July 20, 2022

For hotels, EV chargers are the next big thing

Family driving in a car

Electric vehicle sales have just recently shifted into high gear: in the first half of 2021 alone, quarterly EV purchases in the US rose by 76%. Domestically, they rose from 0.5% of new car sales in 2015 to now over 5%; globally, they’re projected to make up a full quarter of the car market by 2025, and 50% of the US market share by 2030. The American public has gone from having two EV models to choose from in 2010, to 48 in 2020, to a projected 134 by 2024.

 

However, EV Supply Equipment (EVSE) has not kept up with all this growth. Based on these numbers, you would expect public EV charging stations to be more prevalent. At the end of 2021, there were just over 100,000 public chargers in the US. This number has to increase tenfold in the next eight years to meet all the growing demand. Currently, less than 1% of vehicles on the road in the US are electric but with such rapid changes to the driving market coming down the pipeline, you’ll want to be ready for the customers of tomorrow.

 

Why the hospitality in particular?

We recently surveyed over 1,500 of our JuiceBox customers about their travel preferences. We found:

 

  • Over eighty percent said that access to Level 2 charging influences their plans
  • Three-quarters said they’d go on more road trips if rental properties guaranteed them access to a Level 2 charger
  • About half already take their EV on road trip
  • Over two-thirds said that charger access was “very important” to their plans
  • More than three-quarters already took up to four vacation road trips per year.

 

Other surveys widely suggest that Americans are itching to go on more road trips after the long pandemic. But will hotels be ready? The problem isn't the destination; it’s the journey to get there, and finding an electric car charging station factors into their decision to travel or not.

 

Car rental agencies are already accelerating into electrification. Hertz announced that it will purchase 100,000 Tesla vehicles this year, making its US fleet over one-fifth electric. It’s also purchasing 65,000 Polestar EVs for deployment elsewhere. All of these travelers will need somewhere to charge their cars! For instance, less than a quarter of hotels in Phoenix, Kansas City, and New Orleans currently have charging stations, while Vancouver mandates that all new hotel parking spaces offer EV charging equipment. Los Angeles is relatively better, with 4,002 charging stations across the city. However, when you consider the fact that there’s 62,000 electric cars, that number might still be too low in relation to the number of electric vehicles.

 

Travelers want hotels with EV charging stations

No wonder that more than 850,000 Airbnb listings already include EV chargers among their amenities—and no wonder over half a million unique searchers requested such options in the last half of 2021 alone. Expedia and Hotels.com already allow users to filter searches by EV charging, and other services from Google Maps to Kayak are set to start offering this new service. If you install a commercial chargingstation, these customers will search for you!

 

Electric vehicle chargers bring in attractive clients

So why should hotels and other establishments invest in electric vehicle charging stations? It seems like every major hotel brand is already installing some EV charger equipment or has fully equipped charging facilities. The average EV driver’s income is double the national average and over half of EV buyers have household incomes over $100,000. These potential customers need EVSE amenities or charging facilities from you, and they’re happy to pay for good service.

 

Further, serving environmentally-conscious customers can help you tap into brand new markets. Installing charging stations will enhance your business visibility, because EV owners use mobile apps to locate this infrastructure and may think of you when they need a charge. When EV drivers use your electric car chargers, they’re likely to spend that extra time at your business: whether it’s a thirty-minute Level 3 top-up or a multi-hour Level 2 refueling. Additionally, offering a convenient necessity like this will help you retain customers and build loyalty.

 

EV chargers promote eco-friendly practices

Environmentally-committed potential customers are looking for signs that you adhere to eco-conscious practices.

 

Roughly 90% of all Fortune 500 companies work with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to measure and reduce emissions because they know this matters to their stakeholders. The same considerations have kindled widespread interest in “ESG Standards” and other such popular benchmarks for evaluating business sustainability, like organic food labeling or corporate social responsibility commitments.

 

Charging stations will drive revenue

Installing EV chargers can easily pay for itself. To begin, check out all the generous federal, state, and local tax credits, incentives, and rebates. When you add up all the deductions, write-offs, and refunds, your charging station already comes heavily discounted.

 

Whether hotels offer this as a free amenity to attract more valued customers, or charge separately for its use, or provide some sort of membership discount program, EV chargers can make the difference.

 

The push for more smart EV chargers

We’ve teamed up with Ok2Charge to seamlessly provide our smart chargers at vacation rentals around the world. Using our devices and JuiceNet software, you can automatically schedule charging for when electricity is cheapest, cleanest, or most convenient, saving you a lot of money, emissions, and hassle.

 

We’ve also officially partnered with EVinmotion to install our JuiceBox charging stations at hotels across North America and Europe. They provide on-site surveys free of charge, to find the most affordable options for your hotel infrastructure investment. They also handle installation, signage, monthly billing reports, and our full-service, preventative maintenance monitoring programs.

 

What next? Shop for commercial EV chargers

All our commercial chargers come with benefits, including universal compatibility with all-electric vehicle models, UL and Energy Star certification, and our intuitive Enel X Way App for payment and monitoring real-time charging status and availability. Plus, our WiFi-enabled chargers reduce operating costs and allow you to access utility and state EV incentives.

 

So whether you’re looking for Level 2 chargers to conveniently service overnight guests, or super-fast Level 3 DC chargers to attract midday road trippers who might be looking for a meal or a quick detour, check out our options. Find out why Enel X Way is the leading provider of smart EV charging stations.

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