Operate Smart
A hotel that is built well belongs better to the place where it stands.
Energy and climate
Every hotel we build or renovate is a chance to do better. The choices we make in construction and renovation have long-term consequences for climate and energy use. We look for solutions that use less, cost less and weigh less on the environment — without losing sight of what is actually viable. We follow the standards of the brands we work with, apply measures recognised by the main environmental-assessment systems, and share this way of thinking with guests and with the people who work in our hotels every day, so they can take an active part in improving energy efficiency.
Operating well is also operating more sustainably
Operational efficiency, alongside innovation and digitalisation, is a strategic pillar in how the Group runs its hotels. By integrating eco-efficiency principles we strengthen the business’s resilience, reduce operating costs and ensure more efficient asset management. In the operating phase we keep an active commitment to energy efficiency, given energy’s weight in a hotel P&L. We look continuously for improvements, and we study the viability of new solutions that can cut both cost and each hotel’s energy footprint.
Climate and energy efficiency
Between 2024 and 2025, electricity and gas consumption fell 2.52%, from 27 709 MWh1 to 27 012 MWh. That reading needs context, however: in 2025 the reporting perimeter includes four more units than in 2024, as set out in the About the Report section. Excluding those units, and comparing only the hotels active in both years, the effective reduction reaches 13.7% — a result that reflects real energy efficiency gains across the portfolio.
In 2025, the 13.7% reduction in energy consumption at the units comparable with the previous year did not come from a single investment, but rather from a set of systematic decisions taken over the year: 2 250 luminaires replaced with LED at Grande Real Santa Eulália and Holiday Inn Algarve Albufeira, and the renewal of the climate-control systems at Holiday Inn Algarve Albufeira. Luminaires were also replaced at Real Marina Hotel & SPA, Real Palácio and Amazónia Jamor. The maintenance team drives this process. It is the team that identifies the opportunities, assesses whether the investments are viable, and makes sure the improvements translate into real results — lower cost, lower consumption and avoided emissions.
1 The figure published in 2024 was 23 906 MWh, because the data collected did not cover the final months of the year. This year the figure was corrected to 27 709 MWh, reflecting consumption across the whole of 2024.
Natural gasPropane
Fleet
Fleet data was included for the first time in 2025. In total, fleet consumption came to 841 MWh, which corresponds to 3% of energy consumption.
This figure was determined using an estimate of average consumption of around 6 L/100 km, from internal data on kilometres travelled over the year. A fleet of 48 vehicles was considered (38 on rental and 10 owned).
Lighting and climate control
Lighting and climate control matter for the guest experience and are at the same time a hotspot of energy use in our hotels. Replacing luminaires and climate-control equipment with more efficient options has been one of the strategies applied across the Group.
In 2025 the Group renewed lighting systems at several units, notably Grande Real Santa Eulália, Real Palácio and Real Marina Hotel & SPA, where luminaires were installed or replaced with more efficient solutions. Real Marina Hotel & SPA also installed occupancy detectors to make better use of daylight. At Holiday Inn Algarve Albufeira, heating, cooling and ventilation systems were replaced, and fluorinated gases were optimised in air-conditioning and domestic hot water equipment.
Awareness that reduces resource use
A culture of energy efficiency was present across several units. Over the year, awareness campaigns for employees ran at our units: Real Marina Hotel & SPA, Real Oeiras, Holiday Inn Express Aeroporto, Holiday Inn Express Alfragide and Amazónia Palmela.
We also developed awareness programmes specifically for guests, encouraging towel reuse and moderate use of climate control, at our units Real Marina Hotel & SPA, Real Maxime Boutique Hotel, Real Oeiras, Holiday Inn Express Aeroporto, Holiday Inn Express Alfragide, Holiday Inn Algarve Albufeira and Amazónia Palmela. At Grande Real Santa Eulália we also have suitePads that let guests ask not to have their towels changed.
Energy intensity
0.043 MWh/occupied room
(consumption per occupied room in 2025)
0.023 MWh/guest
(consumption per guest in 2025)
Emissions
In 2025, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 4 446 tonnes of CO2e. Scope 1 emissions were calculated considering natural gas and propane consumption, and scope 2 emissions, associated with electricity consumption, were calculated using the location-based methodology. For scope 3 emissions, the categories considered were those associated with water purchased and the fuel consumed by the Group's fleet.
