Managed by the Anacove Smart Dashboard, Anacove Smart Thermostats and Luggage Cart Finders elevate sustainability, streamline operations and enhance guest experiences.

The Holiday Inn Express San Diego South – Chula Vista is a contemporary 3-star hotel with 88 spacious guest rooms across four floors. The property offers easy access to downtown San Diego, the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego Zoo, beaches, and the Convention Center – making it a popular choice for both business and leisure travelers. Amenities include a year-round outdoor pool and hot tub, fitness center, business facilities, and free parking. Competing in one of the nation’s most demanding hospitality markets, the hotel is constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency and service.

To meet these challenges, General Manager Victor M. Carrera recently introduced Anacove AI-powered Smart Thermostats and Asset Tracking devices, along with an initial pilot of the company’s Staff Alert Smart Nametag solution. All are controlled through the easy-to-use Anacove Smart Dashboard, which provides real-time insights without adding complexity for staff, generating monthly flash reports summarizing energy savings and asset activity. 

The deployment quickly delivered measurable results.

“We’ve already noted measurable energy savings and project results in line with our sister hotels,” said Carrera. “I’ve also been very impressed by the Anacove Smart Thermostat’s ability to pre-cool rooms before arrival, a great advantage that improves guest satisfaction while also reducing HVAC strain. The system also flags malfunctioning AC units early, allowing us to deploy our maintenance teams before problems escalate – helping to reduce repair costs and mitigate guest complaints.”

Energy & Efficiency Savings

Energy efficiency was the most immediate benefit. There has been a clear drop in monthly electric bills and lower kilowatt-hour usage, in line with other Holiday Inn Express properties. A previous trial by Holiday Inn parent company IHG Hotels & Resorts showed Anacove Smart Thermostats significantly reducing HVAC energy use, with savings of 30-40% on average and a payback period of 12-14 months. San Diego is reporting similar results, according to Carrera.

Operational gains go beyond HVAC. By tagging luggage carts and cribs with Anacove Asset Tracking Devices, the hotel has virtually eliminated losses and has slashed retrieval times. Staff can now instantly locate equipment for reassignment or billing via the dashboard, eliminating one of the most common frustrations in hotel operations. This accountability saves time and ensures items are always available for guests.

“With remote AC control, front desk teams can fix room comfort issues instantly without sending maintenance, remotely via the simple dashboard from the front desk – eliminating the need to physically go to the room,” explained Carrera. “That frees them up for other tasks and means guests benefit from quicker, more efficient service. Being able to easily locate hotel collateral is a boon too. All of these time savings are already feeding into better guest satisfaction and will likely reduce our payroll costs in the long run.”

Staff safety has also been strengthened through location-enabled name tags, currently in use by a third of the 30-strong team. Initially met with caution, the devices have quickly proven their worth. They allow for rapid response in emergencies – especially in areas not covered by cameras – and provide hotel management with data on room servicing times, which helps improve training and workflows.

A Smarter, Simpler Future

Reflecting on the rollout, Carrera praised Anacove’s attentive support and affordability compared to larger competitors. Keen to work closely with Anacove on any potential improvements, he suggested dashboard enhancements such as a map-based view to visualize asset and staff locations, and also expressed interest in predictive diagnostics – such as identifying AC compressor issues before failure – that could further reduce costs.

“I’m delighted with both Anacove’s solutions, backed up by the user-friendly dashboard, and the company’s close involvement with the requirements of our business,” he said. “We’ve seen electric bills go down, we can pre-cool rooms for our guests, and we’re identifying non-working AC units faster.” 

He added: “The identifiers for luggage carts and cribs have minimized losses and improved accountability, and the name tags with location devices enhance staff safety and allow us to monitor performance. Anacove’s support has been excellent, and their solutions are cost-effective compared to others in the market.”

By adopting AI-driven Anacove’s solutions, the Holiday Inn Express San Diego South – Chula Vista has established itself as a sustainable, efficient, and forward-thinking hospitality property in a highly competitive market, where guest expectations are high and operational margins are tight. With technology that is both powerful and simple to use, the hotel is reducing energy and payroll costs, strengthening safety, and enhancing the guest experience – illustrating how smart systems can deliver a genuinely competitive edge in modern hospitality.