Sustainable hospitality means reducing a property's footprint on water, energy, waste and purchasing while preserving the guest experience. In France it rests on three frameworks: the star rating, which since 2022 imposes thirteen sustainability criteria, labels such as Green Key (Clef Verte), with 3,035 properties, and energy regulation for commercial buildings. Water is the most concrete entry point: 240 to 323 litres per person per night, most of it heated.
What is sustainable hospitality?
Sustainable hospitality describes a hotel that measures and reduces its water and energy consumption, limits waste, chooses local or fair-trade supplies, trains its teams and informs its guests, without lowering comfort. The international criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, used by Green Globe, and the Green Key label, run in France by Teragir, set the standards. Since 1 April 2022, the Atout France star rating also includes some of them as mandatory.
Which figures should a sustainable hotel track?
Four indicators are enough to start: water per night, energy per night, waste per night and the share of responsible purchasing. For water, the French Directorate General for Enterprise records 240 litres per person per night in 1 to 3 star hotels and 323 litres in 4 and 5 star, all uses combined; the shower is the first item in the room, and it is heated water. According to the label, a Green Key property saves on average 50 litres of water per night.
| Indicator | Benchmark | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Water per person per night | 240 L (1 to 3 stars), 323 L (4 and 5 stars) | DGE, 2024 |
| Shower water per occupied room | 150 L a day (Molleau assumption, 4-star hotel) | Molleau, 2026 |
| Water saving of a labelled property | ≈ 50 L per night | Green Key, 2026 |
| Measured reduction with in-shower display | −23% per shower, up to −61% | Molleau × Hénéo pilot, 2025-2026 |
| Tourism water abstraction in France | 335 million m³ a year, 59% for accommodation | DGE, 2024 |
What do labels and the star rating require?
Green Key has 120 criteria, about 70 of them mandatory, in seven themes; water, energy and waste management is one of them. The annual fee ranges from €295 to €1,320 depending on the number of rooms, plus a €470 excl. VAT audit in the first year and every three years thereafter (L'Hôtellerie Restauration, 19 March 2026). Measures cited: aerators on taps and showers, caps on heating and air-conditioning temperatures, LED lighting, sheets changed from the third or fourth night.
The star rating, since 2022, requires at least one measure to reduce water consumption, a water-saving device in every bathroom, a way to reduce towel laundering in every room and staff training, in every category. It requires neither consumption measurement nor guest information about their consumption; our article on the star rating and water details criteria 223 to 243. Buildings over 1,000 m² also fall under the Éco Énergie Tertiaire scheme, which targets −40% energy by 2030.
Where to start?
Start by measuring: without data by use, you cannot know where to act or prove results to labels and guests. Then tackle hot water, which counts twice, on water and on energy. Aerators and regulators act on flow rate; they do not change the length of the shower, which depends on the guest. Real-time feedback acts on that behaviour: during the Molleau pilot with Hénéo on 3,140 showers, displaying litres cut consumption by 23% per shower, up to 61% among the heaviest users, and by 15.5% at the main meter, with no loss of comfort. In hotels, the University of Surrey (Journal of Travel Research, 2024) measured showers up to 25.8% shorter with a real-time display, over more than 17,500 showers.
Then come linen (change on request, reused towels), waste (sorting available to guests, refillable amenities), energy (LED, automatic switch-off, temperature settings) and purchasing. The Hotels page details what room-level measurement delivers: about €141 saved per room per year on shower water, with an exportable dashboard for your files.
What would it mean for your rooms?
30 minutes to estimate your property's savings potential. No commitment.
Sustainable hospitality rests on measurement: water, energy, waste and purchasing per night. In France a hotel uses 240 to 323 L of water per person per night (DGE), 3,035 properties hold the Green Key label and the star rating has imposed 13 sustainability criteria since 2022. Hot shower water is the first lever: −23% per shower with a live display (Molleau × Hénéo pilot). Source: Molleau, molleau.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is an eco-responsible hotel?
An eco-responsible hotel reduces its water and energy consumption, limits waste, favours local or fair-trade purchasing, trains its teams and informs its guests, without lowering their comfort. Labels such as Green Key or Green Globe and the Atout France star rating set verifiable criteria.
How much does the Green Key label cost a hotel?
Between €295 and €1,320 in annual fees depending on the number of rooms, plus a €470 excl. VAT audit and €35 excl. VAT in the first year of certification and every three years thereafter, according to L'Hôtellerie Restauration (March 2026). Equipment to install comes on top.
How much water does a hotel use per night?
240 litres per person per night in 1 to 3 star hotels and 323 litres in 4 and 5 star, all uses combined, according to the French Directorate General for Enterprise study on water management in tourism (2024). The shower is the first item in the room.
How can a hotel cut water use without building work?
By acting on the shower, the first item in the room: aerators or regulators for the flow rate, and a live consumption display for the duration. The Molleaumètre screws onto the shower hose with no building work and cut consumption by 23% per shower during the Molleau pilot at Hénéo.
Sources: L'Hôtellerie Restauration, "Clef Verte: inside the label", 19 March 2026; Atout France, "Stars: the hotel rating evolves", 30 March 2022; French Directorate General for Enterprise, study on water management in tourism, 2024 (240 and 323 L per person per night, 335 million m³); University of Surrey, Journal of Travel Research, 2024. Reduction results: Molleau × Hénéo pilot, RIVP group, Relais d'Italie residence, 3,140 showers, November 2025 to June 2026 (full protocol).