| By Keith Laing The journey is no longer the biggest pain point for EV drivers embarking on the great American road trip — it's the destination. Yes, rental car giants and public charging stations are making battery-powered treks more convenient. But electric car chargers are still largely absent from one important place: hotels and inns. A recent survey of 17,000 hotels in the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that only about a quarter of them offer EV charging. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Hyatt Hotels Corp. have chargers at less than a third of their US properties. Calling around to more than two dozen Motel 8s and Days Inns across the country, not a single one had a charger. Even hotels that are EV-compatible may just have a spot for a single car or only for certain models. "The demand is coming," says AHLA Chief Executive Officer Chip Rogers. But at the moment, "a lot of hotels are just wondering what to do." EV drivers are used to doing a little research before a long trip: What's the car's range and what are the circumstances on the road? Where are the nearest public chargers and how likely are they to work? But figuring out which hotels have chargers isn't as easy. US chains like Marriott International Inc., Choice Hotels International Inc. (which operates the Quality Inn and Econo Lodge brands) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. (Days Inn and Super 8) don't disclose locations with chargers or let guests check for charger availability on their websites. Other large hotel operators, including Hilton and Best Western International Inc., make it relatively easy to search online for properties with chargers. But there's no way to reserve one in advance the way you might a room with a view or a lounge chair by the pool. "It's something that we're going to be very focused on in the years ahead," Wyndham CEO Geoff Ballotti told analysts in October. "We're partnering with some of the nation's leading EV charging companies and we have a series of models that we've offered to our franchisees." Searching by charger access is much easier on travel booking sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com and Kayak. Airbnb Inc. has an EV charging filter, and last year said over 850,000 properties included it as an amenity. Tesla owners can search the company's website for "destination charging" stations at hotels across North America. Hotels without chargers can usually at least suggest another option. The Super 8 in North Bergen, New Jersey sends people to an EV charger at a local Starbucks; the Days Inn in Scranton, Pennsylvania offers up a rest stop. The Marriott in Altoona, Pennsylvania says there's one at a Sheetz convenience store 10 minutes down the road.  Photographer: Kyle Monk/Tetra images RF The lack of hotel chargers mostly reflects the small number of electric cars on the road, but that landscape is changing fast: Last year, EV sales in the US rose by 50%. The AHLA recently rolled out a Responsible Stay initiative to encourage members to adopt sustainable practices, including EV charging, and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included incentives for private companies to apply for $2.5 billion in grants intended to fill gaps in the national charging system. Some hotel companies are adjusting accordingly. Opal Hotels Group, which runs nine hotels in the US, has already installed EV chargers at four of its locations, and two more have ports under construction. The group's 10th hotel is in development, and will have EV chargers when it opens. While car charging won't be an option for every hotel, or a necessity for every visitor, hospitality companies will have to decide whether it's a must-have offering or a nice-to-have perk. The answer could change over time. "I think it's going to become an amenity just like how you have to have parking," says Opal Chief Operating Officer Mital Pate. "Guests are going to come to expect it." Read and share a full version of this story on Bloomberg.com. For unlimited access to climate and energy news, original reporting and Bloomberg Green magazine, please subscribe. -
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