Hospitality businesses struggle to ensure a frictionless, pleasant stay for their guests. However, something as trivial as water supply disruptions, especially recurring ones, can compromise their efforts irreversibly. Complaints, refund requests, and negative reviews can cause irreparable damages on reputation and revenues. Hotel managers need to monitor water supply and secure a backup. Switching quickly to an alternative water supply source requires installation of a local water tank, well drilling, and water pressure / level monitoring solution. ThingsLog – low-power data logger products and remote monitoring and metering solution provider – comes to rescue.
The problem: managing outages and alternative water supply sources effectively
The manager of a four-star spa hotel in Velingrad has reached out to ThingsLog for a solution of a long-standing problem.
Velingrad is a popular spa resort, celebrated for its more than 80 mineral water springs and fascinating nature. However, the dilapidated public water supply infrastructure in Velingrad suffers from frequent interruptions. Each network breakdown would mean shutting down the water supply in the hotel premises for half a day to a full day. That would lead to outraged guest checking out and snowballing demands for compensation.
In order to address the issue, the hotel manager has placed a 10 m3 water tank in the hotel backyard. In case of emergency, the hotel staff would turn on a couple of valves and the hotel would tap reserve water from the tank. The water in the tank is replenished via pumping from an underground well via a pump, which also has to be switched on and off manually.
This setup has alleviated the main shortcomings but there were still a lot of manual steps that could fail. The hotel staff needed to be aware of impending water supply shutdowns and activate the backup source before customer complaints start pouring in. On a couple of occasions, inept manual handling of the tank interconnections resulted in reversing the flow direction from the tank straight back into the public water supply network.
The solution: remote monitoring of pipe pressure, tank level, and water consumption
The hotel has implemented remote monitoring of pipe pressure, tank level, and water consumption as a service. Pressure monitoring set of sensors and data loggers detect pressure drops in the main water supply network signaling of a potential leak and imminent cut-off of running water. In those cases, ThingsLog sets off a ‘low pressure’ alarm to the reception desk, as well as mobile app notifications to the hotel manager and the owner.
As soon as the personnel switches on the backup water supply, the pressure monitoring system sends confirmation that the pressure has stabilized and the hotel water system is operating normally. The pressure monitrong system by ThingsLog is also configured to indicate when the main water supply is restored, and the tank water supply has to be switched off. On the other hand, tank level sensors trigger alarms as soon as the water reserves are close to depletion. The water well pump is turned on only when available volume falls below 20% of the tank capacity.
Through a combination of smart level and pressure sensors, data loggers, configurable alarms, and analytics platform capabilities, the ThingsLog client now monitors and manages water supply operations and water consumption data with precision and timeliness.
Client benefits from water consumption data logging: utility bill savings, clamp down on leaks
The word has spread and our client’s reputation (as reflected in the Booking.com visitor score) has improved. Unlike its competitors in the area, the hotel does not tolerate inconvenience for its guests. Our client tackles the chronic water supply issues more quickly and with confidence.
Rigorous water consumption monitoring has made a huge difference. Consumption pattern tracking and careful data analysis on the ThingsLog platform has revealed instances of water squander to be addressed. For example, bathroom tap left running unattended makes 10% of the monthly consumption. ThingsLog has also pinpointed leaks of mineral water in the spa facilities and in the irrigation system that would generate substantial losses during the summer season. Following closing those gaps, the hotel management has reported water utility bill savings of around 15% on an annual basis.
