NRG360 Says Hotels and Restaurants Can Save 20% to 50% on Energy as Integrated Efficiency and Financing Drive Sustainability

Hotels and restaurants can potentially reduce their energy costs by around 20% to 50% by combining equipment improvements, real-time energy management, emissions measurement and financing linked directly to the savings generated. Speaking exclusively to Nguyen Thi Tuong Vi, International Correspondent from Travel and Tour World, reporting live from HORECFEX Vietnam 2026 in Danang, Vietnam, Chris Wijnberg, Founder & CEO of NRG360 Vietnam, explained how the company is helping hospitality businesses address one of their most significant operating expenses while strengthening their sustainability performance.

During the exclusive interview with Nguyen Thi Tuong Vi, International Correspondent from Travel and Tour World, Wijnberg discussed NRG360’s integrated energy-efficiency model, the potential scale of hotel and restaurant energy savings, equipment upgrades, real-time monitoring, ESG reporting, carbon-emissions measurement and financing structures that allow hospitality businesses to repay investments from the savings achieved.

HORECFEX Vietnam 2026 Highlights Energy Efficiency in Hospitality

HORECFEX Vietnam 2026 in Danang provided the setting for NRG360 Vietnam to explain how energy efficiency can become a practical commercial strategy for hotels and restaurants.

Held on 20-21 August 2026, the event brought attention to the technologies and operating solutions shaping the hospitality sector.

For NRG360, the discussion centred on one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: controlling energy expenditure.

Electricity and gas can represent an important part of the daily operating costs of hotels and restaurants.

Wijnberg explained that reducing this expenditure requires more than installing a single piece of equipment.

NRG360 instead combines equipment improvements, management technology, data visibility and financing within one integrated approach.

Energy Costs Remain a Major Hospitality Operating Challenge

Energy represents a significant operational expense for hospitality businesses because hotels and restaurants rely heavily on electricity, gas and energy-intensive equipment throughout their daily operations.

Hotels must operate air conditioning, pumps, kitchens, lighting and numerous other systems while maintaining consistent comfort for guests.

Restaurants face similar pressures through refrigeration, cooking equipment, ventilation and other operational requirements.

Wijnberg said NRG360 was designed to help businesses reduce these costs by improving equipment and managing those assets through electronic energy-management systems.

The objective is therefore not simply to consume less energy.

It is to improve the way energy-intensive assets operate while giving management greater visibility over performance and expenditure.

Hotels and Restaurants Can Target Energy Savings of 20% to 50%

One of the strongest messages from the interview was the potential scale of savings available to hotels and restaurants.

Wijnberg said NRG360 typically sees hotel energy-saving opportunities ranging from approximately 20% to 50%, although the precise level depends on the individual property.

Restaurants can potentially achieve savings within a similar range.

No two hospitality businesses operate in exactly the same way.

The age of existing equipment, operational priorities, building characteristics and management practices can all influence the final result.

Wijnberg therefore emphasised that savings must be assessed according to the circumstances of each property rather than treated as a guaranteed uniform percentage.

Even so, the potential reduction represents a significant opportunity where energy accounts for a substantial proportion of operating costs.

NRG360’s Integrated Model Brings Multiple Energy Systems Together

NRG360 positions its integrated approach as a major difference between its model and energy solutions that address individual areas of a property separately.

Wijnberg explained that some providers specialise in air conditioning, while others concentrate on pumps, kitchens or particular pieces of equipment.

NRG360 instead aims to address multiple energy-consuming systems as part of one wider programme.

The company then connects those physical improvements with an integrated energy-management solution.

This approach is designed to prevent energy efficiency from becoming a collection of disconnected projects.

For hotels and restaurants, an integrated model can provide a clearer picture of how different systems interact and where operational improvements can contribute to overall energy reduction.

Equipment Upgrades Form the Foundation of Energy Efficiency

Improving the equipment operating inside a hotel or restaurant represents an important starting point within NRG360’s approach.

Wijnberg explained that the company can upgrade or replace equipment where changes can improve energy performance.

The requirement will differ from property to property because hospitality assets vary considerably in age, condition and operational intensity.

Air-conditioning systems, pumps, kitchens and other equipment can all influence a property’s energy profile.

NRG360 therefore examines the physical systems alongside the way they are being operated.

The approach recognises that digital monitoring alone cannot solve every efficiency problem.

The underlying equipment must also function effectively.

Combining asset improvements with better operational management creates the foundation upon which energy savings can be measured and maintained.

Real-Time Energy Management Makes Performance Visible

Technology forms another important component of NRG360’s model.

Once the physical equipment has been addressed, the company uses an energy-management system to provide continuous visibility into how systems are operating.

Wijnberg said authorised managers, department heads and other users can see what is happening with equipment in real time.

This transparency allows hospitality businesses to move beyond periodically reviewing energy bills after consumption has already occurred.

Instead, management can monitor operational performance while equipment is being used.

Real-time visibility can make it easier to identify changing consumption patterns and understand how operational decisions influence energy use.

For hotels, where numerous departments and systems can operate simultaneously throughout the day, access to live information can turn energy management into a continuous operational process.

ESG Reporting Connects Energy Savings With Sustainability Performance

NRG360 also connects energy management with the growing reporting requirements surrounding environmental, social and governance performance.

