RELATED: How should hotels charge guests for EV charging?
The Case for Free
Free charging photographs well, filters well and reviews well. Drivers search for it by name, listings that show it convert EV guests at a premium, and on a two socket B&B the electricity cost of a few charging guests a week is a rounding error against the bookings it wins. Small accommodation sites claiming the workplace grant can offer it entirely within the rules.
The risks are practical, not financial: free sockets attract overstayers and the occasional non guest, so free works best with access control, sockets that only respond to registered guests, and idle fees after checkout time.
The Case for a Tariff
Bigger sites with real utilisation leave real money on free sockets, and a fair tariff bothers nobody. EV drivers compare against public charging, where 35 to 45p per kWh at a hotel undercuts every motorway rapid they would otherwise queue for. The tariff also self polices the bays: paid sessions end, freeloaders do not appear, and the platform handles every penny without reception involvement.
RELATED: Can hotels make money from EV charging?
The Hybrid Most Hotels Land On
Included charging as a perk where it sells, direct bookings, packages, loyalty guests, and a standard tariff for everyone else. The hardware supports it natively, different rates per guest group on the same sockets, so the policy is a settings decision you can change seasonally. Start with the tariff, deploy free as a promotion, and let the booking data tell you which way to lean.
