as 20 percent.
Finding these savings on their own is often time-consuming and difficult for operators if they don’t have the expertise. The fax/scanner solution, on the other hand, provides access to that expertise, and at a much lower cost than full-service solutions.
My article in this week’s Hotel Business Review shows how easy and cost-effective it is for hotel operators to lower energy cost and still stay on top of their primary interest—running the operation.
Sincerely,
Mark Breuker
Director of Client Solutions
Advantage IQ
770-753-3977
mbreuker@advantageiq.com
