Two weeks ago Hilton unveiled a plan to offer EV charging at 2,000 hotels in North America totaling 20,000 chargers.
So it should come as no surprise that Marriott is now out with news about EV charging for hotels in the U.S. and Canada..
At this point, though, there doesn’t appear to be any goal for EV charging or timeline to reach it, let alone a mandate for properties to offer it or subsidies for them to do so. Instead, it appears to be a new product that Marriott will present as an option to owners?
Marriott properties will have a turnkey solution to easily add and manage EV charging stations through the EV Connect platform. This is the first agreement of this type for Marriott and ensures that participating locations can provide reliable charging infrastructure at locations within the U.S. and Canada.
On the one hand that still puts them behind Hilton’s announcement. On the other hand hotels might at least have the option to offer level 3 charging?
Instead of going for a slam dunk with Tesla’s Universal Wall Connector that can charge both CCS Combo 1- and NACS-equipped EVs, the Maryland-based company chose EV Connect’s Shield product.
That means Marriott will be able to pick what type of power dispensers it wants. The main advantage of this deal is that EV Connect can install not only Level 2 chargers but also Level 3 DC fast-charging stations.
Think of level 3 charging as around 12 times as fast as level 2 (though a lot of factors going into this, and it’ll vary). Roughly speaking a Tesla owner might recharge at around 10% per hour with level 2 charging, going from 20% to 80% charge in six hours. With level 3 they might be able to accomplish that same charge in less than 30 minutes.
My ultimate takeaway from Hilton’s announcement, and Marriott’s need to do something here, is that hotels see being prepared for EV’s – whether for road tripping guests or those renting the vehicles – as an important must-have in the future.
Also a profit center for the hotels. Doubt it will be offered at no cost. On other hand could be offered at no cost to highest level of elites which May incent some to stay more
@AC- Would have to charge pretty high prices to be a profit center. Level 3 chargers and the associated electrical systems to handle their loads are very expensive. A regular hotel building probably has enough supply from the street, but you would have to pull heavy duty cabling to the parking location (much much more cheaply done during construction, so this is tougher with existing buildings), and install the much more expensive L3 chargers (around $50k just for the charger). So it would be a big capital investment- could easily add $1 million to your building cost if you wanted to have say 10 of them.
Also the electricity demand is huge to fast charge a car. So again, the basic operating costs will be high as well. Definitely not an easy decision to make that kind of investment without knowing you will have the demand to pay for it.
@DCJoe – understand it is a sizable investment and may be more of a “necessary evil” as a larger percentage of drivers switch to EVs. However I still suspect it won’t be free and charges will help offset the cost. Since I don’t own an EV I have no idea how much it costs to use a charger but know the ones I see around town, at the airport, etc aren’t free
I have yet to try an EV let alone buy one but one thing that strikes me as critical is the ability for a hotel to rapidly charge cars from a wide array of manufacturers. This isn’t an alarm clock in your room that only works fully with an iPhone. If I’m stuck because the hotel I’m staying at can’t charge my car I’m going to be royally pissed.
So Christian is the kind of guy who’s pissed at others for his own poor planning.
Hotels do not provide gasoline refueling. Are you pissed when you pull into the hotel parking lot on empty, that the hotel can’t refuel your car?
Fast charging EV stations are available in all kinds of public venues. The hotel charging option should be seen as a bonus, kind of like an Uber driver offering you a charging cable. It shouldn’t be relied upon for routine charging.
Don’t forget @Christian that Marriott wants to eliminate alarm clocks! https://viewfromthewing.com/marriott-looking-to-eliminate-alarm-clocks-reduce-breakfast-costs
“Fast charging EV stations are available in all kinds of public venues. The hotel charging option should be seen as a bonus, kind of like an Uber driver offering you a charging cable. It shouldn’t be relied upon for routine charging.”
The problem is that with the proliferation of EVs, people will steer their business to hotels that provide a solution. I was an early EV adopter (since sold and have a gas car now, for other reasons not relevant to this thread) and I specifically would pick places where I could charge overnight. If I have to pay $20 or $30 more for the night to ensure I wake up to a 100% battery, SOLD.
I am not alone here.
The Fairfield by Marriott Lake George NY is a new property with 8 Level 2 chargers. When I stayed there earlier this year I picked that property because it had EV charging. I was able to charge my car overnight for $12. The chargers are branded ChargePoint. You need the ChargePoint app to utilize those chargers. A hotel with 8 chargers is awesome. Usually if they offer charging it’s only 1 or 2 units which sucks when inconsiderate people leave fully charged cars plugged in blocking others from charging. Level 2 chargers are all that’s needed at hotels. No need for an $80K level 3 charger. Just put in 8-12 level 2 per hotel.
@lavs – The entire premise of offering charging at a hotel is making it so that people can charge their car overnight rather than waste their day. Hotels already have electricity. It’s simply a matter of making sufficient chargers available in all major connections. Ponder the concept while you’re waiting for your car to charge during the day at a charging station.
There is very little reason to implement L3 chargers at a hotel. Very little need for the 30-45 min fast charging when you are enticing people to stay overnight in your hotel. In which case, single-phase 240v L2 charging (with multiple chargers/stall available) is enough to suffice.
Level 2 is sufficient. This is most beneficial when you arrive and just want to add enough energy for the battery to be at a safe charge level overnight. Absent level 2 at the hotel, I often have to go to the nearest fast charger before checking in. In some smaller cities, ie. Fayetteville, NC the charger is across town. When the level 2 charger is available at the hotel, I’m happy to pay.
Echo other comments. Offer 40-80 amp 240v ac charging and call it good. Dc chargers are not needed and expensive.
Will it be limited to guests only?
The Marriott Buellton has a bank of Tesla chargers in the parking lot (which is already kind of small) and is always loaded with tons of people hanging out waiting to charge their cars. Most of them are not guests of the hotel, but all of these people take up parking spots waiting for their turn on the charger. It’s kind of a shit show
I recently rented an EV from Hertz. First time user, so there was a little bit of a learning curve, but it was fine. Lack of EV charging infrastructure is still a thing. If I were road tripping with an EV, this would definitely sway my thinking on where to stay. Level threes are nice, but it seems like a level two fits the use case here – stay at our hotel overnight and you’ve got a full battery in the morning. I think this eventually will be a must have for hotels as more of the auto fleet moves to an EV platform.
We can’t live without carbon products, tires windshield wipers, pencils etc. Let’s get real 4 once
Marriott’s new EV charging solution for hotels in the U.S. and Canada, discussed on ViewFromTheWing, is a positive move toward supporting EV users and promoting sustainable travel.