Hotel Huis van Bewaring in Almelo is housed in a listed former prison dating back to the early twentieth century. With dozens of rooms spread across thick historic walls and high ceilings, energy use was a black box for years. Holio changed that.
Hotel Huis van Bewaring is no ordinary hotel. The building, a former prison from the early twentieth century, is steeped in history. Thick brick walls, high ceilings, long corridors, and cells converted into rooms: it is a listed monument that offers guests a truly unique stay.
But those same qualities that make the hotel so special also made energy management a challenge. The insulation values of a historic monument are simply different from a modern build. Radiators ran on a fixed schedule, not on occupancy. Empty rooms were heated as if guests were sleeping in them. On top of that, every room has a split-unit air conditioner. These were often left running after guests had checked out, and sometimes the radiator and the air conditioning even ran at the same time: one heating, the other cooling.
With gas prices rising sharply in recent years, sustainability stopped being a nice-to-have and became a business necessity. Bob de Waal, COO of Hotel Huis van Bewaring, faced a clear challenge: reduce the energy bill without compromising the hotel's historic character or guest comfort.
"We knew we had to do something, but major structural interventions simply aren't an option in a listed building. It had to be wireless, non-invasive and reliable," said Bob de Waal.
The search for a solution led him to Holio. After an initial conversation, it quickly became clear that Holio's smart TRV radiator valves were a perfect fit. They clipped directly onto the existing radiators, communicated wirelessly over LoRaWAN, and required zero building work.
It soon became clear that tackling the radiators alone wasn't enough. The air conditioning had to get smarter too.
"We have split unit aircos in every room and had no way to manage them centrally. With Holio, every unit switches off automatically when a room is empty."
Holio replaced every radiator valve in the hotel with a smart TRV. Each device was pre-assigned to the correct room and shipped ready to install. No contractor was needed: the hotel's own maintenance team clipped the valves onto the radiators in a single day.
Thanks to the standard M30 × 1.5 mm thread connection, the TRVs fitted directly onto the existing radiators. Where a different connection was needed, Holio supplied adapters. The LoRaWAN network provided reliable connectivity through the thick historic walls, without touching the hotel's Wi-Fi.
Alongside the radiators, Holio brought the split-unit air conditioners in every room under central control. Just like the radiators, the air conditioning now responds to occupancy from the PMS: at checkout, the unit switches off automatically, so no energy is wasted on an empty room.
Radiators and air conditioning also work together instead of against each other. As soon as an air conditioner starts cooling, Holio automatically switches off the radiator in the same room. Heating and cooling never run at the same time.
Since the implementation, Hotel Huis van Bewaring has complete visibility into energy use per room. Through the Holio dashboard, the team can see at a glance which rooms are actively being heated, which are on standby, and where any anomalies occur.
Empty rooms are no longer kept at guest temperature. At checkout, the radiator automatically drops to an energy-saving standby of 15°C. Before the next check-in, Holio pre-heats the room at exactly the right moment, so every guest walks into a comfortable room. The air conditioning also switches off automatically at checkout.
Significant reduction in gas consumption, because empty rooms are no longer kept at guest temperature around the clock.
Rooms are at temperature on arrival. No more manual thermostat adjustments by staff or guests. Radiators and air conditioning work together, not against each other.
The Holio dashboard provides real-time overview of all rooms, consumption data and monthly savings reports.
Book a free demo and find out how much your property can save with Holio.