Exploring in an Electric Vehicle? Finding a Hotel With a Charger May be a Challenge

The destination has become the primary concern for electric car drivers embarking on the great American road trip, rather than the journey itself.

For those who don’t yet own an electric car, rental car giants like Hertz Global Holdings Inc. offer plenty of options at different price points. And there are more than 63,000 places on the road where you can plug in across the US and Canada, with more coming soon to major gas stations. However, electric vehicle chargers are still largely absent from one important hub on many trips: hotels and guesthouses.

A recent survey of 17,000 hotels by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that only about a quarter offer EV charging. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Hyatt Hotels Corp. have chargers in less than a third of their U.S. properties. After calling more than two dozen Motel 8s and Days Inns across the country, not one had a charger. Even EV-friendly hotels may only have space for one car or only certain models.

Andrew Scott, a 37-year-old attorney planning a family trip this summer from Chicago to Traverse City, Michigan, said he was “a little concerned” about where to stay. He bought a Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car in April, and the upcoming trip of more than 300 miles will be the longest he has done. Using a charger is an important factor in choosing a hotel, he said. He wants accommodation to be a relatively quick option – even if it increases costs.

“I think when I plan it out, it helps,” she said of her anxiety.

However, it is not always so easy to find which hotels have chargers.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc., the largest U.S. hotel group and operator of Days Inns and Super 8s, does not allow potential guests to search its properties for chargers, nor does it disclose how many of its locations offer the service. (It does, however, have an unspecified number of free EV chargers on site at its corporate headquarters.)

The company did not respond to a request for comment. CEO Geoff Ballotti has said that expanding access is a priority for the company, but that’s likely to be of little comfort to EV owners set to hit the road this summer. Or maybe even next.

“It’s something we’re going to be very focused on in the coming years,” Ballotti told analysts on an October conference call. “We work with some of the leading electric vehicle charging companies in the country and have a series of models that we have offered to our franchisees.”

Other major chains, such as Marriott International Inc. and Choice Hotels International Inc., which operates the Quality Inn and Econo Lodge brands, also do not disclose the number of hotels using the chargers or allow guests to check availability on their websites, though it is a filter on their mobile app. Choice said 41% of its luxury Cambria brand hotels will offer access, with the rest to follow in 2024.

Some major hotel operators, such as Hilton and Best Western International Inc., make it relatively easy to find properties with chargers online, but you can’t reserve them in advance the way you can with a room with a view or a lounger by the pool. .

Travel booking sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com and Kayak also allow you to search for accommodation with a charger. Airbnb Inc. also has an electric car charging filter, and last year more than 850,000 properties were said to have included it in the service. Tesla owners can also search the company’s website for “target charging stations” in hotels across North America.

Last year, AHLA launched an initiative called Responsible Stay, which urges members to adopt sustainable practices, including access to electric vehicle gates. But the program is voluntary and does not follow industry developments. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 also has some incentives for private businesses like hotels to apply for $2.5 billion in grants to fill gaps in the national payments system.

“A lot of hotels are just wondering what to do,” said Chip Rogers, the lodging association’s president and CEO.

The lack of chargers and their marketing is partly due to the historically low share of electric cars on the roads. This will change as sales of electric cars increase.

“The demand is coming,” Rogers said. And hotels that are ahead of the curve get an edge with customers, he added.

Opal Hotels Group is currently expanding its charging capacity in nine hotels. Four already have ports and two more have ports under construction. The group’s 10th hotel under development will receive electric car chargers after opening. The company recently received an offer from Tesla Inc. to install Superchargers at one of its facilities, which the group is considering.

“The data shows that EVs are increasing, and I think it’s going to become a service, just like parking,” said Mital Patel, chief operating officer of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based hotel group. “Guests come to expect it.”

Patel’s hotels have a mix of free and paid chargers, and in the long term, he believes most hotels will collect a fee from guests to cover the cost.

Not all hotels can have chargers or really don’t need them. Many urban areas don’t have space, and air travelers who mainly use taxis, Uber, and Lyft while there don’t need spaces.

“The economics just don’t make sense in those cases,” said Bjorn Hanson, a professor at New York University’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Visiting and Tourism.

Hotels without chargers often know of a nearby option. A Super 8 in North Bergen, New Jersey, sends people to the local Starbucks; The Days Inn in Scranton, Pennsylvania offers a place to rest. The Marriott in Altoona, Pennsylvania, says the Sheetz convenience store has one 10 or 15 minutes away.

Guests won’t be stranded, but their vacation may include a little more time in random parking lots.