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When traveling, do you bother with trying to find hotels with EV charging? Can you depend on them?

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I always plan my trips finding hotels on PlugShare. Seems like most often smaller but more interesting hotels than the big chains. Did a 800 mile round trip from Seattle down the coast to Newport OR and back charging only at hotels in the evening. Usually they would have 2 chargers so worried would be taken but worked out. I think the key is to have SC available if the hotel doesn’t work out. Turned out we stopped at the Tillamook cheese factory and there was a Tesla SC in the parking lot but didn’t use it. We also stopped at a Dairy Queen as we were hungry and turned out a Tesla SC was across the street but didn’t need it.
800 miles for no extra cost (beyond paying for hotel) is pretty sweet.
 
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You can also charge a non-Tesla on a HPWC (or UMC) using an adapter. I did just that when I had my Lightning and it worked great. If anyone is buying a non-Tesla EV, I'd highly recommend a Tesla adapter for the ability to charge in more places. The hotel I stayed at in Pittsburg a couple weeks ago had HPWCs only. Sometimes hotels have both, but only one type is available.
These are the settings in the Tesla WC, where you can chose who is allowed to charge, including non Tesla cars:
1686800446061.png

Like you said, there are adapters to J1772.
1686800831353.png
So a NACS destination charger can cover everyone.
 
No it's not a lie, it's my estimation. If you would have read the post, you'd seen the source link that says almost 70% of US EVs are Teslas. I wrote that I estimate that the Tesla part of the fleet goes on more road trips because on average more range and easier supercharging, so that's over 70% Teslas
I don't care about the 70% figure. It's when you claimed that only 30% of cars can use it if it's a J1772. That's just blatantly false. ALL electric cars in North America can use a J1772 plug. That is 100%.

No that is not a lie, It's my personal experience. The J1772s that I have tried have most often been broken, and the Tesla HPWCs have not. You are welcome to have your experience, but please don't say that others experiences are lies.
You have an anecdote and I have an anecdote. Neither of those has statistical significance. So for you to claim that with all J1772 plugs, they are "almost always broken" is a wild claim and has no basis whatsoever. The plug type doesn't have any bearing on whether a given hotel will maintain their stations or get them repaired or not.
 
These are the settings in the Tesla WC, where you can chose who is allowed to charge, including non Tesla cars:
View attachment 947131
Like you said, there are adapters to J1772. View attachment 947135 So a NACS destination charger can cover everyone.
Thats a pretty cool feature for home use. Don't want my neighbor charging at my place when I'm at work. But no hotel would ever enable that.
 
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I don't care about the 70% figure.
Maybe you don't but most people likely do care. It makes sense to use the plug that most cars have natively, which is 70% Tesla in North America. You don't have to believe it, but these are the stats that I could find.
It's when you claimed that only 30% of cars can use it if it's a J1772. That's just blatantly false. ALL electric cars in North America can use a J1772 plug. That is 100%.
I never claimed that only 30% of cars can use J1772.

100% can use either plug if they have an adapter, nobody has been disputing that.
 
Tesla-only mode seems like a terrible setting.
For a general business providing it to customers, it would make sense to use the universal mode.

However, I believe that within Tesla-only mode the Wall Connector also supports limiting access to specific vehicles. Plus, where it's set up as a pay charger (limited locations for now), it would also depend on it.

If Tesla-only mode is the default, it may accidentally have been installed that way.

But older versions didn't have that feature, so most of the EVSEs from the program would be universal via an adapter.
 
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Maybe you don't but most people likely do care. It makes sense to use the plug that most cars have natively, which is 70% Tesla in North America. You don't have to believe it, but these are the stats that I could find.
The stat could be 98% for all it matters. It's still less than all, which is worse than J1772.

I never claimed that only 30% of cars can use J1772.
<30% of guests
Yes, you actually claimed it was LESS THAN 30%. Good catch. Good thing it's too late for you to edit that post, so you can't delete this.
 
