Sustainable Hospitality: Inviting and Future-Oriented

“voco” comes from Latin and means “to summon” or “to invite”: in fact, the operator IHG Hotels & Resorts has set itself the goal of creating an inviting atmosphere for its 87 “voco” hotels worldwide. This also includes an invitation to a hotel stay that is as sustainable as possible: plant-based cosmetics filled from bulk packaging, comforter covers made from recycled material, filtered drinking water in reusable glass bottles and charging stations for electric vehicles are just as much a part of the concept as the sustainable use of water and energy.

The IHG voco™ Brussels City North Hotel, which opened in Vilvoorde, Belgium, in September 2023, resembles a bright blue ship’s bow. 92 rooms, a restaurant and a conference center will also be used by people working on trends and technologies of the future in the neighboring Living Tomorrow Innovation Center. In the hotel bathrooms, guests relax with sustainable water enjoyment thanks to water and energy-saving hansgrohe technologies. The hansgrohe Talis E faucets with CoolStart* only dispense cold water in the neutral handle position, thus avoiding unnecessary heating and energy consumption during short periods of use. Like the hansgrohe Logis faucets that are also installed, the Talis E faucets use just six liters of water per minute. The hand-held showers and shower systems of the hansgrohe Vernis Blend and Crometta shower lines equipped with EcoSmart offer full showering pleasure with a water flow reduced to 8 liters per minute. In comparison, showers without a flow limiter consume up to 12 liters per minute. This means that up to 40 percent less water can be used and, in the case of hot water consumption, energy can also be saved.**

On vacation, guests often enjoy showering and bathing more extensively than in their hectic everyday lives at home. This leads to increased water consumption in hotel bathrooms, which can sometimes be exacerbated by water-intensive services such as pools and wellness facilities. Energy is required for hot water. Depending on size, location and efficiency measures, a hotel’s energy costs can account for between five and ten percent of annual turnover. Hotel operators can significantly reduce their running water and energy costs by using hansgrohe taps and showers with reduced flow rates. Reduced water consumption can also be a plus point in the decision of investors, who are increasingly investing in projects that meet the criteria from the EU taxonomy for showers and mixers.***

1.2 Million Liters of Water Savings per Year

However, the shower wastewater at Hotel voco does not flow down the drain unused: the hotel operators rely on the innovative Hydraloop greywater recycling system. Since March 2025, hansgrohe has been cooperating with Hydraloop, a company based in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, which sells the modern, low-maintenance and IoT-controlled treatment systems. The shower wastewater from 58 hotel bathrooms flows into the system, which consists of five units connected in a cascade, taking up 10 square meters of space. Here the shower wastewater is purified and disinfected using an innovative biological process. The result is high-quality, certified recycled water that is reused in the hotel for flushing toilets. The annual water savings amount to around 1.2 million liters.

“We don’t just design complete bathrooms that impress with their design, quality and function. Together with competent partners, we develop technologies for the entire water cycle in buildings that help to comply with regulations and save water and energy without any loss of comfort. This also includes the effective and reliable greywater recycling technology that we offer together with Hydraloop,” says Bens Ezhuthanavayalil, Head of New Ventures at Hansgrohe Group.

“The feel-good factor of our guests is very important to us. Showers make a significant contribution to this,” explains Steven Vandevelde, General Manager of the IHG voco Brussels City North Hotel. “By combining the innovative hansgrohe water-saving technologies with the systemic solution from Hydraloop, we ensure that this feel-good experience does not come at the expense of valuable resources. This is sustainable and cost-saving water and energy consumption without compromising on design and comfort. This setup has contributed highly to achieving our Green Key certificate, an award that is known widely in the hotel industry.”

At the Hansgrohe stand at the GreenTech Festival in Berlin from May 20 to 22, 2025, you can discover hansgrohe’s water and energy-saving technologies and the Hydraloop gray water recycling system live.

* Save energy with CoolStart technology: if the lever is in the middle, cold water flows. Hot water only flows when it is turned to the left.
** compared to our conventional products. With EcoSmart, a flexible flow limiter reduces water consumption to a maximum of 8 l/min (at 3 bar).
*** DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2021/2139 OF THE COMMISSION EUR-Lex - 02021R2139-20250101 - EN - EUR-Lex

About hansgrohe

hansgrohe stands for holistic bathroom experiences that combine water- and energy-saving technologies, intelligent functions and long-lasting quality. With timeless and innovative premium products, the brand supports a sustainable lifestyle and transforms daily water routines into extraordinary experiences. Driven by a unique pioneering spirit, hansgrohe, together with its long-standing partner PHOENIX, creates living environments and product solutions for bathrooms and kitchens that enrich everyday life with more design, comfort and enjoyment. Within the internationally active Hansgrohe Group, the premium brand hansgrohe manufactures, markets and distributes showers, shower systems, bathroom and kitchen faucets, bathroom accessories, furniture, sanitary ceramics and kitchen sinks worldwide under the hansgrohe brand.

hansgrohe. Life is waterful.