When it comes to air conditioning in the hotel industry, there is the year before and the year after summer 2003. According to an Icom Survey by MKG Consulting that included 262 air-conditioned hotels, nearly 68% of them adopted the technology after the disastrous heat wave. One good reason for this: all those properties that were already equipped saw their occupancy shoot up that summer... Not only did demand experience unprecedented growth, but it also affected all categories. Consequently air conditioning is no longer just for international upscale properties. In just a few years it has gone from being a luxury accessory to a standard offer the same way –or almost– the television did. Two-star and even one-star segments now constitute a real market. Still, according to the study, up to 22% of no-star hotels are air conditioned! The trend towards equipping these economy segments mostly concerns low-cost chains that saw air conditioning as a way to differentiate themselves. Etap Hotel or B&B, for example, launched major campaigns to equip their respective inventories. The final goal is for everyone to benefit from this installation. The market remains vast since 85% of today’s hotels did not have air conditioning when they opened...A final, more pragmatic, argument that is considerable plays in favor of the fan: artificial cooling through air conditioning costs 20 to 30 times more and tends to dry out the air, which bothers some people. At a time when scientists agree that the climatic change is only going to continue in an increasing manner, climate control at hotels is becoming an absolute priority. But each site has its particular needs. What works at one may be insufficient at another (or present unpleasant secondary effects). Because of this, the reflection and analysis phase is the most important. And in this...