The adoption of electric vehicles, or EVs, continues. Now many rental companies count EVs among their fleets, with the new vehicles offering technologies such as mobile apps which drivers simply wouldn’t find in gas powered models. As adoption grows EV drivers have the reassurance of charging stations popping up in easily-accessed locations.
The availability of charging stations will truly hold the key to EVs becoming a, excuse the pun, driving force in transportation. And with summer upon us, the urge for travelers to see the sights grows and EVs offer those with a eye towards doing so efficiently and cheaper with the reduced dependency on gas.
It’s no surprise then to find that hotels are presenting themselves as a place to recharge both body and car. By offering a place that you can charge a rental or your own EV, perhaps for free or for a flat rate, hotels are showing support for an upward trending product and establishing itself as an early adopter of new and relevant technology. Where this pays off is that when guests who take advantage of these amenities are looking for a place to stay on their next trip, they are more likely to return knowing a particular hotel was one of the early supporters of a product they have heavily invested in. Just like that a permanent relationship is created between hotel and guest.
To take advantage of the growing consumer awareness with EVs, hotels need to make sure they promote not only the positives of moving towards a green focused business model, but being first to market with charging stations for guests. Hotels such as Super8Ukiah and Inn Marin in northern California are examples of hotels touting its exclusive availability of charging stations in the area.
We’ve stated before that the hotel industry needs as much help as possible to fully recover. With the attitude towards EVs growing and being overwhelming positive, being on the ground floor of the EV revolution is an excellent step in the march towards recovery.