The stat could be 98% for all it matters. It's still less than all, which is worse than J1772.
Yes, you actually claimed it was LESS THAN 30%. Good catch. Good thing it's too late for you to edit that post, so you can't delete this
What's your point?
<30% of hotels guests have J1772, I still believe in that estimation.

For the nth time, I never said that only 30% of cars can use J1772. Where are you dreaming this up?

Let's just say your method of conversation is insufferable.
 
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Soon after I got my Model Y LR we attended a ComicCon in Kansas City, at the 12th Street Marriott. We have been staying there for a number of years anytime we went to KC because my wife generally has a lot of points towards room costs because of her work, but I noticed that the website mentioned free charging for people who pay to use their garage, which we usually do. We are within walking distance of the Convention, food and entertainment so it’s usually a park the car and leave it alone until we leave.

The short gist of our experience was it was free (after paying for parking),there were 10 hookups in the garage under the hotel, and another 10 in an underground garage also part of the hotel across the street. The hotel really didn’t know much about how the chargers worked (J1772 type chargers) but as a complete newbie I had no trouble downloading the ChargePoint app, connected to my Model Y and letting it work overnight. In the morning it was charged to the 80% I had set and the cost was $0.00. I wouldn’t count on hotel staff for information about how to hook up but it was easy for me and I had only charged at home and 1 Tesla Supercharger in St Jo before this trip, and I had zero issues and all of the chargers seemed to be working.
 
Since 2014 I have been using hotel changing overnight in the US, EU and Canada. I have also used Select Registry that claims to have EV chargers in every one of their member B&B's. After roughly 200 nights I have never had one that was unavailable. Without question that streak may end because EV overnight travelers may be multiplying faster than are hotel charging sites. IN a few locations in Italy and the US the chargers had unusual adapters required, but in such cases I always had the adapters needed. Until about 2017 I carried a long heavy extension cord because I regularly found hotels that did not have official charging but allowed me to use their outside outlets, which IME every hotel has, and invariably they've cooperated. More recently, in Brazil, I've started to use the extension cords again and am met with the same 'early adopter' enthusiasm of the US.
Marriott finally gave up and added EV data on reservations after a concerted campaign among a number of Ambassador members pestered our contacts, I was happy to be one of them. Chain by chain that practice grows and several major reservation sites also have the option to select by EV charging.

My normal practice has been to call and conform that the chargers are working and available. Few also reservations but...some seem to have a staff member EV that they are ready to move out of a charger. That is never exactly official but it happens to me enough that I always call ahead. Obviously, high status in a hotel program helps.

Because i do that on every trip and it's always worked I also note that when reserving at smaller places with Destination Chargers (my first choice so I look on Tesla.com first every time) you often find the owner is a Tesla owner. That can yield informative and interesting conversations (e.g. A Boone, NC Model S85P owner who had been the first to have a Performance delivered, an owner of a spectacular palatial hotel in the center of Padova, Italy).

Since the OP is from Kalamazoo, I stayed at the Victorian Village Inn in Union City, 40 miles or so from the OP. The owner had never seen a Tesla, but swapped a ride for an extension cord to his 240/50 outlet, which charged me nicely. That has been typical experience for me, just not always with such fast connections.

In short going to the trouble of searching for Destination Chargers first, then other sources can occasionally provide unforgettable experiences. Anyway, with a little work IME I always find a charger. A side benefit: I very, very rarely need to use a Supercharger, even as they're more plentiful. My 2021 Model S Plaid has only been at a Supercharger once, and that was to inaugurate a new site.

I know YMMV. I know my experiences do not necessarily predict the future.
 
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On a Winter road trip in 21 I stumbled onto chargers at 3 hotels along the way. All of them free to use. When I was looking to book places via Expedia there was no mention about chargers. I was pleasantly surprised to fine a lone charger at my hotel in Ashland. Charged to 100% overnight. On the Oregon coast (Waldport) was a real surprise. Five low power Tesla chargers in a covered area at a tiny motel.

I got a total of 600 free miles on my 1600 mile trip. That's a damned deal, I don't see hotels handing out free gasoline! :D

Here's the Waldport set up. Oh, amazing Mexican place around the corner too!
 

