Eco-Friendly Hotel Technology at Gatwick
Showerkap’s system and sensors have been installed in 20 bedrooms as part of a ground-breaking trial at the four-star Sandman Signature London Gatwick Hotel in Crawley, which attracts guests from Gatwick, the UK’s second busiest airport, as well as visitors to London and Sussex.
Behavioural Science Driving Water Conservation
The pioneering UK startup, based in Warnham, near Horsham, has designed a new platform that enables organisations to monitor and manage water remotely, while nudging users to make more eco-friendly decisions. The solution will also support the operational team with real-time reports - analysing and improving water use and efficiency and highlighting any potential safety risks and waste.
Remote Monitoring and Smart Shower Features
The innovation features small smartboxes in every room, which upload data from the sensors to a centralised cloud system, to remotely monitor and manage water temperature and safety. Working closely with hotel staff, the Showerkap team will help raise guest awareness about water scarcity and the importance of shorter showers to help conserve water. In future projects, guests will have the option to connect directly to the smart devices, with the ability to use the patented, fade technology, which gradually reduces the water temperature at the end of a shower - creating a ‘nudge’ and behavioural cue to promote shorter showers and conserve water.
Sustainable Hospitality and Green Certification
The hotel has a long-standing commitment to sustainability and resource conservation - from its community work to recycling - resulting in it being the first hotel in Crawley to achieve Green Key status (the eco-label and standard of excellence for tourism facilities since 1994). This echoes an increasing trend for customers, with over 80% of travellers citing sustainable travel and hospitality as important.
Partnership for Environmental Impact
Showerkap founder and CEO Steve Harding said: “We are delighted to be partnering with such a forward-thinking hotel group, which has sustainability at its core and which is committed to operating in the most environmentally-friendly way. Every day in the UK, we send two billion litres of shower water down the drain, but we can change that using engineering innovation and the power of behavioural science to make taking shorter showers rewarding for guests.”
Empowering Guests to Make Eco-Friendly Choices
Sandman Signature London Gatwick Hotel general manager Gints Skieris added: “We are excited to be the first hotel nationally to adopt this new technology, which will benefit our local community, guests, staff and the environment. This will enable users to monitor and reduce water usage and, at the same time, empower people to make more eco-friendly decisions that will hopefully become part of their daily lives. We look forward to providing guests with the same high standards, while offering them the chance to be part of a unique initiative, which is kinder to the planet and which we hope the hospitality industry will collectively embrace to bring about significant change.”
Water Scarcity and ESG Goals in Hospitality
The issue of water scarcity is ranked by the UN among the top five global risks, with the hospitality industry among some of the planet’s biggest water consumers. A hotel can use an average of 1,500 litres per room per day and tourism can use up to eight times more water per person than the local population.
Quantifying the Environmental and Financial Savings
Showerkap estimates that based on a hotel with 100 rooms, over a year, its innovation could save 2,190,000 litres of water and 13,500 kg of carbon, helping businesses to reach their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets. Costs are also significantly reduced, saving around £6,500 for water and £15,000 for electricity.
Smart Shower Innovation for Sustainable Travel
Founded by engineer Steve Harding, Showerkap applies behavioural science to help motivate people to make better choices and take shorter showers, to conserve water, save money and use less energy. The innovation gives organisations – such as hotels and universities – the ability to track and analyse their water usage, measure CO2, detect abnormal events like leaks and maintain water safety.
With the average shower in the UK using around 150 litres of water, this not only exacerbates water shortages, but also has a significant impact on CO2 production, due to the energy needed to heat the water.
