When a downpour saves money

• Rainwater harvesting helps city hotel cut fresh water use by around 780 m3 a year
• Total fresh water consumption on-site reduced by up to 10 %

Hotel Ibis Budget Birmingham Centre (formerly Etap Hotel Birmingham Centre) is a 250-room establishment owned by AccorHotels Group. Like most hotels, the Birmingham Ibis (Etap) has considerable demand for water, including toilet and shower facilities, kitchen, cleaning, washing, etc.

Determined to find ways to save fresh water and reduce costs, management decided to introduce a run-off system on the property's roof to divert rainfall into storage tanks. The harvested water is now used for non-drinking purposes such as toilet flushing, washing machines, cooling towers or general cleaning activities.

Key results

The hotel installed a rainwater catching system, which means it saves up to 780 m3 of potable water per year. The simple recycling system has led to reduced fresh water consumption at the property of between 5 % and 10 %.