The study examines the energy efficiency performance of hotel façades in relation to the annual cooling load simulation. In achieving the objective, two case studies of high-rise city hotels are selected within the locality of Penang, Malaysia. The case studies are selected based on the year of construction coupled with the architectural styles encompassing conventional and modern design of hotel facades. In traditional hotel facades, passive design elements, including proper window and wall materials selection alongside window-to-wall ratio (WWR), are less significant. Comparatively, elements of passive design in modern hotel facades are notable. In assessing the thermal performance of the hotel façade, a case study of the conventional and modern high-rise city hotels in Penang are selected to undergo hourly cooling load simulation in the hotel guestroom using the DesignBuilder simulation program in establishing the hotel’s energy efficiency performance. The findings revealed the average annual cooling energy of the conventional and modern high-rise city hotel guestrooms is 553 kWh/m2 and 538 kWh/m2, respectively. The study concludes the elements of passive design, including WWR, window material selection, and external wall colour are crucial in determining energy-efficient hotel operations.
