To stay relevant in the hospitality industry, a property needs to stay ahead of the curve and on-trend. This includes enhancements to guest parking and amenities. As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road grows, whether or not a property has EV charging stations can sway the decision on where to stay, especially for those concerned about staying charged on their trip.
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) can elevate a hospitality property by providing guests and visitors with an important amenity or generating passive income, and supporting sustainability initiatives. Conversely, hotels and restaurants lacking EV charging infrastructure may miss out on valuable guest bookings. Just as Wi-Fi and high-speed internet access — once considered luxury amenities — are now essential features, EV charging options will soon become an expectation.
Provide an Important Amenity
While EV and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) have existed for decades, their growth on the market and roads has continued to rise exponentially. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the sales of EVs and PHEVs nearly doubled from 308,000 in 2020 to 608,000 in 2021, and Canalys reported that EV sales were up 63% in the first quarter of 2022. With additional state and federal sustainability goals set for the next 5-10 years, we can expect to see that number rise.
However, the infrastructure to handle such an increase in EVs is not yet in place. Although President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $7.5 billion for EV charging and another $7 billion to support domestic EV battery manufacturing, there is still a need for EV charging stations.
Unlike Level 3 charging stations — the high-powered stations that will be used across the country as infrastructure laws take effect — Level 2 charging stations are easy to set up on the grounds of any hospitality property, don’t use as much electricity at one time so they can be easily connected to the existing electrical panels, are faster than Level 1 chargers, and still provide the electricity needed by EV and PHEV owners.
EvoCharge’s iEVSE Plus unit is specifically designed for entities such as hospitality properties. The RFID reader can be set up so that visitors can charge their vehicles during their stay, providing an amenity that may help in the choosing process when deciding where to stay.
Generate Passive Income
If providing EV charging as a free amenity to visitors is unsustainable to your business, the iEVSE Plus can also be configured to use the charger to generate passive income. Using a digital account, the RFID reader can allow the iEVSE Plus to allow for access and payment can be made through a network service provider app. Knowing there is a charger on-site that can be used will help many individuals to decide that they would prefer the reliance of knowing where they can plug-in while staying at your property rather than try to find an EVSE unit off-site.
Support Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainability has been of growing importance for companies and individuals alike. Especially as Millennials and Gen. Z age and begin to take vacations of their own, a company’s commitment to the environment is going to be increasingly important.
Whether you provide the EVSE as an amenity or to generate passive income, having a unit on-site is an easy indicator that your property is interested in and committed to the environment, attracting individuals whose values align.
Control Your Hospitality Property’s EVSEs
EvoCharge offers a range of solutions that give hoteliers control over when and how guests use hospitality charging stations. Using Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), you can connect to a non-proprietary third-party network of your choice or self-manage stations through Wi-Fi. You can meet current and future EVSE demand by connecting up to 20 iEVSE or iEVSE Plus units and use local load management to balance the electric load across chargers.
What is Load Management?
Local load management (LMM) allows you to use your building’s existing electrical panel power capacity to charge multiple electric vehicles at once by doling out a portion of electrical current to each charging station. There are two ways in which load-sharing electrical chargers will provide a steady stream of electricity to the stations: equally distributed or first in, first charged. Watch this video to learn more about Local Load Management.
EvoCharge EV charging stations can communicate with each other via either Wi-Fi or Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) network services. Both the EvoCharge iEVSE and iEVSE Plus stations are capable of local load management through both their Wi-Fi or OCPP capabilities, providing you with options.
Investing in EVSE
Sure, EVSEs are good for our guests and for the environment, but what about the expense of purchasing and installing charging stations?
It’s true: like most property upgrades, you’ll need to make an upfront investment to acquire this amenity. The good news is, right now many local, state, provincial and federal programs are offering incentives and tax rebates. Your local utility may offer discounts, too. With carbon emission reduction a key objective across the continent, you may find plenty of ways to reduce your costs. You can learn more about available programs here.
Whether your property hosts events, serves food and drink, provides entertainment, lodges guests or all of the above, a commercial EV charging station on your hospitality property will add value not only to your business but for your guests during their stay. With the demand for EV charging solutions growing quickly, you’ll enjoy many benefits of a charging station on your hospitality property.