- Scope 1*
- Scope 2 (location-based)
- Scope 3* (emissions from water purchased and fleet fuel consumption)
* The GHG Protocol divides an organisation's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into three scopes: scope 1 - emissions from sources the company owns or directly controls; scope 2 - emissions from the purchase and consumption of electricity, steam, heating or cooling; scope 3 - indirect emissions that occur in the value chain, upstream and downstream.
Carbon intensity
8 kg CO2e/occupied room
−21%against 2024
(emissions per occupied room in 2025)
4 kg CO2e/guest
−40%against 2024
(emissions per guest in 2025)
Water efficiency
Caring for water is caring for the place that hosts us
Water is one of the most essential natural resources for hotel activity and, at the same time, one of the most vulnerable to today's environmental pressures. In several of the regions where we operate, pressure on water resources has been increasing, making responsible and efficient management of this resource all the more important.
For that reason, we look to reduce water consumption without compromising the quality, the comfort or the experience of our guests. We invest in implementing more efficient technologies, in continuous metering of consumption and in regularly identifying opportunities to improve across every unit in the Group. Analysing consumption hotel by hotel lets us understand patterns of use better, set priorities for intervention and manage the available resources on better information.
This commitment matters especially in the Algarve, where the Group has three hotels. In a context marked by growing pressure on water resources, we recognise the added responsibility to manage water efficiently, strengthening the metering of consumption, the adoption of saving measures and our teams' awareness of the responsible use of this fundamental resource.
Water efficiency is also a responsibility shared across the whole organisation. We work daily to raise awareness and involve our teams in adopting good operating practices, reinforcing the importance of conscious water use in every area of hotel activity. Small daily actions, combined at scale, can produce significant results in reducing consumption.
Water efficiency
Water is a critical resource for hotel operations, and in Portugal, where water stress is rising, managing it responsibly has stopped being an option and become a requirement. We give priority to the rational use of water resources, to investment in more efficient equipment and systems, and to reducing losses and waste, aligning our practices with a commitment to minimise environmental impact and to manage water ever more responsibly at every unit.
In 2025 the Group acted on three fronts at once: equipment, infrastructure and behaviour.
In 2025 an increase of around 18% was observed, explained by the addition of 4 units compared with 2024. This consumption covers network water only.
Water consumption intensity
Equipment and infrastructure
Grande Real Santa Eulália and Holiday Inn Algarve Albufeira replaced taps, showers and valves with more efficient fittings. At Real Marina Hotel & SPA, the laundry machines were renewed, with a direct impact on laundry water use. Leak prevention was treated as an operating priority at Real Marina Hotel & SPA, Real Oeiras, Holiday Inn Express Aeroporto and Amazónia Palmela, with maintenance work and active leak control. Holiday Inn Express Porto Exponor and Holiday Inn Express Porto City Centre went further, installing sub-meters and real-time leak detection systems, moving from reactive management to continuous monitoring of consumption.
A more conscious stay
A stay that also chooses to take care
We believe sustainability is built together with everyone who is part of the hotel experience. That is why we look to involve our guests in more conscious choices throughout their stay, creating simple, accessible opportunities for them to help reduce the environmental impact of their visit.
Through practices such as the optional reuse of towels and bed linen, and the promotion of more responsible consumption, we encourage more efficient use of resources without compromising the comfort and quality of the experience provided.
We also look to give visibility to the sustainability initiatives developed at our hotels, making guests aware of the environmental and social challenges of the destinations where we operate. We equally value local and regional products, contributing to stronger local economies and a more authentic connection to the territory.
More than reducing impacts, we want to provide experiences that generate value for people, for communities and for the environment. We believe every small choice during a stay can contribute to a more sustainable future. Every guest can play an active part in that transformation.
A more conscious stay
A hotel's sustainability should reflect the way the hotel works. In 2025 we continued to build good practice into every moment of the guest experience, from check-in to checkout, without that meaning any compromise on the comfort or quality of our guests' stay and experience.
Check-in
The first impression begins with a detail that says a great deal: the keys guests use to reach their rooms. We replaced plastic room keys with wooden RFID keys. The wooden keys are in place at every hotel, with the exception of the Amazónia units.
Accommodation
We continued to remove plastics from individual in-room amenities, moving to refillable bottles for shampoo and soap, across 100% of the Holiday Inn hotels and at Maxime Boutique Hotel.
Every amenity used in the bathrooms — shampoo, shower gel and body lotion — is produced by companies holding environmental certification, at our Holiday Inn and Hotéis Real units, a choice that protects both guests' health and the environment. In the case of the Real units, the producer also holds ISO 22716:2007 certification.
