Fast chargers in Hotels.

[paulp]

Admittedly it's like asking the hotel to give you petrol for your non EV car, so you shouldn't rely on it being available everywhere.

But didn’t hotels provide a barn and hay for the horses back in horse and cart days?

 

[Vostok]

But I'm still going to argue that providing 10 x 10A sockets that are appropriately speccd (cable and circuit wise) is better than 2 fast chargers. In this case I would state that quantity of bays trumps speed of charge for hotels.
If they're a proper hotel, they would just not bother with getting a third party to meter the chargers.

Exactly. There’s only so much power you can suck through a 10A or 15A socket over 8-12 hours. Billing is completely unnecessary - just add $5 or $10 to the hotel bill.

So far, everywhere I have asked to plug-in overnight on an ordinary socket has let me do it for free.

 

[ewoodrick]

Obviously when I made that comment, I was expecting a hotel to lay new cables and sockets, not reuse existing ones meant for cleaners. But I'm still going to argue that providing 10 x 10A sockets that are appropriately speccd (cable and circuit wise) is better than 2 fast chargers. In this case I would state that quantity of bays trumps speed of charge for hotels.
If they're a proper hotel, they would just not bother with getting a third party to meter the chargers. They would just include it as part of the hotel service. A typical car may only cost them an average of $20 per charge? That is nothing. If they increased their hotel fees by $1 per day for every customer that would more than pay for the daily power rates and sparky costs. Getting a third party biller will cost them more than incorporating the power costs into their hotel fees.

Biggest reason is that retrofitting a facility can be expensive. It is generally considered best to put chargers at some of the lesser used spots (put them up front and they get ICE'd). You then have to bury cable to get to that location. That often means digging up a parking lot and then repaving it. Then the cost of the pedestals just makes it often really expensive.

For new facilities it's a different story. Many here in the states are now reading the writing on the wall and installing as the place is getting built. It's still not free, but a lot cheaper. But the owner has to recognize the need and decide to pay for it.

 

[Power Hungry]

I use the Expedia app as you can filter hotels for EV charging. The Sofitel Brisbane has EV charging.
Edit:
Plugshare shows it has 2 Tesla destination chargers with 11Kw.
This is enough to give 70Kmh charge rate so would easily recharge any Tesla overnight.
Hotel Sofitel Brisbane
249 Turbot St, Spring Hill QLD 4000, Australia

Hotel Sofitel Brisbane | PlugShare

Thanks so much for the info... I'll check it out.

 

[Power Hungry]

How do you approach the hotel about this? Do you ask when you book if they are happy for you to plug in to the wall, or just when you get there? (Or do you not ask at all?)

I reckon the more we ask the more pressure there is on hotel chains to put the infrastructure in.

 

[Power Hungry]

Tbh for hotels with their own carparks, wouldn't it be better if they just installed 10A sockets every few car spots? Hotel guests are likely to stay overnights or multiple nights so 10A charging would suffice. Having a fast charger where you're expected to move after an hour or so is more of a pain when you're on holiday. Destination chargers should be treated differently to fast chargers on freeways as their purpose is completely different.

Excellent point.

 

[Power Hungry]

Admittedly it's like asking the hotel to give you petrol for your non EV car, so you shouldn't rely on it being available everywhere.

But they do have the option to charge. I'd rather pay a few $$$ and know I was going to be okay.

 

[Power Hungry]

Having perused your excellent contributions, I'm now of the mind that 15A, 240V at (say) every second or third car park would be ideal. If I go to a hotel, even for an overnight stay, I'm usually checked in by 2-3pm and out by 10-11am the next day. That's around 20 hours which is plenty of charge time. Okay, it won't always be that simple but it would be a great starting point.

 

[paulp]

I reckon the more we ask the more pressure there is on hotel chains to put the infrastructure in.

Chains do not own hotels in Australia (other than hilton and crown). They manage them. Hotel buildings are owned by arms length investors, so the operator (eg mantra) has to convince an investor to forego some profit and install chargers so that more room night revenue can be achieved by offering a service. (Not unlike offering a pool, gym, spa, etc). Country roadside motels are more owner occupier supported by a brand. The majority of hotels in australia are managed by accor and IHG under a multitude of brands.

 

[moa999]

Note on 15A.. while it's good for Tesla's with their interchangeable mobile connector, believe most other EVs in Aus only come with a fixed 10A charger.

On costs.. even at 10A one can pull down say 25kWh overnight, which at even only $5, significantly eats into the average margin of a hotel...

I can't imagine a small regional hotel spending thousands on new plugs or EVSEs for a segment of the market and not charging -- particularly when it's more convenient for the driver, and the alternative is likely driving to a paid fast charger the next morning.

 

[paulp]

Note on 15A.. while it's good for Tesla's with their interchangeable mobile connector, believe most other EVs in Aus only come with a fixed 10A charger.

On costs.. even at 10A one can pull down say 25kWh overnight, which at even only $5, significantly eats into the average margin of a hotel...

