United States hotel night: carbon footprint per room-night
Live factor value
16.1 kgCO2e per room-night
Source: UK DESNZ greenhouse-gas conversion factors, 2026 (revision 2). Factor set desnz-2026-r2.
A US hotel night carries roughly one and a half times the UK's official footprint — the live DESNZ 2026 figure is below. The US grid still burns substantial coal and gas, and American hotel stock runs larger rooms with heavier heating, cooling and laundry loads than European equivalents.
On a two-week US trip the hotel line becomes material: fourteen nights approach a quarter-tonne of CO2e before a single mile is driven. It still trails the transatlantic flights, but unlike the flight there is a lever: the factor is a national average, and it falls in future editions as US coal retires.
Worked example
A two-week US trip (14 nights): 14 × 16.1 = 225 kgCO2e.
Measure your own with the free hotel calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How does a US hotel night compare with a UK one?
- About one and a half times the UK per-room-night factor in the DESNZ 2026 table — a mix of higher grid carbon intensity and larger, more energy-intensive hotel stock.