Employee Charging
If your hotel is considering the installation of chargers for electric vehicles (EVs), you’re probably thinking primarily about providing EV charging for guests. And rightly so. EV charging has become a hot amenity for proprietors, with an increasing number of guests choosing accommodations that offer the ability to charge.
But guest charging is not the only consideration. Have you thought about how EV charging can benefit your employees?
Any EV charging project needs to begin by looking strategically at your short-, medium-, and long-term goals. What do you hope to accomplish? How does EV charging benefit your brand? How can you manage costs and energy use over the long term?
When identifying the answers to these questions, Future Energy provides a holistic approach to EV charging. We work with you to take a step back and look at all aspects of your business and how to optimize EV charging solutions now and in the future.
Employee charging may not be at the top of your priority list as you seek to build EV charging into your list of guest amenities. But you can save time and money while minimizing future business disruption by considering the need for employee charging as you serve your guests.
How Does Employee EV Charging Work with EV Charging for Hotel Guests?
Future Energy specializes in helping companies wade through the complexities surrounding EV charger installation, no matter the use case. Future Energy recommends that you align EV charging for employees with your guest EV charging projects so that you don’t have to tackle these challenges twice.
Aligning Stakeholders
As we project EV charging needs for your guests, Future Energy engages with your hotel brand and individual properties as well. We consider all the different areas that will require support for the EV charging project. We help align your stakeholders in understanding how the installation of EV chargers can integrate into your business plan and promote your brand for guests as well as employees.
Our expertise includes helping hotels forecast future demand for employee use of EV chargers. Plus, as guest needs fluctuate, you have the option to repurpose employee EV chargers to accommodate guests on the fly.
Conducting Research
When we work with hotels on their guest EV charging installation projects, Future Energy compiles comprehensive research to facilitate data-driven decisions. This same research applies to the implementation of employee charging.
For example, the Federal Highway Administration collects data from each state to analyze average daily traffic (ADT) for a precise location. Future Energy can apply this and other geographical data to determine your EV charging needs for employees now and in the future.
Although employee charging adoption ties in with your overall business model and brand enhancement, the approach differs slightly for each individual property. Much of the variation depends on geography. The rate of EV adoption is about 40% lower in rural areas than urban, meaning employees who work at urban properties are more likely to be driving EVs.
Establishing the Network
Future Energy offers software-as-a-service called Interface, which monitors and controls all of your hotel properties’ electrical systems in real-time from any device. You can use Interface as a connection point that integrates with your hotel’s business systems.
Through Interface, you can keep track of costs per session and charge them back to employees. Or you can tie EV charging into employee rewards programs, offering it to loyal employees as a perk.
How Much Does EV Charging Cost for Employees?
One of the most common questions from our clients is, “How much do EV chargers cost?” The answer is complex. But the identification of your use cases in advance—plus a comprehensive strategy to achieve your goals—helps with economies of scale. In other words, it’s fiscally responsible to address all of your short- and long-term goals at once.
Infrastructure and Utility Upgrades
The installation of EV chargers frequently requires an upgrade to your electrical infrastructure. Clearly, it’s significantly more efficient to “dig once” than to revisit a construction project to install EV chargers for employees after the fact.
Additionally, with EV use on the rise, an increasing number of businesses are contacting their local utility to get in line for an upgrade. Future Energy has found that the wait list for electrical upgrades can be as long as two years. But because of our close relationships with local utilities across North America, Future Energy can help your hospitality business get to the front of the line.
Software and Networking
When Interface connects with your network for EV charging for your guests, it’s efficient to integrate employee charging at the same time. Employees can reserve chargers formally through the hotel app or use chargers informally by connecting on an as-needed basis. Either way, your hotel system connected through Interface monitors EV charger use. Through the network, employees can keep track of when their vehicles are finished charging.
Financial Incentives
Federal, state, and local financial incentives are available to companies that install EV chargers. Future Energy’s Financial Incentive National Database Tool uncovers 99% of all available money geared toward offsetting the cost of EV charging installation for your hotel.
Many financial incentives require public-facing chargers in order to qualify. In most cases, your EV chargers for employees will “count” as public-facing chargers.
How Does Employee EV Charging Improve Brand Perception?
A consistent EV charging experience is key to maintaining your brand’s high standards and meeting guest expectations. Similarly, the establishment of EV charging for employees makes a statement about what your brand stands for.
Comprehensive Strategy
To support the increase in EVs on the road, the US will need 1.3 million workplace chargers by 2030. This rise in EV use affects your larger strategy to meet the needs of your employees. You can implement this strategy at the same time you think about EV charging as a guest amenity.
Attracting and Retaining Talent
EV drivers like to charge where they spend most of their time: at home or in the workplace. As a result, hotels that offer employee EV charging can help to attract and retain desirable talent. Studies indicate that employers who install chargers receive positive feedback from 91% of employees.
Specifically, the ability to offer EV charging may help attract employees to upper-level management positions. First, college graduates are more likely to own an EV or to be seriously considering the purchase of one. Also, US adults with a household income of $100,000 or more say they own or are likely to own an EV.
Demonstrating Commitment to Sustainability
Studies show that up to 78% of US consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them. And more than 60% care about buying environmentally and ethically sustainable products. When you offer EV charging to employees, you’re showing your company’s commitment to sustainability.
How Can I Get Help on Offering Employee Charging?
Any EV charging plan should involve a comprehensive overview of all of your business use cases. Contact Future Energy today to find out more about how we can help you build employee charging into your immediate and future business plans.
