Hotel Charging Etiquette

[RKinWA]

Just a quick question for those that plug in and charge at hotels. Do you unplug and move once the vehicle has reached your target level or do you leave it plugged in all night?

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[RickMachE]

A nice person unplugs if it's done, assuming that's before you go to sleep. If it's going to be hours after you go to sleep, leaving a note that it's ok to unplug when done is also followed by many.

Cue the "I unplug when I'm at 62.7% and it won't be done until 3AM" and the "I set my alarm and wake up at 3:17AM to unplug" crowd....

 

[superdave80]

It probably depends on when it finishes. If it's 11 or 12 o'clock at night, I would probably head out and move my car. Later than that I'm going to assume the odds of someone coming in that late and needing a charge is pretty slim.

 

[MellowJohnny]

The last time I used a L2 at a hotel there were 6 spots available and just me and a BMW PHEV each night, so I didn't sweat it.

I agree with the "unplug me when I'm done" note, but if that's going to be at 3:00 am I doubt anyone will. I will not get up to unplug in the middle of the night, because I doubt anyone will plug in. And, I like sleep, especially if I'm looking at big miles of driving each day.

I would likely be up at 5:00 or 6:00 am anyway, at which point I'd unplug. I have a feeling that the "equilibrium" social norm will just be first come, first served, assuming everyone needs a "full charge"

 

[hybrid2bev]

I stay plugged in charging all night until it's time to go.

Every time I've charged at a hotel I arrived with a pretty low SOC. My car didn't finish charging until about an hour before we were leaving. Which was just enough time to run the departure time routine on shore power before we left.

 

[Thunderanger]

I've left mine plugged in when I needed to be at 100% in the AM. However this bit me in the ass with a $30 charge for charging at a hotel, when I could have unplugged and charged for 20 minutes at a DCFC about half a mile instead, for far less. The hotel wasn't clear about the charge. They said it was free for guests. Right. Not so much.

 

[RKinWA]

I've left mine plugged in when I needed to be at 100% in the AM. However this bit me in the ass with a $30 charge for charging at a hotel, when I could have unplugged and charged for 20 minutes at a DCFC about half a mile instead, for far less. The hotel wasn't clear about the charge. They said it was free for guests. Right. Not so much.

Good point, plus the idle charge if it's charged and just sitting there (in case they charge for that too)

 

[DevSecOps]

Just because some of you go to sleep at 8pm and there's only 2/5 spots taken doesn't mean that others won't check in after and need a charge for a 7am departure. EV charging spots aren't your personal parking spots. I normally don't get to hotels until 9pm-11pm.

They seriously need to have very high idle fees at these stations to encourage courteous users and discourage selfishness.

If you don't want to unplug (or leave a note to unplug) then don't use them.

 

[eleven24]

I often take a 450 mile drive to visit my son up at college & always stay at the same hotel because it has an L2 charger. I'll almost always arrive between 9p and midnight with less than 10% SOC. There never seems to be any other EV's charging, so at least for now the demand is low, so I leave my car plugged in all night. I do however have an index card I leave on my dash with a note telling someone if they need to charge to call/text my cell and I'll move the car.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

It usually is not an issue for me but the one time it was, I let the desk clerk know, if someone else needs the charger, call my cell and I’ll come move it. My car SOC was low enough that it would continue to charge all night, I just didn’t need that much for where I was headed. I could have left a note on the car, but I didn’t really want my phone number posted for everyone.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

It usually is not an issue for me but the one time it was, I let the desk clerk know, if someone else needs the charger, call my cell and I’ll come move it. My car SOC was low enough that it would continue to charge all night, I just didn’t need that much for where I was headed. I could have left a note on the car, but I didn’t really want my phone number posted for everyone.

That’s a great approach Rod!

(The only hotel I’ve charged at so far has a single reserved EV spot in a very small parking lot, so if you are lucky enough to reserve it, it’s yours all night - they specifically tell you that. The last time we stayed there, it was already reserved when we made our reservations, and their parking lot was full when we got there too. But the front desk checked with their sister property - literally across the street - and their EV charging spot was available and there was no chance anyone would be using it that night! So I got both a parking spot and free charging. )

But I like your idea of telling the front desk you can move if someone needs a charge.

 

[kdonnel]

The only times I have been at a hotel with charging I have remained charging all night.

Once I arrived at 10pm and another time at midnight. I felt lucky to get one of the two chargers.

I did get up and move the car before grabbing breakfast incase someone arrived after me and needed to charge but was blocked.

 

[CAL465]

I've seen them stay in the slots all night.

 

[CAL465]

I like it that some chargers charge after the 10 min. grace period ends.

 

[RickMachE]

On our last trip, a Tesla (gasp!) owner was moving his car when we arrived around 10PM. I opened my window to thank him as I parked there.

Drury Inns requires you to get your room key coded to use the chargers (in Knoxville), so they would know who is actually charging if you needed a spot (4 spots).

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