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It's nice to have but don't bank on it. The few times we've been at a hotel with charging it was barely level 2 and was frequently blocked for LOOOONNGGGGG periods of time. PHEVs and EVs would occupy them at 6pm and still be parked there at 9am the next day. Until good charging etiquette is more ubiquitous, and chargers are more reliable it's just not something you can bank on using.

That said, I can't figure out why every hotel doesn't slap in a couple chargepoints or tesla wall adapters and advertise it. Establishing your presence on plugshare early (when it's more rare) is a great way to drive extra traffic to your business and build repeat customers who regularly travel to your area. If I ran a restaurant, hotel, or similar I'd have at least one cheap charging station somewhere in the lot.
 
It's nice to have but don't bank on it. The few times we've been at a hotel with charging it was barely level 2 and was frequently blocked for LOOOONNGGGGG periods of time. PHEVs and EVs would occupy them at 6pm and still be parked there at 9am the next day. Until good charging etiquette is more ubiquitous, and chargers are more reliable it's just not something you can bank on using.

That said, I can't figure out why every hotel doesn't slap in a couple chargepoints or tesla wall adapters and advertise it. Establishing your presence on plugshare early (when it's more rare) is a great way to drive extra traffic to your business and build repeat customers who regularly travel to your area. If I ran a restaurant, hotel, or similar I'd have at least one cheap charging station somewhere in the lot.
I travel extensively and used to talk to the desk clerks and GMs about adding EV chargers under Tesla's Charging Partners program. Turns out they don't have money in the budget for it between refreshes. Every 5 years or so a hotel will be revamped and that's the time they do these sort of add-ons. That said, Hilton is requiring all properties to have EV chargers on their next update. But hey, just because Hilton says you've got to have an EVSE doesn't mean you have to turn it on... I'm looking at you Hampton Inn Covington VA.
 
Are we talking about level 3, DC 250kwh charging at hotels?
That would be a dream, but a few questions:

Will this also serve non hotel guests?
Is this necessary as most hotel stays will charge overnight? Wouldn’t level 2 be more in alignment with intent.

I can see a supercharger setup at a hotel with public access at 250kw being a quick hit for drivers, meaning just like non hotel Tesla locations. Also these hotels could capture new revenue selling food as well, win win.
 
Are we talking about level 3, DC 250kwh charging at hotels?
That would be a dream, but a few questions:

Will this also serve non hotel guests?
Is this necessary as most hotel stays will charge overnight? Wouldn’t level 2 be more in alignment with intent.

I can see a supercharger setup at a hotel with public access at 250kw being a quick hit for drivers, meaning just like non hotel Tesla locations. Also these hotels could capture new revenue selling food as well, win win.
Ummm... the first round of gen 1 superchargers were at hotels... For example Augusta GA, Columbia SC. I make it a point to buy a coke or something when I charge. The issue with this setup is that hotel guests often block all the super charger stalls. I can't blame them, it's a poor mix of customers. On a positive note, I see fewer and fewer stalls ICEd as EVs increase in popularity. It would be fair to say that people often ICEd chargers because they simply didn't imagine them being used. That has changed for sure.... even in my state of South Carolina.
 
If you want to see a hotel that went all-in on chargers, check out the Hotel Marcel in New Haven, right off of I-95. Not only is there a twelve-stall 250 kW Supercharger on the property, there's easily a dozen L2 chargers mounted randomly around their parking lot.

FWIW, I'd guess from traveling around the East Coast, about 20% of the Superchargers the SO and I have used have been mounted in the parking lots of various hotels and motels, possibly with the idea of getting more people in the doors.

Now that NACS is becoming a standard, I would expect to see a lot more charging stations being installed; between government subsidies and the oncoming onrush of BEVs, it'd be a no-brainer for hotels to start mounting dozens of these things in parking lots. And without the Betamax vs. Blueray argument, the question of what to install will drop off everybody's radar.

L3 might be a stretch; my understanding is that it's at least a couple hundred thou for all the electronics, transformers, and what all; but $100k will pay for a lot of L2 chargers. Which for patrons staying overnight is all that they really need.
 
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