I can't imagine a small regional hotel spending thousands on new plugs or EVSEs for a segment of the market and not charging -- particularly when it's more convenient for the driver, and the alternative is likely driving to a paid fast charger the next morning.

I dont think the general public understand how fine hotel margins are. I’ve noticed a couple offer carparking at one price or carparking plugged in at another price, which seems like a good solution.

 

[Power Hungry]

I can't imagine a small regional hotel spending thousands on new plugs or EVSEs for a segment of the market and not charging -- particularly when it's more convenient for the driver, and the alternative is likely driving to a paid fast charger the next morning.

I agree about smaller regionals, but for larger city hotels, overnight charging should be a given at a time when EV ownership is accelerating. I don't cherish the idea of having to leave a hotel to return home and then check in to a fast charger for an hour or so to get home or my next destination.

 

[Power Hungry]

The other problem is, many hotels lease parking to dedicated car parking organisations. There doesn't seem too much motivation for them to install infrastructure.

 

[spades]

On costs.. even at 10A one can pull down say 25kWh overnight, which at even only $5, significantly eats into the average margin of a hotel...

I can't imagine a small regional hotel spending thousands on new plugs or EVSEs for a segment of the market and not charging -- particularly when it's more convenient for the driver, and the alternative is likely driving to a paid fast charger the next morning.

I don't accept that argument because there already are smaller hotels/motels who have put Tesla destination chargers and let people use them for free. I would argue they should have just installed 10A/15A sockets. I would also argue had they just done that, they would have been able to electrify more car spots.

See... just had a quick google, a random motel in rural NSW installed 2 Tesla 7kw wall chargers. Why? Just give them 15A sockets. They could probably have installed it in at least 4 bays. Possibly more.

Also... 15A sockets fit 10A plugs so it works for both.

 

[paulp]

The other problem is, many hotels lease parking to dedicated car parking organisations. There doesn't seem too much motivation for them to install infrastructure.

Adelaide City Council now has significant EV charging in all of its multideck carparks, as does adelaide airport

 

[cafz]

Country roadside motels are more owner occupier supported by a brand.

Over the past decade or so I've noticed the decline of the owner-occupier country motel. A lot of them seem to have been bought out by investors that own several motels and use a hired manager that often doesn't live on-site anymore and is responsible for several motels in the same area. With these operations you'll frequently just pick up your room keys from a coded lockbox and drop them into a box as you leave.

 

[doggy1]

In a couple of weeks we are embarking on a leisurely 3,000km round trip from Sydney via Canberra to the Barossa (for a family gathering). We have preferenced hotels/motels with overnight charging and they range from Tesla DCs to being allowed to plug in (using own extension lead) to a 10A outlet. We have offered payment for each one. Several have refused to accept payment and a couple have asked for it. Overall, only one out of eight has said they cannot assist. I think there is now a real appreciation by owners/managers that extra business is there for those who offer some form of EV charging. I'll report back on the reality of how things went after the trip. Our route won't have much DC charging available and of that, one NRMA has been out of order for a while. Interesting to see if it gets fixed in time for Easter and afterwards.

 

[Hairyman]

In a couple of weeks we are embarking on a leisurely 3,000km round trip from Sydney via Canberra to the Barossa (for a family gathering). We have preferenced hotels/motels with overnight charging and they range from Tesla DCs to being allowed to plug in (using own extension lead) to a 10A outlet. We have offered payment for each one. Several have refused to accept payment and a couple have asked for it. Overall, only one out of eight has said they cannot assist. I think there is now a real appreciation by owners/managers that extra business is there for those who offer some form of EV charging. I'll report back on the reality of how things went after the trip. Our route won't have much DC charging available and of that, one NRMA has been out of order for a while. Interesting to see if it gets fixed in time for Easter and afterwards.

Please let us know how you get on.

 

[spades]

In a couple of weeks we are embarking on a leisurely 3,000km round trip from Sydney via Canberra to the Barossa (for a family gathering). We have preferenced hotels/motels with overnight charging and they range from Tesla DCs to being allowed to plug in (using own extension lead) to a 10A outlet. We have offered payment for each one. Several have refused to accept payment and a couple have asked for it. Overall, only one out of eight has said they cannot assist. I think there is now a real appreciation by owners/managers that extra business is there for those who offer some form of EV charging. I'll report back on the reality of how things went after the trip. Our route won't have much DC charging available and of that, one NRMA has been out of order for a while. Interesting to see if it gets fixed in time for Easter and afterwards.

Nice one. How did you go about researching them? Plugshare? I have a feeling there are a lot more places that allow charging that aren't on there. I've also been planning trips for the Anzac weekend and July school holidays but it's hard to find which hotels or accomodation have them.

 

[Vostok]

With these operations you'll frequently just pick up your room keys from a coded lockbox and drop them into a box as you leave.

Yep. The olden days of getting rubber toast, cereal and warm milk on a tray pushed though the hole in the wall are long gone

Motels that offer onsite breakfast are becoming rare. The pandemic killed off a lot of that, but when I did my roadtrip last year with my son, only one motel we stayed at still offered breakfast.