At the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels, the shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion contain no parabens, MIT, mineral oils, microbeads or gluten.
We continue to make menus available by QR code and through SuitePad, simplifying access to information quickly and hygienically, in step with a modern digital experience.
At the Real hotels, the water provided in rooms is in glass bottles. At the Holiday Inn hotels we provide the aqualy brand bottle. Aqualy supplies purified, remineralised water in sustainable carton packaging (Tetra Pak type). It holds the following certifications: IFS, ISO 14001, B CORP and FSC-Cardboard.
By default our glassware is glass. The exceptions are the pool and changing-room areas, where we use polycarbonate cups and aqualy packaged water. Only the coffee cups are single-use, from Nespresso.
Services
Mobility
We kept electric-vehicle chargers available to guests and employees alike, allowing charging during a stay or a working day, in compliance with applicable legislation. The solution follows the growing adoption of electric mobility in everyday life and reinforces the Group's commitment to more sustainable mobility.
Electric-vehicle chargers, by unit Unit Chargers Spaces Access Grande Real Santa Eulália 2 exteriores + 1 interior — 1 free, the rest paid Real Marina Resort & Hotel SPA 2 exteriores — Paid Real Palácio 3 postos 4 Paid Real Oeiras 1 equipamento 3 Paid Holiday Inn Express Aeroporto 4 — Paid Grande Real Villa Itália Hotel & SPA 2 — Paid Holiday Inn Express Alfragide 3 5 Free Holiday Inn Express Porto Exponor 2 — Paid Cleaning
The Group maintained its commitment to certified ecological cleaning products carrying the Eco label, which continue to cut costs, cleaning time and waste generated. This practice is in place at all our hotels, with the exception of the Amazónia units.
Food
In compliance with regulations, we maintained the elimination of single-use plastics such as spoons, buffet sticks, skewers and takeaway packaging, replacing them with alternatives in natural materials, such as wood, paper and bamboo.
Good practices already in the operation
- Green / 2025 measures
- Gold / earlier years
| Hotel | Energy | Water | Circular economy | Waste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holiday Inn Express Aeroporto | 2025 Energy audits; Energy efficiency diagnosis; Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Photovoltaic panels; Heat pumps; Solar thermal systems; Biomass boilers and stoves | 2025 Leak prevention; Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use; Guest awareness to cut water use | 2025 Waste management and reduction; Resource efficiency; Stakeholder engagement, raising awareness of the subject with guests among others | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Sorting for recycling; Material reuse; Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies; Reusable and recyclable products; Waste monitoring |
| Holiday Inn Express Alfragide | 2025 Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Energy audits; Energy efficiency diagnosis; Photovoltaic panels; Heat pumps; Solar thermal systems; Biomass boilers and stoves | 2025 Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use; Guest awareness to cut water use | 2025 Waste management and reduction | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies; Reusable and recyclable products; Waste management training; Waste monitoring Earlier years Sorting for recycling |
| Holiday Inn Express Porto City Centre | Earlier years Renewed domestic hot water systems; Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use; Photovoltaic panels; Heat pumps; Solar thermal systems; Biomass boilers and stoves | 2025 Sub-meters; Real-time leak detection Earlier years Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves | Earlier years Waste management and reduction; Resource efficiency; Stakeholder engagement, raising awareness of the subject with guests among others | 2025 Composting; Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies; Reusable and recyclable products; Waste management training; Waste monitoring Earlier years Sorting for recycling |
| Holiday Inn Express Porto Exponor | Earlier years Renewed domestic hot water systems; Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Automation; Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use; Photovoltaic panels; Heat pumps; Solar thermal systems; Biomass boilers and stoves | 2025 Sub-meters; Real-time leak detection Earlier years Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves | Earlier years Waste management and reduction; Resource efficiency; Stakeholder engagement, raising awareness of the subject with guests among others | 2025 Composting; Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies; Reusable and recyclable products; Waste management training; Waste monitoring Earlier years Sorting for recycling |
| Maxime Boutique Hotel | 2025 Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years More efficient windows and doors; Self-regulating natural ventilation; Renewed domestic hot water systems; Renewed cooling systems; Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Automation; Smart sensors and thermostats; Energy audits; Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Photovoltaic panels; Solar thermal systems | Earlier years Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves; Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use; Use of native species; Drip irrigation | Earlier years Waste management and reduction | Earlier years Sorting for recycling; Waste management training |
