A Property-by-Property Strategy Is Already Delivering More Than $300,000 in Reduced Energy Spend
Reduced spend across two properties to date
Lower rates on one property’s electric contract vs. the utility rate
Based on property-specific market data and local conditions
How a global hospitality operator with more than 5,800 properties worldwide moved off a single incumbent broker and let Energy CX prove a property-specific strategy.
The Challenge
This global hospitality operator handled energy the way it handled most back-office functions: through a single incumbent broker responsible for procurement, usage reporting, auditing and bill pay. Ownership groups historically made their own property-level calls, and as long as service held, there was little reason to look closer.
Then service started to slip. As energy prices climbed and the market grew more volatile, the operator went looking for ways to mitigate rising costs. The fixed rates it had been offered, priced right before each contract’s expiration, weren’t enough on their own and they started to feel market volatility on their energy bills. Their corporate procurement team wanted to steer regional and property teams toward a stronger approach, but needed to prove it worked before asking ownership groups to change course.
"Before we started working with EnergyCX, our portfolio really wasn't doing anything to manage energy savings or strategy. The biggest pain point was budget — we always had inconsistencies, we couldn't forecast properly, and we didn't have any opportunities for savings."
— Regional Director of Procurement, Global Hospitality Operator
How Energy CX Helped
Custom Strategy: Rather than pitch a single portfolio-wide switch, Energy CX proactively identified savings opportunities at specific properties based on their unique energy markets. Then the team benchmarked every rate against both the previously offered fixed price and the local utility rate. At a Chicago property, that meant new electricity and natural gas contracts, an estimated 30% savings on electric, with $285,267 in realized savings, and 12% on gas with $1,666 in realized savings. At a Washington, D.C.-area hotel, a new electric contract delivered an estimated 10% savings, worth an estimated $47,926 a year.
Full-Cycle Support: The help didn’t stop at the contract. At a California property, Energy CX navigated the account through California’s supplier lottery program, work the prior broker hadn’t taken on. At the Washington, D.C. property, Energy CX resolved billing and portal access issues that had made it difficult for the team to see its own usage and spend clearly.
The Outcome
More than $300,000 reduced spend so far across just these two properties: $285,267 on the Chicago property’s electric contract, $1,666 on its gas contract and $15,975 at the Washington, D.C. hotel, with additional opportunities identified across the group’s U.S. footprint. Just as important, the corporate procurement team now has verified, property-level proof before asking ownership groups to shift the rest of the portfolio.
"EnergyCX is the best strategic partner we could ask for. They provided great forecasting and great budgeting for our properties, which was crucial for our teams. They've helped us reduce spend across our portfolio, and when you're dealing with properties that have annual energy budgets of $13 million, that is a substantial win for something this easy to execute."
— Regional Director of Procurement, Global Hospitality Operator
Why This Story Matters for Hospitality Customers
Hospitality portfolios are decentralized by design: owners run properties, brands set standards and the corporate procurement team sits in between trying to align both. Proving savings at individual properties is what earns the trust to expand. A property-specific, math-based strategy gives operators results they can verify before scaling it across the rest of the portfolio.
"Working with EnergyCX has been a game changer for us. The results have made me look like the hero, when really, it's the EnergyCX team that's built the strategy that's been so successful. Before we started working with them, we had lacked visibility. Now, we have access to an intuitive Platform that delivers a level of service most suppliers would have you pay extra for. If I had to sum up my experience, it's great partnership, great people, great tools, and for us, incredible results. I'd recommend EnergyCX to anybody, in any vertical, any industry."
Regional Director of Procurement
Global Hospitality Operator
INDUSTRY
Hospitality
FOOTPRINT
5,800+ properties worldwide
ENERGY SPEND
Hundreds of millions of dollars, globally
PREVIOUS
Single incumbent broker
STATUS
Active Energy CX Customer