EV Charging for Hotels and Hospitality Groups
How much does an electric vehicle (EV) charger cost? It’s the most common question we get from hotels and hospitality chains wishing to add EV charging to their amenities.
The cost of an EV charger seems like a simple question. But the answer is a long conversation that involves the identification of your specific use cases, your timeline, your goals, and your risks as a business.
Future Energy works as your partner to navigate these challenges and find the solution that is perfect for you.
You don’t start a restaurant business by asking about the cost of the refrigerator. Similarly, the price tag of EV charging equipment takes a back seat to questions that are more vital to your business:
- How does the EV charging experience align with and enhance your brand?
- What standards are necessary for all properties to offer the same EV charging experience to guests?
- How can your business use EV charging to build client loyalty?
- How can EV charging attract new customers and increase revenue?
Future Energy helps align your stakeholders so everyone evaluates and understands the risks involved with the EV charging experience. Then your hotel or hospitality brand can begin to benefit from all the rewards that EV charging solutions provide.
Brand Experience and Standards
Certain expectations today weren’t necessary years ago, like free Wi-Fi or coffee in a hotel room. Client expectations evolve. Soon, the ability to charge an electric vehicle will become a standard expectation of an overnight hotel guest. Restaurant patrons will want to plug in their EVs as they dine.
EV drivers are already supporting businesses that provide a way to charge while they visit. In the short term, EV charging helps attract customers to your door. In the long term, you can build your brand by meeting client expectations ahead of the curve. Now is the time to pivot ahead of client expectations or risk becoming irrelevant.
Guest EV Booking
It seems simple: install a couple of EV chargers in the parking lot to keep your clients happy. What happens when several hundred guests arrive driving EVs, though? They will expect to have a place to charge their vehicles overnight.
Your front desk will have to manage which guests receive priority for EV charging. When guests charge—and how long they are allowed to charge—is a complex problem that is critical to the guest experience.
You can address these complexities by connecting your EV chargers to the internet and using software and mobile solutions. Imagine a mobile app with your hotel’s branding. Your guests automatically schedule EV charging times and receive notification when their EV is fully charged.
Consumer EV Finder
Your hotel can use EV charging to attract EV drivers to the property. EV drivers see your hotel-branded EV chargers through their third-party EV charging apps and may even detour to take advantage of the charging opportunity.
Electrical Infrastructure
Most hotels will require complex changes to their electrical infrastructure to handle the EV charging requirements. Each of the nearly 2000 utilities in the US and Canada have different requirements.
Utility Wait List
Future Energy estimates a wait time of up to 2.5 years for companies that need to upgrade their electrical infrastructure. That’s why we recommend getting in line now to upgrade your grid and equipment.
Shuttle Fleet Management
EV guest transportation services will be an important part of the hospitality industry’s brand mission. Many states are already instituting mandates regarding the inclusion of zero-emission vehicles as part of stop-and-go fleets.
This creates an operational challenge. Rather than the five-minute refueling time of a gas-powered vehicle, EV shuttles could have charge times up to 13 hours for a single vehicle.
Financial Assistance
There are plenty of financial incentives available for businesses who wish to incorporate EV charging. These programs can offset up to 100% of the installation costs. However, identifying which programs apply to your business can be tricky, and many programs have complex requirements and application processes.
Calculation of Port Count Needs
Each unique location has its own requirements for the number of EV chargers it will need, as well as the number of ports available per charger. This determination is a complex formula that depends upon guest behavior, booking volume, geography, demographic, and other factors.
Hardware Choices
Your business will choose the most suitable and cost-effective networked charging hardware depending upon the needs of your clients. Hotel and hospitality industry staff and guests will likely want to reach a full charge in their overnight stay. Restaurant or retail customers may be looking to top off or fully charge their EV battery during the short time they patronize your business.
Staff Management
Your staff will require proper training and documentation resources to properly manage, operate, and maintain your on-site EV charging environment. Hotel and hospitality industry staff, especially, will need an easy, quick way to obtain professional assistance when necessary to ensure consistency of operations.
Front Desk Support
Guest services staff need a way to efficiently manage guest use of EV chargers by seeing which chargers are in use, which are reserved, and when they are reserved. They also must be able to assist guests who wish to book an EV charging session during their stay.
Energy and Data Management for Hotels and Hospitality Industries
Property managers need to control energy use and network health of EV chargers. They also need to manage the ability to load shed, limit, and turn off charging by site or individual charger.
The use of software provides visibility into the use of EV chargers across your portfolio. Your company can use data from your EV chargers to measure and manage energy use, as well as make better business decisions.
Enterprise-Level Scale
To operate efficiently across multiple sites, it’s crucial to have visibility into the energy use, health, and success of all EV charging environments. Through networking software, you gain visibility that allows for reporting and management at every business level.
Employee Charging
EV car sales in the US are growing significantly faster than the general car market, 63% in the first quarter of 2023. Considering this adoption rate, it’s likely an increasing number of your employees and guests in the hotels and hospitality industry will be driving EVs and expect to be able to charge at work.
The addition of EV charging at the workplace also helps to attract job seekers looking for that perk. 71% of workers consider a company’s environmental record when deciding on an employer.
Future Energy’s Turnkey EV Charging Solution
The establishment of a standard for EV charging across your properties serves as an anchor for your global brand. Future Energy offers one-stop shopping for hotel and hospitality brands who wish to incorporate EV charging solutions. Want to learn more about all of the industries we serve? Check out our Industries page.
ChargeParc™ is Future Energy’s complete EV vehicle charging solution delivered as a turnkey environment, tailored to meet the unique needs of your company.
Contact Future Energy today for more information on how ChargeParc delivers everything your clients need and expect from their hotel and hospitality brands.
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