A Philadelphia company, U-Go Stations, is installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at high-traffic locations, including hotels. They put in the stations, and then share the revenue with hotels. The U-Go website says, "You provide the location and we take care of the rest."
Several years ago, Boston hotels started to install EV charging stations to serve guests with plug-in cars. At first, the stations were lightly used, but now they are more popular.
The Lenox Hotel, a Saunders Hotel Group (SHG) property, installed a station in 2012. Scot Hopps noted that the Lenox doormen suggested that the hotel put in a second station, because the first one attracts so many drivers with Teslas, Nissan Leafs and other EV's. Some of the customers have become "regulars." They pay the Lenox for valet service, and often eat at the hotel's restaurants.
With that experience in mind, SHG is partnering with U-Go Stations to install EV charging stations at two of its other properties: Comfort Inn & Suites Logan International Airport and Hampton Inn Norwood. Under the agreement, U-Go will set up the stations at no cost to the hotels, cover the insurance and pay the hotels for the electricity plus one cent for every kWh used. If the units turn a profit, the hotels will share it. The lease agreement runs for five years. The units will be operational by the end of this month.
U-Go seeks to, "install Level 2 and Level 3 [EV] charging stations in targeted, desirable, high traffic locations that will form a cohesive network." The Level 3 stations can fully recharge a car in 30 minutes; the Level 2 stations takes up to four hours.
The Lenox's charging station is staffed by the hotel's valets, but the Comfort Inn and Hampton Inn stations will be self-serve. Customers will pay by time units, rather than the amount of electricity used.
Hotels add EV charging stations to attract overnight guests, entice customers to their restaurants, generate revenue from the charges and visually demonstrate that their facility is technologically-advanced and environmentally-committed. Compared to these benefits, the risks seem small--especially if installation costs are zero.
If you want to inquire about free charging stations, contact U-Go Stations. They will determine whether your site qualifies for free installations.
Sheraton Boston's Bills Plunge after Toilet Replacement Project
Sheraton Boston just completed a project that cut their water and energy bills.
They replaced 428 of their 3.5 gallon / flush toilets with 1.28 gallon / flush Kohler toilets. They also swapped 428, 2.5 gallon / minute showerheads for units that use only 1.75 gallons / minute. National Grid picked up most of the cost of the showerheads, because they sharply reduce the hotel's natural gas use.
Jeff Hanulec, the hotel's Director of Engineering, expects an ROI for the project to be 1.9 years.
The article about toilets below says that 1.28 gallons per flush toilets have become commonplace and effective.