| Hotel Real Palácio | 2025 Efficient LED lighting; Photovoltaic panels | 2025 More efficient washing machines; Leak prevention | 2025 Waste management and reduction | 2025 Sorting for recycling; Material reuse; Reusable and recyclable products |
| Grande Real Villa Itália Hotel & Spa | 2025 Energy audits and issuing of energy certificates Earlier years Bioclimatic architecture solutions; Self-regulating natural ventilation; Renewed domestic hot water systems; Renewed cooling systems; Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Efficient building automation; Centralised energy management; Guest awareness to cut energy use | Earlier years Sub-meters; Monitoring linked to centralised technical management | Earlier years Waste management and reduction | Earlier years Sorting for recycling; Material reuse; Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies; Reusable and recyclable products |
| Hotel Real Oeiras | 2025 Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years Efficient LED lighting; Energy audits | 2025 Leak prevention; Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use; Guest awareness to cut water use Earlier years Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves | 2025 Waste management and reduction; Resource efficiency; Sharing economy; Digitalisation and monitoring; ISO 59004 certification Earlier years Stakeholder engagement, raising awareness of the subject with guests among others | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Sorting for recycling; Reusable and recyclable products; Waste management training; Waste monitoring |
| Grande Real Santa Eulália Resort & Hotel Spa | 2025 Efficient LED lighting Earlier years Self-regulating natural ventilation; Renewed domestic hot water systems; Renewed cooling systems; Optimisation of fluorinated gases in AC and DHW systems; Occupancy detectors; Automation; Smart sensors and thermostats; Centralised energy management; Energy audits; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use; Solar thermal systems | 2025 Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves Earlier years Leak prevention; Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use; Guest awareness to cut water use; Drip irrigation; Smart automatic irrigation; Separate rainwater and greywater network | Earlier years Resource efficiency; Sharing economy; Digitalisation and monitoring; ISO 59004 certification | Earlier years Sorting for recycling; Waste monitoring |
| Real Marina Hotel & Spa | 2025 Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years Automation; Smart sensors and thermostats; Centralised energy management; Energy efficiency diagnosis; Energy audits; Solar thermal systems | 2025 More efficient washing machines; Leak prevention; Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use; Guest awareness to cut water use; Drip irrigation Earlier years Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves; Sub-meters | 2025 Waste management and reduction; Resource efficiency; Sharing economy | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Sorting for recycling; Composting; Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies; Waste management training; Waste monitoring |
| Holiday Inn Algarve Albufeira | 2025 Renewed domestic hot water systems; Renewed cooling systems; Optimisation of fluorinated gases in AC and DHW systems; Efficient LED lighting; Energy efficiency diagnosis; Guest awareness to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use; Photovoltaic panels Earlier years Occupancy detectors; Automation; Centralised energy management; Energy audits | 2025 Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves; More efficient washing machines; Guest awareness to cut water use Earlier years Drip irrigation; Smart automatic irrigation | 2025 Waste management and reduction; Efficiency in the use of resources; Partnerships with NGOs Earlier years Sharing economy | 2025 Sorting for recycling; Material reuse; Reusable and recyclable products; Waste management training; Waste monitoring Earlier years Recycling partnerships with waste management bodies and companies |
| Amazónia Jamor | 2025 Efficient LED lighting; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years Replacement with more efficient windows and doors; Renewed cooling and ventilation systems; Optimisation of fluorinated gases in existing air-conditioning and DHW systems; Thermal insulation of DHW and air-conditioning systems | 2025 Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves; Guest awareness to cut water use | 2025 Waste management and reduction | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Sorting for recycling; Waste management training; Waste monitoring |
| Amazónia Estoril | 2025 Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years More efficient windows and doors; Renewed cooling systems; Optimisation of fluorinated gases in existing air-conditioning and DHW systems; Thermal insulation of DHW and AC systems | 2025 Guest awareness to cut water use | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Sorting for recycling; Waste management training; Waste monitoring | |
| Amazónia Palmela | 2025 Employee awareness campaigns to cut energy use; Towel reuse and moderate air-conditioning use Earlier years Efficient LED lighting; Occupancy detectors; Energy audits; Heat pumps; Biomass boilers and stoves | 2025 Employee awareness campaigns to cut water use Earlier years Replacement with efficient taps, showers and valves; Drip irrigation; Smart automatic irrigation; Greywater reuse and on-site treatment | 2025 Waste reduction at source; Sorting for recycling; Reusable and recyclable products |