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Charging Ahead: Boosting your Hotel Bookings with on-site EV Charging

In the competitive world of holiday rentals, standing out and attracting more guests is crucial for boosting your hotel bookings. Simpson & Partners’ dedicated on-site Holiday Let Charging Edition ev chargers offer the perfect edge.

Read how Fiona Burke owner of Beaumont House Cheltenham installed S&P’s Holiday Let Charging Edition EV chargers into her boutique hotel car park.

Hotel Name: Beaumont House Cheltenham

Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Description of business: A small, regency style 14 bedroom boutique hotel in the Cotswolds

Date of Installation: Spring 2024

Number of charge points: two 22 KW chargers

Location of charge points: hotel’s private carpark

 

Fiona Burke owner of Beaumont House Cheltenham

 

What motivated you to install EV charging points at Willow Boutique Hotels?

During one of the Covid lockdowns in 2020-2021, the Gloucestershire Business Growth Hub launched a competition for businesses to submit a cases study and apply for funding for something that could benefit the county. Whilst running my hotel business, I had noticed that a growing number of cars parked at my hotel were either hybrid or fully electric, and realised this would be an ideal opportunity to apply for funding for installation of electric charging points. My case study was approved by the Growth Hub as they saw this as a very forward thinking idea (only a couple of hotels in Cheltenham had chargers at the time), and I was granted funding towards the cost of installing two chargers. Whilst the hardware in these chargers was fine, the app wasn’t hugely customer friendly, and after a few years I was given an opportunity to replace the chargers to Simpson Partners’ chargers and also the app. Tap Electric’s app is so much simpler for guests to use – we haven’t had one request for help with the app. We had constant issues with the previous app, so much so that guests often thought the chargers weren’t working and gave up trying to charge their car. This regularly resulted in guests leaving negative customer reviews online.

 

What kind of features were you looking for?

As powerful as possible in terms of KW output. I opted for just two to install at the time due to my budget, but we made the underground pipework suitable for further cables as I hope to install more in the future.

 

How do customers charge their car?

Via the TAP app. We have two parking spaces dedicated to the EV charging points, available on a first come first serve basis.

How do you set the electricity rate?

I check various factors to ensure we cover the cost of the electricity, VAT, corporation tax. I also check what other chargers in the area are charging users to ensure we are competitive. Our chargers are to encourage guests to come stay at the hotel, rather than aim for a large profit margin.

How have Simpson & Partners charging points added value to your hotel and guest experience?

As a successful hotel, we do have repeat business as guests like the style of the bedrooms, the free parking, and its central location. But I have particularly noticed repeat business from guests with electric cars – for them, being able to charge up overnight whilst on a business trip is essential. They like the reliability of the chargers as they know they always work. We haven’t had any negative reviews at all since the Simpson chargers were installed which is fantastic (hotels always want good reviews, and we really don’t want a guest to ever have a poor experience either with the stay at the hotel or with the EV chargers).

 

Why did you choose Simpson & Partners as your EV charging partner?

I had an existing relationship with Chas Beecham who had installed my previous set of chargers. We regularly kept in touch (mostly due to issues with the previous app!!) and when he joined Simpson & Partners he suggested replacing my chargers with theirs as he felt we would not have any issues at all.

 

What impact has offering EV charging had on your business so far?

It is hard to quantify, but I estimate 10% of business is repeat business by guests owning electric cars. This estimate is for stays throughout the year, which is important as the hotel industry can be very seasonal. It also makes the hotel appear higher up in the ranking on online travel agents such as Booking.com and Expedia as guests can tick hotels with EV chargers – we pop up immediately. Guests often think charging points are more essential than a breakfast service as if you need to charge, you need to charge! Charging points are much fewer in number than breakfast cafes in Cheltenham!

What advice would you give to people looking to install EV charging points?

Check your electrics first (we have 3 phase meaning we could go to town with installing as many chargers as we wanted within our budget). Ensure you have a user friendly app, and if you need to charge for use, make sure the app provider can collect funds on your behalf (and take Google Pay, Apple Pay, and all major cards). Have the chargers well lit at night as you often find people like to charge up in the evening once they have checked in so that the car can fully charge overnight. And have a sign explaining to guests what app to use, and a contact number for any charging related issues.

 

Thank you Fiona for sharing your experience with us.