Analysis of temperature preference of guests from various countries/regions during summer and winter in a budget hotel in Kyoto, Japan

Abstract

Energy consumption by air conditioning in hotels is significant and continues to be an important topic in the building energy sector, although hotels do require a high level of thermal comfort. This study focuses on the temperatures that people prefer in Japanese hotels after traveling long distances across countries or regions. We measured room temperature and surveyed 299 Japanese guests, and measured room temperatures on 7,435 nights by Japanese and foreigners. We investigated the transient responses when guests entered a room while resting, sleeping, and waking. Zero heating and cooling costs were directly paid by guests, who were allowed to freely set their preferred temperature. Five interesting findings have emerged from this study. First, there were no significant differences in the temperatures preferred in hotel guest rooms by the Japanese respondents who lived in different regions. Second, Japanese respondents preferred a “cool” environment in summer and a “warm” environment in winter. Third, Japanese respondents tended to prefer “dry” to “moist” in both summer and winter. Fourth, the preferred temperatures differed between summer and winter. Fifth, the preferred temperatures in the same hotel varied depending on the country or region of origin of the respondent, and were not necessarily higher in summer than in winter.