Mobile designs to support user experiences of energy conservation in hotels

In the U.S., hotels are a heavy energy-consuming sector. Yet they sometimes prioritize customer satisfaction over lower energy use. In this study, we discuss how mobile designs can help to motivate energy-saving behaviors while maintaining users' satisfaction. We conducted a diary study of 13 participants and an interview study of 20 participants to understand user experiences around energy consumption in hotel and motel rooms. We found that people unnecessarily consume energy because they are unfamiliar with the hotel room environment and they want to be catered to by the hotel. We suggest two mobile design ideas: location-based energy conservation, and blending lights, and discuss the opportunities of mobile designs to balance personal controls and automation to support user experience and satisfaction yet decrease energy use in hospitality settings.