Two Important Ways Hotels Are Losing EV Charging Revenue

Hotels are an ideal location for installing EV charging. This is very evident in news releases over the last several years. One example is how Choice Hotels International joined with Tesla to offer EV charging at its locations in February 2024. However, the picture of EV owners happily signing up for hotel room reservations and flawlessly charging their EVs at the hotels is unfortunately not the reality all the time.

The reality is EV drivers will have problems charging at the hotels, and the hotels are not prepared for these problems. An EV driver with a problem charging at a hotel will most likely be frustrated and unhappy with the hotel’s service. This will reduce the chances of that hotel guest returning as a repeat customer to the hotel. This is a serious problem that hotels need to address. EVinfo.net has noticed many complaints from EV drivers, saying the hotel employees are not prepared to help them with EV charging problems.

Hotels are just one location where EV drivers can charge. When discussing EV charging at hotels or other locations, it is important to consider how the EV drivers find the location. The vast majority of EV drivers find a hotel or other location offering EV charging through an EV charging mapping app. Chargeway is the leading app for finding EV charging locations.

Chargeway, the Leading App for Finding EV Charging

Chargeway is the leading app for finding EV charging. Every station within Chargeway lists nearby amenities, and searching for hotels by name within the Chargeway map will also show stations by name that include hotels and what plug type and power level are offered at that location.

Chargeway is used by EV drivers, utilities, and dealerships. The company created a simple color and number system to navigate the electric fuel landscape—guiding you and your EV to the right stations nearby or on a road trip. Hotel owners will want to be sure their properties show up on Chargeway and other similar apps.

Matt Teske, CEO of Chargeway said:

“Many in the EV industry continue the mantra, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ Unfortunately, while we need to continue growing infrastructure, the rollout plan for public charging has lacked a messaging strategy for how the public can understand how to use various charging options. Gasoline has conditioned the public to understand “filling up their car” as a universal experience. EV charging offers new conveniences, such as overnight charging at hotels, but to help drivers understand this option requires more than simply installing it. 

Many EV charging networks have put the responsibility of customer education and experience on those buying the charging from them. This “passing the buck” for consumer education has created very big problems. Due to their business models, many charging networks do not see consumer education as their job; instead, they see it as the job of those who buy their products. Whoever owns the charger owns the customer experience and, in turn, the customer education. 

Hotels and other major industries adding charging as a feature of their services to their customers will need a way to communicate how the charging options they’re offering fit into the EV ownership experience for their customers. This will require a simple communication strategy for what drivers want to know most: Where can I fill up and how long will it take? Chargeway provides the best solution for this challenge.”

Confusion About EV Charging Adapters

The Combined Charging System (CCS) EV charging connector used by EVs other than Teslas is going away, as every major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the US has reported that they will equip their future EVs with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port. In February 2024, Stellantis made the announcement it would adopt NACS as the last major holdout.

The two kinds of charging ports, CSS and NACS, have caused great confusion and many problems for EV drivers. These problems have occurred mostly at public charging stations but also occur at private locations, such as hotels.

Adapters, allowing Teslas to charge at non-Tesla stations, and non-Tesla EVS to charge at Tesla Supercharger stations, have become very important. Typically, car rental companies do not provide these adapters. This is causing a serious problem for hotels, as electric car renters arrive at the hotel, but find they are unable to charge, because their EV is not compatible with the hotel’s charger.

Loren McDonald, an independent charging-network analyst and CEO of EVAdoption, said: “The next few years may be ‘adapter hell’ as everyone — drivers, automakers, charging equipment providers, the federal government and states — navigate a confusing straddle between other systems and the NACS standard and connectors.”

Hotels Need to Prepare for Adapter and Other Problems

A guest showing up at their hotel, ready to charge but not having the correct adapter, is a huge problem that hotels need to address. Hotels are advised to have spare adapters on hand, allowing users to charge at their charging stations, even if the user does not have the correct adapter.

Additionally, hotels need to clearly identify their chargers to the guests signing up for their rooms. For example, their websites should clearly state whether their chargers accommodate NACS, CCS, or both. The information should give power range and estimates on charging time. EV charging payment needs to be seamless and easy. Swiping the room’s key card would be an efficient option, with adding the cost of the charge to the guest’s bill. Hotel employees need to be trained on all possible problems that could arise and be able to solve them.

