Brand and Experience Standards
As a hospitality business, you probably sense there’s an opportunity to capitalize on the growing market for electric vehicles (EVs). Should you purchase EV chargers to address your clients’ needs? Should you do it now? And what are the important factors to consider when thinking about your brand and experience standards?
There’s a lot of misinformation surrounding the installation of EV chargers. It’s important to be asking the right questions about EV charger installation and your brand. Rushing to install the equipment now without proper planning can result in unexpected costs and unneeded risk in the long term.
Future Energy has worked with hundreds of companies across many different verticals to explore how EV charging affects brand and experience standards. Part of the discussion involves looking at your long-term goals to identify how to minimize risk and prepare your enterprise for the future of EVs.
An EV charger as a stand-alone piece of equipment doesn’t do much to boost your brand. But through careful planning and identification of your unique goals as a business, you can use EV charging to meet short-, mid-, and long-term goals of your company while managing risk and improving the client experience.
Identifying Opportunities to Build Your Brand through EV Charging
Most people begin the process by asking, How much does an EV charger cost? But to maximize value for your business, there are many more critical questions to address first. It’s important to address high-level questions well before construction begins.
Asking the Right Questions
Future Energy provides guidance on navigating the complex process of working EV chargers into your offerings for guests. We collaborate with your business leaders to identify risk, working backward from your goals to identify a solid plan.
The landscape is changing rapidly, and it’s critical to consider your future needs. For example, improper power management could inadvertently raise your electricity bills substantially. Installing the proper infrastructure now will save you money and minimize business interruption in the long run. And how can you best make your EV chargers visible to attract clients and support your brand?
Establishing Brand Standards
Your guests expect a consistent experience across your brand regardless of which specific location they choose to patronize. They will have similar expectations for the EV charging solutions you offer.
Regulations and requirements for EV charging differ from state to state. Because Future Energy has experience in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, we know how to help you maintain your brand’s high standards consistently across individual franchises.
As we collaborate with our hotel partners, Future Energy’s subject matter experts rely on insights driven by data and experience. Our Interface software uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help you design consistent standards based on logic.
Benefiting from a Customized EV Impact Study
The development of a standard for your brand is especially important for businesses comprised of numerous franchises in different states. Future Energy has conducted more than 500 in-depth, customized analyses for such businesses—what we call our EV Impact Study.
For example, as partners with the automobile manufacturer Stellantis, we are providing comprehensive evaluations and EV integration services for its network of 2,600-plus North American dealers. We bring similar collaboration to the hotel and hospitality industry.
Future Energy’s “one-stop shopping” means that Stellantis dealers don’t need to unravel the complexities of EV charging solutions on their own. Instead, Future Energy helps to identify and address the unique needs of each franchise while maintaining brand standards across the entire network. The same process can and has been applied to the hotels and hospitality industry.
Offering a Consistent EV Charging Environment across Franchises
Your EV charging strategy should include the goal of creating an environment that offers everything your guests expect. Future Energy offers a complete EV charging solution called ChargeParc™.
But as comprehensive as it is, ChargeParc on its own doesn’t get you any closer to optimizing business value. It’s important to evaluate EV charging in the context of what your business and customer needs are.
EV Charger Availability
Future Energy collaborates with you to identify ways to seamlessly integrate EV charging into the guest experience consistently among franchises.
For example, it’s very frustrating for a guest to arrive and find an EV charger occupied by another vehicle or out-of-order. Using Interface and its ability to tie into larger EV charging networks, you can ensure that guests consistently will have real-time visibility into the availability and health of your EV chargers. They can even book an EV charger in advance through your software booking app.
Lighting and Security Solutions
No doubt you have guests arriving at your hotel at all hours, in all kinds of weather. As they hook up to charge, they will expect a safe, secure environment that is protected from the elements.
ChargeParc includes intelligent lighting solutions with incentivized upgrade packages. Our lighting management includes LED lighting, automation, and secured controls.
Additionally, ChargeParc offers parking enforcement so that you can prioritize EV charging for your guests only. Our live remote video monitoring helps to protect your guests’ vehicles. And our bollards feature built-in cameras that help with parking enforcement through automatic ticketing for unauthorized users.
Through the use of Interface, you can manage your lighting and security solutions and monitor them in real time. Guests can have confidence that you are keeping their vehicles safe.
Brand Promotion
You can stamp your name, logo, or other branding directly on EV charging equipment, bollards, signs, and parking spots. ChargeParc is a completely customizable EV charging environment that you can use to help showcase your brand on-screen.
Consistent branding appears throughout your franchise locations so that clients recognize and have confidence in your EV charging offerings.
Enhancing Brand Reputation through EV Charging
Building and supporting your brand involves understanding your audience and then providing an experience that exceeds customer expectations.
Showcase Your Commitment to Sustainability
Increasingly, consumers are choosing to patronize businesses that they believe emphasize sustainability. In fact, 65% of consumers say they want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability.
Offering EV charging is one way to show potential guests that your brand embraces sustainability measures.
Attract Talent to Your Workforce
Like many industries, the hospitality industry is in competition for qualified workers. A Gallup study found that 71% of workers consider a company’s environmental record when deciding on an employer. The ability to charge at work is an important benefit, especially for millennials. EV charging can give your hotel a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining employees.
Influence Guests to Choose Your Hotel
Future Energy’s Interface software can tie your EV chargers into your hotel’s app as well as other mobile charging networks. As a result of massive EV adoption, travelers continue to increasingly decide on accommodations, and potential guests can see that you offer them a place to charge.
Networked chargers simplify the ability of guests to locate and reserve chargers online. Additionally, you can offer EV charging as a perk and tie it into your loyalty guest program. Learn more about our work with Hotels.
Finding a Partner to Help Boost Your Brand through EV Charging
You’ve worked diligently to establish brand and experience standards that help build loyalty among your guests. Contact Future Energy today so that we can collaborate on how best to integrate EV charging into the goals and specific use cases for your hospitality business.
Let’s Connect
Designing smart building connectivity begins with a personal connection. We’ll discuss your goals, budget and timeline, and take it from there.
