Charging at hotel poll

[dbsb3233]

Really depends on the price of the room. L2 would be a nice tiebreaker, but if the room is $50/night more than what I would otherwise pick, no.

Plus many times there's only 1 or 2 chargers. Unless I was guaranteed to get one via reservation or something, I'd be hesitant to pay more for the room.

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[dbsb3233]

I agree. If you're staying overnight DCFC seems like overkill. A hotel having a charger would influence my decision, but it doesn't need to be L3.

It's more than just overkill, DCFC comes with an implied "have to move the car when done". L2 typically doesn't. It's intended to be the "park it & forget it until you leave the next day" type of charging. Perfect for hotels.

 

[milepost1]

Hey Forum-mates,

This came up in a conversation and I'd like to get as many impressions as possible.

I appreciate your vote!

Looked for hotels with L2 many times. I dont think i have even seen one with L3. L2 fairly cheap to install vs L3

 

[dbsb3233]

It wouldn't change my mind, as it would make sense. One shouldn't hog a DCFC charger overnight; park there for an hour and move it so someone else can charge.


Agreed, there needs to be an L2 option as well. The only problem with hotel L2's (at least from reviews I've read) is that hotels stupidly put them in prime spots and don't enforce the "EV's only" rule - which leads to no one using them and the hotel drawing the wrong conclusion that there is no demand for them.

Actually they should be labeled "Charging Only", not "EVs Only". EVs parking there and not plugged in would be just as bad.

 

[dbsb3233]

I would rather see 5-10 lvl2 chargers at a hotel than one lvl3

Exactly. And low power is fine (like 24A). That way more chargers are likely to go in. The cheaper the power/equipment/install, the more likely that more go in.

240V 24A is 5.7kW. 12 hours overnight is 68 kWh. That's a pretty normal fill-up for a car like the Mach-E. Even 16A wouldn't be bad. Many people are at a hotel longer than 12 hours too.

 

[dbsb3233]

So, as demand for EVs increases (and subsequently, chargers), how dissatisfied would you be if someone else left their car plugged into a level 2 charger all night and you weren't able to use it as anticipated?

While it would be frustrating to find them full when I arrive at a hotel I've booked in part because of the charger, I sure wouldn't expect someone to get up at 2am to unplug when their car is charged (and I sure as heck wouldn't either).

L2 is intended as a full-night deal, IMO. They might need to start taking reservations for it though, because I could see conflicts quickly developing as more BEVs hit the roads.

 

[highland58]

I stayed at a SpringHill Suites in Salt Lake City about a month ago. Brand new hotel with several brand new L2 EVSEs. I did not see any vehicles parked by them over the 4 days I was there. Prior to that I have only noticed Tesla chargers at a couple of hotels in CA.

I recently got a 14-50R to 14-30P adaptor, to increase the options. 30A connections at campgrounds are common, and may be available at an ABnB.

 

[KAustin]

Who else wants to chime in?

 

[dbsb3233]

Since L3 (DCFC) is like a 30-60 minute deal that you then have to move the car from, hotels aren't a very smart placement for them.

They should match the charging speed to the location.

Hotels are overnight usage (8+ hours), so put the 8 hour chargers there. Restaurants and stores are 30-60 minute usage, so put the 30-60 minute chargers there. And right off the highway as it's usually road-trippers just passing through that need them.

 

[Jimrpa]

It probably won’t influence me much as I fly for my vacations usually. If I do drive someplace, I tend to be brand-loyal, so I might check to see if one of the hotels of the brands I’m loyal to has an L2 charger. Otherwise, I guess I’ll figure something out.

 

[dbsb3233]

It probably won’t influence me much as I fly for my vacations usually. If I do drive someplace, I tend to be brand-loyal, so I might check to see if one of the hotels of the brands I’m loyal to has an L2 charger. Otherwise, I guess I’ll figure something out.

Yep. That's where the answer to the original question is a little misleading. Sure, if a hotel had DCFC next to it, I might be a bit more inclined to use that hotel than a hotel with no charger at all. Having something to kill time while DCFC charging is always a plus, and chilling in the room for an hour qualifies for that.

BUT... that doesn't mean it's the best fit. L2 would be better at my hotel than DCFC because I don't have to babysit it (just plug in and forget it overnight). And DCFC is better by a few restaurants near the off-ramp because most people needing a charge are just passing through and won't be getting a room at the hotel. But the odds of them eating a meal to kill time are much higher.

So technically the answer to the question is Yes (versus a hotel with no charger at all), but only because any charger is better than no charger.

 

[KAustin]

Now that we have several more members, hoping to get additional feedback on the Poll. Thanks.

 

[CeramicShark]

Now that we have several more members, hoping to get additional feedback on the Poll. Thanks.

We did a trip not to long ago that required an overnight stay. I picked the hotel we stayed at because they had a free L2 charging option.

Worked it so the hotel overnight was right on the low end of the battery, spent the night and had a full battery in the morning to hit the road with.

It was great because it saved me the need to spend time charging that evening or in the morning and since it was L2 it made my battery happier than a fast DC charge.

The hotel cost was the same as others in the areas so it didn't really cost me anything extra for that charge and the hotel got my business as a result.

 

[SnBGC]

Now that we have several more members, hoping to get additional feedback on the Poll. Thanks.

Poll is closed.
But yes......the availability of L2 definitely makes a difference for me. In fact, I ONLY considered accommodations that had L2 available. Don't mind paying to charge.....that is fine with me.

When I went to San Diego, I left home with 100% charge of course. Arrived in Yuma about half way and charged to 80%. Went the rest of the way to my destination. Charged overnight and then drove around San Diego for several days. Charged again the night before checkout to 100% and headed home. It was very nice not having to hunt down charging facilities while on vacation.

 

[Timmy]

I look for L2 chargers.

Same here. I have used L2. It informed my decision last week. I made sure the hotel had L2 charging

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