I think all would agree that hotels are ideal spots for level 2 charging. Most people sleep at least 6-8 hours at a hotel, which is the right amount of time to get a full or nearly full charge even at 40 amps.
Currently, I find hotel charging very stressful. Usually there are only 1-2 chargers. They may or may not be available, and they may or may not be working. If they are taken, it is likely that the person using them will keep their car there all night. If I am planning a trip and am counting on a hotel charge to make it to the next destination or supercharger, I usually am worried about whether I will be able to successfully charge at the hotel. The only reliable experience I have had with hotel charging has been at a hotel with a valet who controlled the charger and could move cars in and out of the spot as needed.
I was thinking about what would make hotel charging better. I think a good system would be to have a number of spots (I was thinking 6-10) that each have a NEMA 14-50 outlet. These spots would be clearly marked as reserved, and would be numbered. When you made your room reservation, you would be able to add a "charging parking spot" to your reservation, likely for a small fee. If all the spots were already reserved, you would know this at the time of trying to make a reservation. When you checked in, you would receive a charging parking spot number and could use your own cable to charge from the outlet.
If the spots were not reserved, and the hotel lot was nearly full, the front desk could tell ICE drivers checking in to park there. For example, they could say "charging spots 6, 7, and 8 are not reserved tonight. Go ahead and park there if you can't find another spot." If the spots are in a desirable area of the parking lot, they could even use these unreserved spots as perks for valued guests as a bonus on check-in.
I don't know much about electrical work, but it seems like adding a string of 14-50 outlets in the parking lot would be a manageable project for most hotels. Having it be an outlet makes it easy for any brand of EV driver to use. This also should be more reliable than having something like a blink charging station. Having it be a nightly rental makes it simple and should cover the costs of electricity for the hotel. From the customer perspective the reliability of knowing you have a reserved spot would be a big improvement over the current system.
Is this how you see the future of EV charging at hotels? If not, what do you expect or what do you think would work? What could we as EV owners do to encourage hotels to adopt this model?
Currently, I find hotel charging very stressful. Usually there are only 1-2 chargers. They may or may not be available, and they may or may not be working. If they are taken, it is likely that the person using them will keep their car there all night. If I am planning a trip and am counting on a hotel charge to make it to the next destination or supercharger, I usually am worried about whether I will be able to successfully charge at the hotel. The only reliable experience I have had with hotel charging has been at a hotel with a valet who controlled the charger and could move cars in and out of the spot as needed.
I was thinking about what would make hotel charging better. I think a good system would be to have a number of spots (I was thinking 6-10) that each have a NEMA 14-50 outlet. These spots would be clearly marked as reserved, and would be numbered. When you made your room reservation, you would be able to add a "charging parking spot" to your reservation, likely for a small fee. If all the spots were already reserved, you would know this at the time of trying to make a reservation. When you checked in, you would receive a charging parking spot number and could use your own cable to charge from the outlet.
If the spots were not reserved, and the hotel lot was nearly full, the front desk could tell ICE drivers checking in to park there. For example, they could say "charging spots 6, 7, and 8 are not reserved tonight. Go ahead and park there if you can't find another spot." If the spots are in a desirable area of the parking lot, they could even use these unreserved spots as perks for valued guests as a bonus on check-in.
I don't know much about electrical work, but it seems like adding a string of 14-50 outlets in the parking lot would be a manageable project for most hotels. Having it be an outlet makes it easy for any brand of EV driver to use. This also should be more reliable than having something like a blink charging station. Having it be a nightly rental makes it simple and should cover the costs of electricity for the hotel. From the customer perspective the reliability of knowing you have a reserved spot would be a big improvement over the current system.
Is this how you see the future of EV charging at hotels? If not, what do you expect or what do you think would work? What could we as EV owners do to encourage hotels to adopt this model?
