Updated on 20/09/2023

Electric mobility continues to grow and more and more electric cars are on the road. Electric vehicle charging is a service that an increasing number of establishments are offering to their customers. This is the case of hotels, always willing to improve their services to attract new customers or generate added value, which are now adding charging points in their facilities.

Hotels are always looking to improve the customer experience, adapting to their needs and offering new services. It is clear to them that they have to be the first to modernise, and they are also committed to sustainability. I'm sure you remember when the first hotels offered WiFi in their facilities, or when they started to raise awareness among their guests about reusing towels. It is now the turn of electric vehicle chargers. 

Advantages of having charging points, for hotels and for guests

Most hotels already have parking spaces for their guests so adding charging points is very easy, especially if they are installed in a covered car park. Hotel guests tend to keep their vehicles parked overnight, so most recharging will take place at night. During these hours, the cost to fully charge an electric vehicle can range from €5 to €12.

For managing charging points, there is nothing better than our management software, EVectrum, that allows you to control all the chargers, collect payments, control consumption, and set tariffs at different times, as well as attracting new customers thanks to our app for electric vehicle users.

For an electric vehicle user, the choice is clear: they will always search for hotels that have chargers, and it will probably be the first thing they look for when booking. Offers that include free parking or free charging, or even both, will also be highly valued.

In addition to these, there are more reasons to install charging points in a hotel, which benefit both the company and its customers.

The case of Vichy Catalan Hotel

Vichy Catalan Spa Hotel (Girona) installed four charging spaces in its outdoor car park in summer 2021, which they manage with EVectrum. On the reasons for this installation, the hotel's manager Manuel Rey commented that "We are committed to becoming more and more sustainable and doing everything we can to reduce CO2 emissions. This is not the first time we have carried out this kind of activity, for example, we have heated our outdoor swimming pool with solar energy. Our customers are also very conscious of sustainability and it was becoming increasingly common to welcome guests with electric vehicles".

Regarding the advantages of using EVectrum, Manuel Rey valued "the app's simplicity and usability. It is essential for us that the operational management of the charging points is simple and does not complicate our work. In this respect, Electromaps fulfils this requirement perfectly as it operates completely self-sufficiently and creates few or no problems. I also really like the management platform as it perfectly breaks down the data and analysis of consumption, charging, CO2 savings, etc."

Does it pay to install charging points? The figures speak for themselves

At the beginning of October 2022, fifteen months after the charging points were installed and operational in the hotel, we contacted Manuel Rey again for an assessment.

Rey tells us: "Ever since we installed the charging points, we have noticed a significant influx of electric vehicles. While it is true that our charging points are not busy all the time, we can say that they are getting busier and busier. We see them as a service for customers, but also for electric vehicle users in general who need to recharge and choose our establishment to do so. In fact, most recharging happens during the night and midday hours. This tells us that hotel guests as well as other restaurant and spa guests are the biggest users of our charging points".

What we don't know at this stage is which comes first: whether it is the customer who takes the opportunity to recharge; or the user who needs to recharge and takes the opportunity to eat in the restaurant or use the spa. While it is true that "the hotel's location, close to an exit of the AP7, attracts users of electric vehicles on the road. Many of them are foreigners, mainly from France, Belgium and the Netherlands".

But the facts are clear. Comparing the months from January to August 2022 and 2023, EVectrum shows that:

• The total energy delivered is almost the double (1,9 times).
• EV charging turnover has increased by 117%.

Rey stresses that "the aim of the charging point is not revenue, but giving better customer service. Moreover, it is a virtually autonomous service, given that customers arrive and manage their recharge through the app (or the Electropass key fob or card) and we usually only find out when we see the figures or if we see a car charging".

Do you own a hotel and want us to help you manage your charging points?