The project begins with two scoping studies: The first study focuses on mapping the value chain—or the three respective value chains for hotels, restaurants, and catering services—by identifying individual actors and service providers and assessing their significance in terms of energy consumption. The second study examines best practices for energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy use, and energy benchmarks across different members of the value chains.

To ensure practical relevance, the project aims to engage directly with practitioners, discussing the desk study results and incorporating their input and insights from real-world experience. For this purpose, three working group meetings will be organized, involving energy and sustainability experts from the HORECA value chain in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, and Spain. During these meetings, the findings of the scoping studies will be presented and discussed with the experts.