Another problem that has arisen is availability of the chargers. Hotels can increase profitability of their charging stations by offering them to the public, meaning EV drivers that are not staying at the hotel. But if the hotel offers this, a reservation system must be put in place to ensure that a hotel guest wanting to charge is not prevented doing so, by the charger being occupied by an EV driver that is not a hotel guest.

Should hotels or the EV charging companies that are doing the installations be responsible for training addressing EV charging problems? This brings up an interesting question, as EV charging companies are not providing this training currently. Perhaps they should. It would be a key way for them to stand out above their competitors.

Bill Ferro, Founder of EV charging data analytics firm EVSession, said:. 

“Hotel Charging:  Having been on a number of multi-day EV road trips in the past 2 years, it’s absolutely essential that the next round of hotel charging infrastructure gets it right.  The first attempt at hotel charging has been plagued with poor location, poor quality, and lack of overall thought about the customer experience.  With the historically high turnover rate of hotel staff, it will be very difficult to keep the staff trained and ready at all times.  CPOs and Installers must have this in mind when they plan out these systems.” 

Ferro continued: “It’s critical that the next generation of solutions is easy to use for the EV driver and the front desk staff.  Software has to play a key role here in providing access, scheduling, notifications, and instructions to all parties involved.  Front desk staff should have access to a simple cheat-sheet that they can use to assist drivers who need help.  EV drivers should be provided a simple link on the hotel app that tells them exactly what to do upon arrival for the best charging experience, especially in case of a gas-powered car occupying the space (ICEing) or full stalls caused by other EVs charging.”

Training Hotel Employees on EV Charging

The EV driver we mentioned earlier, with a problem charging at a hotel, will most likely be frustrated and unhappy. Hotels can avoid this by having their employees be the heroes that solve the problem for the guests. This very necessary training could be conducted by the hotel, the EV charging company that installed the chargers, or a third party. 

As more new vehicles adopt NACS, adapter problems will diminish. However, older EV models using CCS won’t be going away anytime soon, and hotels need to be prepared for adapter problems related to that, as well as other EV charging problems.

How To Offer EV Charging Training

Hotels, like many businesses, offer training on a variety of subjects. It wouldn’t be difficult to create online courses that cover the basics of EV charging that a hotel employee would need to know. The EV charging companies who are the first to offer this will benefit, as they would be first-movers in the industry and one-upping their competitors. Consultancy firms are other great candidates to offer this, as third parties that could step in in the cases where training isn’t offered by the EV charging companies.

Marketing the Training

Hotels can beat the competition by promoting their superior service for EV charging on their websites. Here’s a sample: “Hotel XYZ cares about our EV charging customers. Therefore, we have implemented a training program for all of our employees to help our EV driver guests with any charging problems. You can rest assured of having a seamless EV charging experience at our hotel as a valuable addition to your room reservation.”

EV charging companies can beat their EV charging competitors in the same way, making their service more valuable to hotels than their competitors. Here’s a sample: “Don’t lose valuable repeat guest business from guests frustrated with EV charging problems! As a part of our EV charging installation service, we offer an online training program for your employees. This program covers the basics of EV charging, as well as common problems that occur. Upon completion of the training, your employees will be able to confidently solve any EV charging problem that may occur. When EV charging problems occur, this will change frustrated guests to happy ones and make it more likely they will become repeat customers at your hotel.”

EV Charging at Hotels Still Needed

The training for hotel employees was the first of two important ways that hotels are losing EV charging revenue. What’s the second way hotels are losing EV charging revenue? The second way hotels are losing EV charging revenue is if their hotel does not yet offer EV charging. Only a small fraction of hotels currently offer EV charging, and if they do, it is typically a small number of chargers. But keep in mind hotels aren’t the only good locations for EV charging. Any business that has parking spaces can also benefit from installing EV charging.

The United States is on track to install a network of 1.2 million public chargers by 2030, keeping up with rapidly growing demand for EVs. The federal government has released billions of dollars in funding over the last few years, to build out and ensure reliability of public EV charging. EV charging companies are winning lots of contracts.

If you are a hotel or property owner, we advise you to start looking into EV charging now. Its a great way to stand out over your competitors. U.S. EV adoption is expected to reach 10% this year, and keeps growing. So don’t delay.