Hotel Stay

These are average values (emission factors) used to estimate how much greenhouse gas (GHG) is emitted per hotel night stay (e.g., in kg CO₂e per room per night). They include emissions from:

  • Energy used for heating, cooling, and lighting
  • Water usage
  • Laundry services
  • Waste generated by guests
  • Hotel operations

Organisations that book hotels for employees (e.g., for business travel) should use these factors to quantify the carbon footprint of those stays. The result helps them understand and report the climate impact of their operations more accurately.

Hotel stay is typically considered Scope 3 emissions under greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting.

This value links to the Master Value EN1 GHG Emissions value.

EN1.3.10

Hotel Stay

Environment
  • Measuring GHG Emissions

Key Value

2.6

The monetised value of CO₂e emissions for hotel stay in the UK per room per night.

Conversion factors should be used to report Scope 3 emissions for hotel stay. For more information about principles for GHG accounting and reporting and three “scopes” of emissions, please visit MeasureUp EN1 GHG Emissions value.

According to the 2021 carbon values from DESNZ/BEIS, Carbon values in £2020 prices per tonne of CO2: central series for 2023 is £252 per t CO₂e or 25.2p per kg CO₂e. For more information, please visit MeasureUp GHG Emissions value.

UK government’s Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors – 2024 reports the kgCO2e for hotel stay. Access the data.

Hotel stay factors should be used to report emissions associated with overnight hotel stays. The emissions from hotel stays are reported as a Scope 3 emissions source.

Activity Country Unit kg CO2e Monetised value (£)
Hotel stay UK Room per night 10.4 £2.6

Please visit the government conversion factors for greenhouse gas reporting website for further guidance.

This value represents a cost or disbenefit through the creation of the GHGs emitted.  The value should therefore not be presented as a positive value or added to an overall social value figure.

Local Needs Analysis Data Source

Before using this MeasureUp value, we encourage you to assess the local need in relation to the activity or outcome.

Here is the most useful initial data source for assessing local need in relation to this value.

To do a local needs analysis for hotel stay, use the Local Authority Consumption Account tool which allows you to view and compare Carbon Footprint for localities across the UK.

You can generate graphs that shows the emissions for hotels for different UK regions at different points in time. You can view emissions for a single region or compare multiple regions, broken down by different categories and subcategories, with the option to switch between per capita and total emissions figures. When comparing multiple regions, per capita tends to be a more useful measure.

Bronze

Effort

Accuracy

Monetised value:

At the Bronze level, you should calculate the approximate CO2 emissions from hotel stay.  Represent the cost or disbenefit of the emissions associated with overnight hotel stays.

Silver

Effort

Accuracy

Monetised value:

At the Silver level, you should calculate the emissions by country, as each produces different levels of carbon emissions. Represent the cost or disbenefit of the emissions associated with overnight hotel stays.

Gold

Effort

Accuracy

Monetised value:

At the Gold level, you would be expected to

  • Measure more accurately using more specific data for you in-scope activities.
  • Track the emissions over time. Steps in tracking emissions (choosing a base year and recalculating base year emissions) are explained in detail in the GHG Protocol Chapter 5 – Tracking Emissions Over Time

Gold+

Effort

Accuracy

Monetised value:

In the Gold+ level of GHG emission values, you can focus on better management and improvement of your reporting on the GHG emissions.

Value Type: Activity What's this?
UN SDG Categories:
  • 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 13. Climate Action
  • 15. Life on Land
What's this?
2020 Social Value Models:
    • MAC 4.1 Additional environmental benefits
    • MAC 4.2 Influence environmental protection and improvement
    • Policy Outcome 4: Effective stewardship of the environment
    • Theme 3: Fighting Climate Change
What's this?
2025 Social Value Models:
    • 4a. Deliver additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract
    • Mission 2: Make Britain a clean energy superpower
    • Outcome 4: Sustainable procurement practices
What's this?

Evidence

Measure Up focuses on empowering you to numerically measure the impact you’re having. We recommend that numeric reports are backed up with stories and other types of evidence to help illustrate, in human terms, the impact that’s being made on individuals.

We recommend seeing consent from one or more participants in your intervention to collect and tell their story. This should include a little background on the participant, a summing up of life before the intervention, the human impact of the intervention, and the longer term (if known) impact on the person’s life outside of, and after, the intervention.

Providing photographs, audio recordings, video interviews or even artefacts from the intervention (for example, writing, paintings, music, etc from creative interventions) can add more colour, and convey the emotional impact of interventions more directly.

In some cases it’s appropriate to anonymise or abbreviate the personal information of case study participants. No story should be published or shared without the recorded consent of the individual(s) it concerns. Individuals continue to own the rights to their stories and if they request you stop sharing the story or making it available online you should do so promptly and without need for justification.

More help

We want to empower anyone to perform and improve their impact measurement – without needing a degree in economics.

If you need any more help, or just someone to do the legwork for you we can help signpost you to software, training and consultancy to help you get to grips with the impact you’re having.

Data Sources