Cross country trip. Booking hotels?

[brjr]

Driving Model 3 from Cols Ohio to Seattle Wa. Using 'A Better Route Planner' I have my charging stops planned. Can i book rooms as a travel or do i need to book in advance. My ABRP has me recharging at super chargers the whole way, charges ranging 15% < x < 90%. But if i locate a hotel with a Destination Charger, J-1772 type, would i be likely be able to get a room as i approach, or should i commit to staying in the vicinity of the super chargers? I would like to have some flexibilty in where i stay and plan along the way.
What have others done?

 

[silentcorp]

If you can find a hotel with a destination charger that is always the best option since you can charge while you sleep. Alternatively if you don't mind sleeping in the car RV parks like KOA are great options where you can charge while you sleep.

 

[brjr]

If you can find a hotel with a destination charger that is always the best option since you can charge while you sleep. Alternatively if you don't mind sleeping in the car RV parks like KOA are great options where you can charge while you sleep.

Do hotels with destination chargers usually have rooms and chargers available? Are these J-1772 or something that requires a different adaptor?

 

[untilcomplete]

Do hotels with destination chargers usually have rooms and chargers available? Are these J-1772 or something that requires a different adaptor?

Destination chargers are just the tesla wall chargers. Some hotels might have J-1772 which you would need to use an adapter. If you're doing a roadtrip, I would have the adapters anyway which will give you more charging options, such as RV parks.

 

[Wennfred]

Do hotels with destination chargers usually have rooms and chargers available? Are these J-1772 or something that requires a different adaptor?

Hotels like Ayers and Hampton suites have Tesla wall type chargers, not all hotels so use Plug Share App to check.

It’s also good to have a CHAdeMO adapter since you can use Electrify America, ChargePoint, Blink and EVGo, these are rated at 50kw but you will see around 33kw, still better then the L2 ones.

Fred

 

[Wennfred]

Here’s an example on Plug Share:

 

[SergeyUser]

Driving Model 3 from Cols Ohio to Seattle Wa. Using 'A Better Route Planner' I have my charging stops planned. Can i book rooms as a travel or do i need to book in advance. My ABRP has me recharging at super chargers the whole way, charges ranging 15% < x < 90%. But if i locate a hotel with a Destination Charger, J-1772 type, would i be likely be able to get a room as i approach, or should i commit to staying in the vicinity of the super chargers? I would like to have some flexibilty in where i stay and plan along the way.
What have others done?

Some superchargers have multiple hotels around them. I would choose this vs other options, as this is cheaper (hotels will likely charge for parking/charging more than Tesla) AND you have better availability.

 

[Sklith]

I never booked my hotel stays in advance, this allowed me to book after knowing there's an available charging spot. Also, with my family in the car, there's no way to know how far we're willing to drive in a day.

 

[Wennfred]

I never booked my hotel stays in advance, this allowed me to book after knowing there's an available charging spot. Also, with my family in the car, there's no way to know how far we're willing to drive in a day.

Same here, you need that flexibility as things do happen between Supercharger stops, flat tires, food and restroom breaks etc causing you to get to your hotel late. The route the OP is taking there’s plenty of hotel rooms in between.

Fred

 

[holmgang]

in my experience in europe, most hotels that advertise charger availability have 2 slots max, and advise that they must be booked in advance.

so ive never trust being able to do walk-up booking AND being able to charge, especially if the hotel is a bit off the main highway.

so my long distance trip bookings are done in advance. either a hotel with a charger, or a hotel near superchargers, so the car can be quickly topped off before check-in or early next day

 

[Effopec]

I generally use plug share to find hotels and call or reserve on line a stop or two before I plan on stopping for the night. I almost got screwed a few nights ago when I pulled into the hotel with 9% battery, and 3 of the 4 chargers were iced. Luckily that last one was free! Is it that hard to put an EV only sign up? They had "reserved for Hilton Honors Diamond members" in the spots right next to the charger.

 

[dmurphy]

Same here, you need that flexibility as things do happen between Supercharger stops, flat tires, food and restroom breaks etc causing you to get to your hotel late. The route the OP is taking there’s plenty of hotel rooms in between.

We just did a 17 day, 6600 mile road trip, and only had to change a hotel reservation once. That was due to the Colorado wildfires. Otherwise, we planned the trip and worked the plan.

Thankfully, I'm also a Marriott Titanium member so never a problem getting a reservation changed or cancelled at the last minute....

That said - right now with the Covid situation, rooms appear plentiful and hotels are super flexible. Didn't seem to be any issue at all, anywhere.