Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel

How does Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel compare with other hotel buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 86 hotel buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel's ENERGY STAR score of 87 compares with an average of 76 across the 78 that report a score; it scores higher than 55% of them and lower than 41%. Its site EUI of 56.3 kBtu/ft² is about 18% below the average of 68.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 2.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 24% above the group average of 2.0 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 45,500 sq ft, it is about 73% below the average floor area of 165,912 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1914, 56 years earlier than the group's average year built (1971). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,812 hotel buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 65 and a site EUI of 77.8 kBtu/ft².

How has Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 80 in 2015 to 87 in 2025 (+7 points); its best year on file was 2021, at 99. Site EUI moved from 55.5 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 56.3 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 1% increase. Reported emissions went from 106 tCO₂e to 112 tCO₂e over the same span (up 6%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 87 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 87 means the building performs better than about 87% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 87 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Seattle, 69% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel's 56.3 kBtu/ft² across 45,500 sq ft works out to about 2.6 billion Btu (751 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 101.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 300,552 kWh of electricity and 6,331 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel to report its energy use?

Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel reports under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920), the legal basis of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record seattle:25540:2025). Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.