Hotel Guests Overextend Stays at Charging Spots

[RickMachE]

Hotel Guests Overextend Stays at Charging Spots
https://wallstreetjournal-ny.newsmemory.com/?publink=0af5ea46f_134ab89

Let's start the week off right, with @mkhuffman bitching about the chargers at his work... ?

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[MacherAWD]

No one on my street has an EV beside me, but I could see one of them slipping their car in my garage to charge off my solar. Probably my buddy Steve would, although for now he just borrows my MME whenever his car is in the shop (10 year old volvo so often), he says borrowing mine is cheaper than buying one.

 

[flapjake314]

i often leave a note in my window saying they can text me if they need the charger because of that exact sentiment at the end of the article... i'm not going to wake up to move (or stop my car from charging more than i actually need) unless someone else needs it. but if someone needs it i'd happily move

 

[generaltso]

he says borrowing mine is cheaper than buying one.

He's not wrong.

 

[kdonnel]

 

[SWO]

i often leave a note in my window saying they can text me if they need the charger because of that exact sentiment at the end of the article... i'm not going to wake up to move (or stop my car from charging more than i actually need) unless someone else needs it. but if someone needs it i'd happily move

Same. If I time it right, my car usually isn't done charging until 2-4am. With the trucks and SUVs being built, they could potentially plug in all night without topping off.

At least on the east coast, I feel like you're lucky to get 32A with most of the J1772s installed to support Leafs and Bolts up to a decade ago.

 

[mkhuffman]

"Guests say some drivers leave their cars plugged in for hours on end after they’re fully charged, hogging the only available charger. "

 

[superdave80]

Mr. Rodriguez says charging stations by the front of hotels are often blocked by non-EVs whose drivers just see an empty parking spot. He prefers stations in the back of hotels for this reason, but says many aren’t clearly marked or maintained.

Yes, yes, yes. I hate when I see EV charging spots in prime parking spots. It's like they are just begging for these spots to be ICE'd (or worse, EV'd by a fully charged EV). I'm going to be plugged in for hours, so I don't care if I have to walk a distance to the hotel/store/mall/whatever.

He says he once pulled into a Westin at 4 p.m. with 5% charge remaining on his 2021 Mustang Mach-E, and found a Tesla charging in the spot. It remained there all night. Mr. Rodriguez says he awoke at 4 a.m. and checked the car. It was still plugged in but showed it wasn’t charging. So he made a decision: He unplugged the charger.

I've got no problem with this. If it's 4 a.m. and my car is full, go ahead and unplug me and let me sleep. I'd like to see parking spots arranged so that two EVs can park next to a single charger to 'share', but that might be taking up a lot of spots for smaller parking lots.

 

[ArthurDOB]

"Guests say some drivers leave their cars plugged in for hours on end after they’re fully charged, hogging the only available charger. "

You need to post the document file here!

 

[RickMachE]

I am starting a fund collection to buy a proper uniform for @mkhuffman to wear at work. If you'd like to contribute, please send funds to [email protected]. The front will look like below, the back will say, in big letters, ENFORCEMENT OFFICER MIKE. Thank you for supporting this worthy cause.

 

[Vulnox]

We did our first road trip in the MME a couple weeks ago and were staying at a Hyatt. They had two L2 chargers for those staying. The first night our car was already had 80% so I didn't plug in, but there was a VW ID.4 using one of the two spots, even though they weren't connected at all.

The other spot remained open, so I didn't worry about it too much. The next night though we needed to charge because we were leaving in the morning and needed a near full charge to hit our first DCFC spot since there isn't a lot of DCFC on the way, we are already taking a detour from our ideal route just to hit that one. But now there was a Tesla Model X taking one spot, but charging, and that same damn ID.4 that sat there, still unplugged through the next night.

Parking spots weren't even that hard to find at this hotel, this individual seemed to think it was EV reserved parking, and not reserved for charging. I see ID.4 owners get a lot of flack on YouTube videos about DCFC clogging and that, and this experience didn't help.

I was able to find another L2 charger a little ways away that was still close enough I was able to walk back to the hotel. But that also means I was using an L2 for several hours (I did move once charged) that someone else could have needed. Wish people had just a little bit of consideration on this stuff.

 

[RickMachE]

I would have written down the plate, and asked the front desk to try and find the driver. Often they ask for car information, but not always.

People can be inconsiderate, but this is why you don't rely on the hotel charger, ALWAYS have a backup plan. Many I stop at are near DC fast chargers.

 

[kennethjk]

"Guests say some drivers leave their cars plugged in for hours on end after they’re fully charged, hogging the only available charger. "

Do you leave them directions to where your car is parked?

 

[jhalkias]

Just this weekend, I was at a conference and a nearby free parking garage had J1772 charging, so I went there to eat. This was the scene (the red Lightning is me). The Tesla parked beside me because it said "EV Parking only" - NOT plugged in - and also BTW OVER the white line, that made me look bad with my parking.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

Just this weekend, I was at a conference and a nearby free parking garage had J1772 charging, so I went there to eat. This was the scene (the red Lightning is me). The Tesla parked beside me because it said "EV Parking only" - NOT plugged in - and also BTW OVER the white line, that made me look bad with my parking.

Must be a regular dentist and not an orthodontist!!!

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