Depending on the size of the hotel I think a time limit or notification to move the car would be the better way. You have guests coming in at all hours and leaving a car overnight to charge will take another person’s ability to charge up before morning.
Tesla chargers at Hilton Hotels
- Thread starter JHZR2
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Depending on the size of the hotel I think a time limit or notification to move the car would be the better way. You have guests coming in at all hours and leaving a car overnight to charge will take another person’s ability to charge up before morning.
Hilton Hotels comprise only 20% of the Hilton Organization, so this will be an interesting science project with a lot of shine but very little substance. The Hampton hotel has a larger share of the rooms, and several others comprise the 80% what aren’t Hilton’s.
I've certainly seen that before with Tesla Superchargers where there might be a sign saying that it's open for any vehicle to park, charging only, or maybe a time when not charging. Obviously the idle fees are what keep most people from just keeping a charging car connected.
However, that's not really how the Destination Charging equipment works. They're supposed to be simple (it's basically home charging equipment) and not require that the user register any information, although that might be possible with a connection to the unit's Wi-Fi. Most of these are set to allow anyone to connect and immediately charge like plugging into a normal power outlet.
This is clearly part of Tesla's push to encourage EV use - even for other manufacturers.
I would expect Superchargers and Destination chargers to pop up in all kinds of places.
Superchargers are mostly just off freeways, of course. That's where they are needed.
Their release says it's across their brands. I found something saying that there are less than 600 "Hilton Hotels" branded hotels worldwide, but their release says they will do it across over 2000 North American hotels.
“At Hilton, we are committed to meeting the changing needs of our guests who are looking for hotel experiences that complement their daily routines while offering exceptional hospitality,” said Matt Schuyler, chief brand officer, Hilton. “Through this expanded agreement with Tesla, we are significantly changing the landscape of universal EV chargers in North America in an incredibly short amount of time. Across Hilton’s family of award-winning brands, this network of EV chargers will offer our guests even more value with the convenience of much-needed overnight charging access in more locations.”
I'm looking at the Hilton brands in my area that have Destination Charging and it's pretty sparse right now. Also typically one or two. But two Hilton branded hotels in San Francisco and a Doubletree in a suburb. Maybe a few Hampton Inns. But looking at the release they're looking to bring this to different categories and not just their most expensive ones.
Some are in rather surprising locations. I was just curious and I remember not seeing any around Point Reyes Station, but apparently there's a new one - six at the Olema Farmhouse restaurant. But that one is a bit different in that they have a Destination Charger there next to the Superchargers. So I guess it could be either free (saw something claiming the business doesn't really care) or fast.
The Tesla pretty firmly grabs on to the J1772 connector when the doors are locked, so it wouldn't be very easy to steal. I don't know what you'd do with one if you did steal it.
When we go on a long trip with the Tesla we look for hotels that have a destination charger or are right beside a Supercharger. That has to be a marketing feature.
We don't ever use the pool or weights room so it doesn't matter to us if they have them. Different strokes and all that ....
We don't ever use the pool or weights room so it doesn't matter to us if they have them. Different strokes and all that ....
Canadians are buying EVs.
For the first 2 quarters of 2023, 9.2 and 10.5% of new vehicle purchases in Canada were ZEVs.
In the province of Quebec the numbers were 15.5 and 18.4%.
In province of British Columbia the numbers were 19.7% and 20.5%.
Keep in mind that it's still not easy to buy many EVs in Canada. There are long waits for Hyundais and VWs for example. And a very high proportion of non-EV owners say they would be worried about taking a long trip in an EV.
If the bet concerned Quebec or British Columbia you would lose.
Depends on a few factors I would think. One is the charge rate. I've rarely used them but thought about it and have seen some Destination Chargers listed as limited to 6 kW. Apparently that's programmed through the "commissioning procedure" where the circuit breaker capacity is programmed. Of course it can be exceeded intentionally but it would probably trip the breaker. However, some places might just limit it to 6 kW to keep down electricity costs.
Some of the ones that are listed as higher than 11.5 kW are probably using Power Share (sharing connected power), so that charge rate may not be available depending on usage of multiple Destination Chargers.
Here is a good site for information on actual charging rates and the reliability of charging points.
https://www.plugshare.com/
One of the tricky things I've run across is a charging station behind a "pay wall" (eg West Edmonton Mall, summer of 2022). The charging station can only be accessed by a valet, presumably for a fee or at least a gratuity (I didn't try to use the "service" so I can't say).
I was thinking with Tesla's Destination Chargers database, they actually list what the host claims as the maximum charge rate. I've seen anything from 6 to 16 kW. I suppose one could be reprogrammed at any time at the discretion of the host.
