Destination Charger charging for charging?

[BerTX]

I just noticed that a Tesla destination charger that I was considering using now has a $5 charging fee listed on Plugshare. I don't remember ever seeing that before. I don't know if this fee is waved if you do business with them.

Anyone ever see this at other DCs? I know they almost always require a business transaction of some kind. I actually like the idea that a business, like a hotel I don't want to stay at, would be willing to allow charging for a fee to recover their electricity cost.

The charger is at Home Made Kitchen in George West, Tx.

 

[Rocky_H]

I just noticed that a Tesla destination charger that I was considering using now has a $5 charging fee listed on Plugshare. I don't remember ever seeing that before. I don't know if this fee is waved if you do business with them.

Anyone ever see this at other DCs? I know they almost always require a business transaction of some kind. I actually like the idea that a business, like a hotel I don't want to stay at, would be willing to allow charging for a fee to recover their electricity cost.

The charger is at Home Made Kitchen in George West, Tx.

Yep, frequently some of them do. The Blue Lakes Inn in Twin Falls Idaho has a form at the front desk for paying a fee for non-guests to use their charging stations.

 

[paulkva]

Another example: The Inn at Cooperstown (NY) has a Destination Charger, and there is a $10 fee for non-guests to plug in. It was the first (and so far only) time I've paid for charging in more than 3 years of owning a Model S -- other than paying for electricity at home of course -- but it ended up being a huge convenience for me.

 

[Missile Toad]

Here is the 'central linchpin' in case you want to cross the Great Arkansas Charging Desert:
Holiday Inn & Conference Center, Little Rock, $10 for non-guests

 

[Max*]

The Cornucopia Cafe has a $10 charge. They also charge guests.

The Cornucopia Cafe | Grantsville, MD | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

 

[BerTX]

I can see charging non-patrons, but to charge guests just seems outside the spirit of destination charging.

Interestingly, the original post in this thread referred to a restaurant that was charging a fee -- since then a Supercharger has opened 15 miles away. I doubt the destination charger gets used much any more, at any price!

 

[TexLaw]

I can see charging non-patrons, but to charge guests just seems outside the spirit of destination charging.

I tend to agree. In defense of the businesses, I also can see how it's an amenity that may not get a whole bunch of use but does incur a cost. As long as it's essentially a nominal fee, I suppose I can't get too wound up about it. Yes, it is something of a buzzkill, though.

A more substantial fee makes sense for non-patrons, and that does seem to fit the spirit of "destination" charging.

 

[bob_p]

We should expect the days of "free" charging are limited.

The new limited free supercharging by Tesla is a first step. Charges for destination chargers (especially for non-customers) makes sense.

The other manufacturers are not planning their own charging networks, and will likely rely on commercial chargers that always charge fees.

Tesla needed the SC network, because there weren't any chargers. Once there are more commercial chargers available, it wouldn't be surprising for us to first see Tesla charge for 100% of charging, and then for them to begin phasing out the SC network and relying more on 3rd parties to provide all charging.

Tesla had to develop the SC network - because there weren't any chargers to enable long distance driving.

Tesla had to develop the destination charging network - because there weren't any overnight chargers available at destinations.

As more long range EVs get on the road, that situation will change. And even if we are paying for charging, it should still be considerably less than paying for gas...

 

[brkaus]

I can see charging non-patrons, but to charge guests just seems outside the spirit of destination charging.

Interestingly, the original post in this thread referred to a restaurant that was charging a fee -- since then a Supercharger has opened 15 miles away. I doubt the destination charger gets used much any more, at any price!

Noticed that. I bet they had a number of people stop by to charge and purchased an ice tea. Easier to just charge a small fee than minimum purchase, etc.

Especially if a business looks at a more expensive electric bill and minimal additional revenue after they put in a charger.

I think fees will become the normal way of life. The electricity adds up.

 

[TexLaw]

You make some very good points. Charging for charging also allows a business to clearly see the benefit of doing so.

I don't see superchargers going anywhere until high speed charging is widespread (if they ever go away at all). It's too good a benefit of ownership.

