The adoption of renewable energy technology (RET) in the hotel sector is low, despite the technology's potential to reduce a hotel's energy consumption and carbon emissions. Previous research has explored selected aspects of RET adoption in hotels, but a comprehensive and systemic analysis is missing. This research uses a systems approach, which allows examination of a wide range of dynamics and complexities, including feedback mechanisms that influence system behaviour over time. The model was developed using the structural analysis method and causal loop diagramming in conjunction with theories of diffusion and patterns of innovation. The aim was to enhance our understanding of the hotel energy system, with a focus on drivers and barriers to RET adoption in the sector. The results demonstrate that the uptake of RET by hotels reflects an interplay between incentive policy, hotel owner/manager perceptions of RET, tourists' behaviour, technology advancement and electricity grid price. The analysis also uncovers the dynamics of key drivers that, under different circumstances, can also become barriers. The insights generated from the analysis validate the use of systems thinking to capture the complexities and dynamics of interactions.