I'll take that bet too. You're seeing early adopters. Those numbers are unsustainable.
You could be right, or not. Let's check back in 2025.
The numbers are rising in BC. And rising quite quickly in Quebec. There is California style expensive fuel in BC, and abundant hydroelectricity in Quebec (which probably means cheap).
EVs may not make a lot of sense in other areas of Canada but they do in those two provinces.
I don't think stealing adapters is a concern, they may build something for commercial establishment that is not easily stolen like the home user version. It could also be locked with a chip inside so there's no value in stealing them.
Regarding to people not moving their cars, it could be just like the hotels' "15 mins loading zone", some guests won't move but get a reminder eventually. If the connectors are made cheap enough they can have a control system that throttle charging so the total power draw is within limit, and if you reach your limit they will stop charging your vehicle. The only cost would be the adapter (cheap if mass produced) and labor to install, then they can run the power cable in parallel if all the adapters are server controlled.
Will they make money off this? All I know is if they don't do it they will lose business, as a lot of guests would automatically eliminate them if they have an EV. In a way they are forced to have it if their competitors are doing it. They can always only provide free 200kwh or 3 hours of charging to the customers who pays for parking (i.e. $15-25 per night). Many hotels and motels offer "free breakfast", did they lose money on it?
Regarding to people not moving their cars, it could be just like the hotels' "15 mins loading zone", some guests won't move but get a reminder eventually. If the connectors are made cheap enough they can have a control system that throttle charging so the total power draw is within limit, and if you reach your limit they will stop charging your vehicle. The only cost would be the adapter (cheap if mass produced) and labor to install, then they can run the power cable in parallel if all the adapters are server controlled.
Will they make money off this? All I know is if they don't do it they will lose business, as a lot of guests would automatically eliminate them if they have an EV. In a way they are forced to have it if their competitors are doing it. They can always only provide free 200kwh or 3 hours of charging to the customers who pays for parking (i.e. $15-25 per night). Many hotels and motels offer "free breakfast", did they lose money on it?
I was watching that YouTube video that I posted, and the host mentioned that there were already tutorials on how to defeat the Tesla locking system. I'm pretty sure it's not some super hi-tech setup but some sort of simple mechanical locking mechanism.
The Destination Charging system is meant to be simple. It's the equivalent of a customer in a hotel lobby using a USB power port or plugging a power adapter into a outlet. The majority of these setups have no usage logging and no limits, although I'm sure they have a way to determine the overall electricity used for their own records.
The general idea is to encourage EV drivers to use Hilton's hotel brands. It's obviously going to cost the money, just like it costs them to provide heat and A/C to rooms. They probably have no way to determine which customers are using them, but it may not matter if they see trends in how well they're used and how many rooms are booked.
BTW - 200 kWh is a massive amount. The eSprinter has about a 110 kWh battery.
My wife works for a hotel chain and has tried many times to explain to her management how important it would be to have EV charging, especially with the hotel next to a major highway. The hotel next door is owned by a couple that have a Model 3 and a Model Y and they have electric vehicle charging. It seems to be harder to sell the point to someone who has never considered an EV. The hotel even prewired for it, I saw the setup when it was being built, but they poured a solid concrete slab over the connections instead of installing any form of accessible power box.
The costs relative to income have to be one consideration. I don't know exactly how much each hotel is paying for electricity, but I would think it might be possible for them to get separate service just for EV use.
When I've used free charging, it's always been during the day and at times that would normally be peak. But for a hotel the majority will likely be those using
I don't expect all hotels are going to want to provide that much complimentary electricity. If someone arrives and charges a car overnight with about 50 kWh, that's going to cost about $12.50 if they are (conservatively) paying 25 cents/kWh. Or double that.. And it could be more, although I'd think that hotels often don't choose time of use rates given that they can't really control when guests use electricity and are running restaurant and laundry operations at peak times. But someone charging about 80% of an EV's battery capacity is not an insignificant expense. If it's $200-300 a night for a room, that may be different than staying at a motel for $40 a night.
I would think that perhaps some hotels and motels might have more of an incentive to install paid charging stations like from ChargePoint or Volta. Possibly even marketing nearby access to off-site charging - especially Tesla Superchargers.
It’s by far the highest end place in town, yet the EVs seem to book next door because they can offer chargers. They’re definitely giving up some business when it isn’t peak times.
If people are intent on stealing stuff it's pretty much impossible to stop them. But you can make it hard. Many thieves are lazy and will move on to something easier.
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