Case study: YOTEL Manchester
Case Study: YOTEL Manchester
Set in the heart of Manchester, YOTEL Manchester Deansgate is a 261-room hotel designed to actively reduce energy use without compromising guest experience.
Rather than relying on a single “green” solution, the team has built energy reduction into the building, daily operations, and the habits of guests and staff.
“The most important thing is to create a culture – through every little action, every little initiative.”
– Pedro Timon Ruano, operations manager
Save energy before opening the doors
Energy saving started before the hotel opened. To avoid the high energy cost of a full new build, the developers retained most of the original structure of historic Dalton House and added two new floors, incorporating existing features into the final design.
To generate renewable energy on site, twenty-four solar panels supply electricity and the team records yield data. Even in a climate that isn’t always sunny, some months the panels generate enough power to cover all public and back-of-house areas.
Cut energy demand through daily operations
Day-to-day operations are designed to reduce wasted energy. The hotel uses LED lighting and motion sensors so lights are only on when areas are in use. The air conditioning runs on temperature ranges rather than fixed set points, which reduces constant cycling. A heat recovery system captures energy from extracted air to pre-condition fresh air coming in. Rooms are also reset twice a day, including after checkout, so empty rooms don’t sit with systems running.
Shared galley areas on each floor also reduce both energy use and waste. Instead of individual kettles, irons and bottled water in each bedroom, guests use communal facilities such as an espresso machine, filtered water fountain and iron - cutting electricity demand and packaging waste.
Bring guests and staff along
YOTEL’s Purple Goes Green programme invites guests to opt out of daily room servicing in return for a £5 bar voucher. The hotel has also become almost entirely paperless, with self-check-in kiosks sending room numbers by text and housekeeping supervisors updating room status from their phones.
A cross-department green team meets quarterly to identify practical improvements and maintain momentum — helping energy saving become part of the hotel’s culture, not a one-off initiative.
Together, these measures have created a hotel that operates with significantly lower energy consumption than a conventional build, while maintaining guest satisfaction.
“You’ll be surprised by how much help you’re given when you ask and you have ideas,” Pedro says. YOTEL’s head office has backed every initiative the Manchester team has proposed — essential support for driving change within a larger hotel group.
Taking the next steps: reduce energy use without major investment
- Centralise in-room amenities: Shared galley spaces reduce electricity and waste while freeing housekeeping time.
- Use temperature ranges: Set heating and cooling to ranges, not fixed points, and reset rooms after checkout so empty rooms don’t draw power.
- Consider solar: Modern panels work in overcast conditions. Record yield data to build the case for expansion.
- Go paperless: Digital check-in and phone-based management reduce paper while improving service.
- Empower your team: The best ideas come from people close to operations. Give them space to follow through.
- Explain changes confidently: When guests question choices, explain why. Most respond well when they understand.
Explore further
Inspired by what you’ve seen?
Check out the other case studies showing sustainability in action or explore the Regenerative Tourism Guide to learn more ways to stand out from the crowd, inspire staff, enhance visitor loyalty and make your business a force for good.