Hi all, we are a group of individuals behind r3charge.com, a startup that makes life of EV owners easier by letting them book hotels with EV chargers. While hotels.com and Booking already have filters for EV chargers, they provide no information about what kind of charger it is and what is the cost. At the same time open chargers map do not offer hotel booking services. We at r3charge gather information from public EV chargers maps and allow to book hotels near chargers at lowest rates. We are at a very early stage and we are looking forward to understanding whether our functionality would be accepted and used by EV owners. We also would like to know if there any specific nice-to-have features that you would like to see on a hotel-booking site for EV travelers. Kind regards, Maria r3charge.com
I've used http://www.chargehotels.com before.. Good to have other alternatives also.. I actually just booked at the DoubleTree in Sunrise/FL. Heading there for a sports event.. That Hotel does not come up when using your site.. They have 2 EVSE's, 1 Tesla and one J1772. I don't have the Tesla adapter. Hopefully the J1772 will be available over night. I'll get there with very low charge. Don't want to use Electrify until the fix their pricing. Chargehotels only shows a Tesla charger but Plugshare shows that they have a J1772 also..
Not trying to discourage but I use "Plugshare" not only to identify motels but also: "Bail out" charging options along the way. Stuff happens and it is best to be flexible and safe. Recent user experience at the charging location. To be perfectly grim, not every charging station is "sweetness and roses." Early Electrify America stations had a difficult birth. IMHO, "Plugshare" and possibly "A Better Route Planner" are going to be your technical competition. Bob Wilson
I recently used PlugShare to find a hotel with a charger. There were some minor issues - finding the EVSE in the parking lot was one. And when I found it, one of the two spots was ICEd (I made a 3rd spot out of an adjacent empty parking spot - the cord was long enough to reach). The other "offical" spot was occupied by a Tesla that was charging, and that's fine - that's what they are there for. My only knock against ABRP is that they seem to assume that you only want DCFC. You might be on a long road trip, and might wish to knock off for the day at 8PM - instead of another DCFC, you might want a hotel with a Level 2.
This is my cynical take on this. r3charge.com is an expensive hotel booking site masquerading as a EV travel site. Yes, this site may have better details for EV users than others, but I am sure I can get better hotel rates by using other sites or the hotel site directly. I went in and searched for hotel rooms in San Diego five months away. For those dates, for example they gave me a rate of $377 per night for a Best Western and $703 for an Embassy Suites. I looked at comparable rates directly and those rates were way way cheaper. The rack rate for that Best Western was $150 per night on the Best Western site. I am sure at other discount sites, it may be even cheaper. If I have to get information on EV facilities, I would rather call the hotel directly rather than pay these inflated room rates. Seriously, check it out yourself.
@interestedinEV you nailed it! We stayed at a Super 8 in Russellville AR, less than $90, and quite affordable, with a Tesla destination charger. It was not even listed on their map except as an ico. Their cheapest motels were listed at +$150. Bob Wilson
