The owner of the hotel, Michaela Reiterer, is committed to being environmentally friendly, but she is also a business woman. So she is pleased to say that her investment is paying off: “Normally in a 3-star hotel in Austria, the energy benchmark is around 6-7 percent, but we have 2 percent energy costs. So, it really saves money. We have nearly doubled our staff numbers. We had 18 before, and now we have about 35-36. But we also have a lot of new jobs that we did not have before, in quality management, and communication and social media. Because going green is a topic that you can talk about.”

This Viennese hotel served as a reference when the World Tourism Organisation set up an internet tool within the framework of the EU Intelligent Energy Europe programme. The diagnostic programme has already helped 400 European hoteliers get a comprehensive energy report, with recommendations for green investment as well as an idea of the savings these investments could represent.

Marina Diotallevi, Head of Ethics & Social Dimension, World Tourism Organisation, commented: “Some local destinations have even gone further, like for example the Chambre of Commerce in Haute Savoie, in France, which signed a partnership agreement with regional banks to provide local hoteliers with special loans that they can use to improve on hotel energy solutions, and the hotel energy tool kit will be used to evaluate the companies before providing them the loan.”

View a movie on the hotel on Euronews/Business Planet at http://www.euronews.com/2012/05/16/go-green-get-growing/

Description of Renewable Energy Technologies adopted

• RES – Electricity: PV power plant and 4 wind turbines.
• RES-Heating: 160 m² solar thermal panels can produce enough hot water for the whole hotel, depending on the weather. Ground source heat pumps.
• RES Cooling: Ground source heat pumps.

Integration of energy efficiency/environmental measures

• Energy Efficiency: An “instabus” system allows the hotel to manage and control its electrical devices and programme their use only when this is required.
• Environmental measures: Rainwater is used to water the garden and to flush the toilets. A green rooftop (made of lavender and rose plantations) removes the need for air-conditioning
• Waste prevention and separation policy: Organic waste composting
• Bicycle-friendly hotel: Beneficial rates for guests arriving by train or bicycle

Here's what the hotel writes on its website:

The World’s First City Hotel with a Zero Energy-Balance
The extension of our cosy Vienna boutique hotel makes us very proud. The new building not only is the perfect addition to the existing, thoughtfully renovated period town house but as well maintains a zero engergy-balance.

Eco-friendly holidays in a Vienna city hotel
So, what is so special about a hotel with a zero energy-balance? It means that in the course of a year our boutique hotel creates the same amount of energy that we use to run it. For this we only use renewable energy sources like solar and photovoltaic panels, ground water heat pumps and even three wind turbines.*

Enjoy nature in Vienna’s inner city
At Hotel Stadthale Vienna, we not only use renewable energy sources. We tend the lavender and roses in our beautiful hotel garden and flush our bathrooms exclusively with rain water. Our hotel sign generates its own electricity and we even provide two power stations* for our guests to plug in and recharge their electric cars - free of charge.
* we are currently awaiting approval for this project by Vienna city council.

Please support our urban wind turbine initiative on Facebook!

Green Technology in Hotel Stadthalle
Green Bonus: Thanks to a zero energy-balance, Hotel Stadthalle was the first hotel in Vienna awarded with the EU-Ecolabel for tourism businesses who meet the strictest criteria by limiting their impact on the environment.

Low Energy Design keeps our boutique hotel self-sustained
The foundation for our zero energy-balance hotel is a sophisticated concrete structure where integrated water pipes facilitate water circulation to cool and heat the whole building. More than 200 sqm of solar and photovoltaic panels provide self-sustained energy to the whole hotel. We use rain water for everyday needs like tending our hotel garden or the flushing in our bathrooms, while our crisp drinking water is vitalised by a blend of natural stones.

Zero-energy balance is an everyday effort at Hotel Stadthalle Vienna
Environmental awareness at our boutique hotel doesn’t stop with its low energy design or the use of green technology:

• We air-condition naturally thanks to our lavender and rose garden on our hotel roof
• We prevent and separate waste
• We are a bike-friendly hotel and offer a green bonus on our room rates for guests travelling by bicycle or train.