 

[bob_p]

An interesting side effect of the new supercharger fees.

The destination chargers I've used at hotels have all been free - so I can get a full charge overnight at the hotels where we stay - for free.

During our road trip last summer, we stopped at a supercharger in the middle of Kansas that was in the hotel's parking lot. We stayed overnight at the hotel, and had free charging. But, if we took that trip again, with the 100D (that's in production now!), we might have to pay for charging at the supercharger - at the hotel.

So, instead of staying at that hotel, we might search for another hotel on the route with a free destination charger and stay there instead.

Not sure that's what Tesla or that hotel intended.

 

[jerry33]

An interesting side effect of the new supercharger fees.

The destination chargers I've used at hotels have all been free - so I can get a full charge overnight at the hotels where we stay - for free.

During our road trip last summer, we stopped at a supercharger in the middle of Kansas that was in the hotel's parking lot. We stayed overnight at the hotel, and had free charging. But, if we took that trip again, with the 100D (that's in production now!), we might have to pay for charging at the supercharger - at the hotel.

So, instead of staying at that hotel, we might search for another hotel on the route with a free destination charger and stay there instead.

Not sure that's what Tesla or that hotel intended.

For SCs at a hotel that you are staying overnight in, the plan is: park in a regular parking spot, then move the car to the SC before you shower and check out in the morning. It will be done by then and no idle fee.

Tesla doesn't have a lot of input to the destination charging locations, and the property owner doesn't have a lot of say to what Tesla does with the SCs (after the initial agreement is signed). If I were a property owner, I would make sure that the initial agreement included no idle fees as I would want the travelers to spend as much time as possible.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

We charged at a shopping area Chargepoint j1702 yesterday. The first hour is free and at the 30 minute point it sends you an email that says every hour after that is 5 bucks. At first it kind of annoyed us but then I thought about it and realized it would keep people from using it as a parking spot. We were there for about 45 minutes and took on some juice. It was convenient and gave us a little incentive to go to that area again. I would rather see two hours though because that would allow an unexpected delay or lunch break. I think most businesses use their stations as loss leaders, especially in malls and shopping areas. JMHO

 

[balajeek]

Is there an idle fee that Tesla charges at destination chargers? I heard there is one for superchargers.

 

[brkaus]

Is there an idle fee that Tesla charges at destination chargers? I heard there is one for superchargers.

Destination chargers rules are at the discretion owner, within the contract with Tesla if Tesla provided the charger or money to install it. I believe Tesla requires it to be free for customers to charge. Beyond that I'm not sure. Any sort of charging is not automated, so it wouldn't be possible to automatically collect idle fees.

If anyone puts in their own Tesla Wall Charger, they are free to do as the please and create whatever business model they like.

I do wish they would use the computer in the car to collect money for destination chargers. I think the quantity would go up as a result.

 

[SMAlset]

I posted our experience maybe back in 2017 in another thread on here after we had bought our MS and were planning a trip to Santa Ynez, CA and specifically wanted to patronize a Tesla Destination charger business to show our support for installing it (at that time I’m pretty sure Tesla supplied the HPWCs and maybe even included the installation costs for the business owner). We booked reservations at ForFriends Inn after seeing them listed on Tesla’s Destination Map in the area, and were shocked to find out they were charging $10 for guests to charge there for each charge regardless of how long they were plugged in. I initially thought it applied only to non-guests, but they said no. At that point I don’t recall businesses billing people who were using the chargers and patronizing them. The fact that not far down the road was the Buelton Supercharger made that a moot point in the end for us, but we were both quite shocked and honestly only booked there because they were listed on Tesla’s destination charger map. We stayed one more time over the past two years there, but our last trip down we just stayed at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott which was right next to the Buelton Superchargers. Turned out to be more convenient charging there and its a nice hotel close to our activities. If I hadn’t asked in advance about charging at the B&B, we would have been taken by surprise. Don’t recall it being posted on their site. We’ve stayed at another B&B in Arroyo Grande and they didn’t charge.

I think Tesla’s Destination Charger Map should at least indicate if there’s a fee being charged for its use and what it is.