The hotel industry in China has experienced rapid growth in the past ten years and made a considerable contribution to the global tourism economy. This paper focuses on the energy performance of hotel buildings in Lijiang, China. Hotel characteristics, daily operational data, and energy use data were collected by carrying out a survey of 24 hotels. The average annual energy use intensity (EUI) of four-, three-, two-, and one-star rated hotels was 180.8 kWh/m2, 113.3 kWh/m2, 74.2 kWh/m2, and 70.2 kWh/m2, respectively. Electricity, as the dominant energy source, accounted for 81% of total energy consumption and was used in the operation of air conditioning, lighting, heating, etc. Pearson correlations between EUI showed that hotel star rating, number of guest rooms, room revenue, and number of workers gave a reasonably strong correlation. A regression-based benchmarking model was established to predict EUI, and a standardization process of EUI was illustrated by statistical analysis.