Wijnberg said the company provides reporting solutions that can help businesses communicate relevant sustainability information to shareholders and customers.

The central principle is straightforward.

When a hotel reduces the amount of energy it consumes, it can also reduce the emissions associated with that energy use.

NRG360 adds measurement and reporting to make that relationship visible.

Instead of treating sustainability as a separate initiative from operating efficiency, the model connects environmental performance directly with measurable energy reduction.

For hospitality businesses facing increasing expectations around sustainability reporting, this means that operational efficiency can potentially support both financial and environmental objectives.

Carbon Reduction Becomes Measurable Through Energy Data

Wijnberg argued that sustainability does not always need to be complicated.

His explanation centred on a direct relationship: reducing energy consumption can reduce emissions.

The important additional step is measuring what has actually changed.

NRG360 says it can show businesses how much emissions reduction has resulted from energy-saving measures, including the number of tonnes of carbon dioxide reduced during a defined period.

According to Wijnberg, these calculations are presented in accordance with international measurement protocols.

This data-led approach gives hotels and restaurants a more tangible way of understanding sustainability performance.

Rather than communicating environmental ambitions only through general commitments, management can connect operational changes with measurable information showing how energy consumption and associated emissions have changed.

Financing Can Remove a Major Barrier to Energy Upgrades

Financing represents one of the most important elements of the NRG360 proposition.

Energy-efficiency projects can require investment in equipment, technology and operational improvements, creating a potential barrier for hospitality companies that must balance multiple capital priorities.

Wijnberg said NRG360 addresses this challenge by bringing financing as part of the solution.

Under the model he described, hotels and restaurants do not necessarily need to fund the entire programme upfront.

Instead, NRG360 provides financing and the business can repay the cost from the actual savings generated through the efficiency improvements.

This links investment directly with performance.

For hospitality operators, such a structure can make substantial energy improvements more accessible while reducing the immediate pressure of allocating capital before savings have been demonstrated.

NRG360 Works Alongside Hotel Engineering Teams

Collaboration with existing engineering teams forms an important part of how NRG360 implements its model within hospitality properties.

Wijnberg emphasised that the company’s role is not to enter a hotel and tell the engineering department that it has been operating incorrectly.

Instead, NRG360 works together with the property’s existing team to identify ways of improving methodologies, operations and equipment.

The distinction is important because hotel engineering departments already possess detailed knowledge of their buildings and operational requirements.

External energy expertise can therefore be combined with that property-level experience.

This collaborative approach can also make implementation more practical.

Rather than imposing an entirely separate operating structure, improvements can be incorporated into the systems and processes already used by the hotel’s engineering and management teams.

Energy Reduction Links Cost Control Directly With Sustainability

The interview repeatedly connected financial savings with environmental performance.

Wijnberg’s argument is that the two objectives should not be treated as competing priorities.

When a hotel uses less electricity or gas, it can reduce operating expenditure while also lowering the environmental impact associated with energy consumption.

This creates a direct commercial reason for hospitality companies to pursue sustainability initiatives.

Instead of approaching energy efficiency only as an environmental obligation, operators can view it as an opportunity to improve financial performance.

For an industry where margins can be affected by labour, food, utilities and other operating expenses, reducing energy consumption can have a meaningful business impact.

The same efficiency programme can therefore contribute simultaneously to cost control, emissions reduction and ESG reporting.

Transparency Strengthens the Business Case for Energy Investment

Measurement is central to NRG360’s wider proposition because both the hotel and the financing model depend on knowing what savings are actually being achieved.

Wijnberg stressed that energy performance can be monitored and measured continuously through the company’s management system.

This creates greater transparency around equipment performance and energy reduction.

Managers can see what is happening rather than relying solely on projections made before a project begins.

The ability to measure performance also supports the financing structure because repayments can be connected with savings generated by the programme.

For hospitality businesses, this reduces some of the uncertainty surrounding efficiency investments.

The combination of measurable savings, real-time visibility and emissions reporting helps translate energy efficiency from a technical project into a clearer operational and financial proposition.

Integrated Energy Efficiency Could Strengthen Hospitality Sustainability

Throughout the discussion, Wijnberg presented energy efficiency as a practical way for hotels and restaurants to address operating costs and sustainability at the same time.

NRG360’s model combines equipment upgrades, integrated energy management, real-time monitoring, emissions measurement, ESG reporting and financing that can be repaid from achieved savings.

The company says potential energy savings for hotels and restaurants commonly range from around 20% to 50%, although actual performance depends on the individual property, equipment and operating conditions.

The wider message from HORECFEX Vietnam 2026 is that hospitality sustainability does not necessarily have to operate separately from commercial performance.

By making energy consumption measurable, improving equipment and linking investment to verified savings, NRG360 is positioning efficiency as both an environmental strategy and a method of controlling hospitality operating costs.

This article is based exclusively on an interview conducted by Nguyen Thi Tuong Vi, International Correspondent from Travel and Tour World, with Chris Wijnberg, Founder & CEO of NRG360 Vietnam, at HORECFEX Vietnam 2026 in Danang, Vietnam, on 20-21 August 2026. All information reflects statements made during the interview.