The Lodging Conference: Ananta Energy Perspective

Nearly 20 years in energy procurement, 15 years of Ananta Energy Source, and somehow, every hospitality conference still teaches me something new. After another incredible experience at The Lodging Conference, here are six takeaways that stuck with me.

During one of the discussions, Neil Amin of Shamin Hotels made a comment along the lines of, “Utility bills are as high as your mortgage payments.”

That one stuck with me.

For years, utilities may have been an overlooked line item for some hotel owners. But with the energy markets changing, particularly across PJM, I believe some owners could be in for a rude awakening over the next five years.

We've already seen dramatic increases in PJM capacity costs (roughly 9X increase June 2025). How are hotel owners preparing for these changes? Who's helping them forecast expenses, evaluate their contracts, and hedge their energy budgets?

Our clients have had access to this kind of market intelligence and planning for a while now. It's our core competency, and increasingly, I believe it's becoming essential.

2. Energy procurement is still an underserved specialty in hospitality.

Walk around a hospitality conference and you'll meet hundreds of professionals representing real estate brokerage, lending, FF&E, construction, development, and technology.

But energy procurement specialists? At TLC, I only encountered one other company specializing in what we do.

That surprised me.

Considering how significant utility expenses have become, you'd think there would be more representation.

I believe that's going to change over the next several years, and it presents an incredible opportunity for companies like Ananta to establish themselves as trusted hospitality partners.

3. Experience matters. So does transparency.

I've been involved in energy procurement for nearly 20 years, and there's something to be said about having your own 20 years of supplier relationships, rather than relying on someone else's.

Those relationships matter when negotiating, troubleshooting, and occasionally asking suppliers for favors on behalf of clients.

But our experience doesn't stop at procurement.

Since 2013, we've helped deploy LED lighting across approximately 300 Midwestern hotels while pursuing available utility rebates. We entered EV charging in 2022, including a handful of Tesla site-host projects we partnered on, and expanded into water savings in 2025.

It's all part of taking hospitality utility management seriously.

I've also seen some phenomenal energy agreements negotiated over the years. Unfortunately, I've seen plenty of bad ones.

Sometimes decisions are driven by longstanding personal relationships rather than competitive evaluations. A CFO might have a trusted friend in the business, but that doesn't necessarily mean the company is getting the most competitive deal.

There's nothing wrong with relationships. I'm a huge believer in them.

But relationships shouldn't replace due diligence.

A second set of eyes, a competitive RFP, and transparency around broker margins can make a meaningful difference to a property's P&L.

Two of my favorite lessons came from mentors over the years:

1. “When you take care of the pennies, the dollars tend to take care of themselves.”

2. “Merrill, when you treat my money like it's your money, I'll give you more money.”

Those two philosophies have stuck with me throughout my career.

The first taught me to pay attention to the details. The second taught me to treat every client's dollar with the same care and responsibility as my own.

Combine those principles with nearly 20 years of experience, supplier relationships, and a commitment to transparency, and I wholeheartedly believe Ananta has barely scratched the surface.

Not just in terms of growing our business, but in how much more value we can bring to the clients who already trust us, and the hospitality owners we haven't had the opportunity to serve yet.

4. The greatest compliment is a client's trust.

Our clients continue to surprise us with their generosity and support.

Whether it's references, testimonials, hospitality during our travels, or helping us navigate logistics, we're fortunate to work with some incredible people.

But what means the most is the trust.

I've had clients tell me, “Merrill, we trust you. We don't shop around. We'll sign when you recommend it because we know you're looking out for our business.”

Others have offered to grant us Power of Attorney because they simply want the responsibility taken off their plates.

That's an enormous responsibility, and one we don't take lightly.

When a client treats us like their in-house Director of Energy, that's exactly how we show up.

5. Energy budgeting shouldn't be a nightmare.

During breakfast, I met a hospitality asset manager who described managing energy budgets in deregulated markets as a nightmare.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Part of me wondered which energy group she was working with!

But her comment stuck with me because it highlighted a very real challenge.

Asset managers are responsible for budgets, financial performance, and protecting the value of their properties. They shouldn't have to become energy-market experts just to understand why utility expenses are changing.

So here's a new goal for Ananta:

How do we help make energy procurement, forecasting, and budgeting less intimidating and more manageable for hospitality asset managers?

I already have a few ideas for our next marketing campaign. Stay tuned. 😉

6. Building a business with my wife is officially my favorite flex.

This might be my favorite takeaway of them all.

Watching Tina transition into the family business has been an incredible experience.

Her entrepreneurial roots go back to helping run her family's businesses growing up. Today, she's applying that experience while learning the ins and outs of Ananta's accounting, finance, operations, HR, marketing, sales support, and everything else that makes our world go 'round.

And she's bringing plenty of hospitality expertise of her own.

With her background in business intelligence and hospitality analytics, there were moments at The Lodging Conference when she was teaching me industry terminology!

Watching her embrace this new chapter has given me an entirely new appreciation for what we're building together.

Being able to attend conferences together, grow our family business, create opportunities for our team, provide for our children, and give back to our communities is something I'm incredibly grateful for.

We'll definitely be attending more conferences together.

The Lodging Conference reminded me that there's still so much opportunity ahead of us—not just to grow our family business, but to continue learning from our clients, strengthen relationships overall, and help our hospitality clients make smarter decisions.