Electric vehicle charging

How to Find the Best Hotels with EV Charging Options

Knowing how to find the best hotels with EV charging can help you get out on the road with your electric vehicle. Staying at a hotel with EV charging means you can recharge yourself and your car at the same time – you’ll hit the road the next morning well-rested and fully charged. 

As electric vehicles become more common, charging options for vehicles are also becoming more common. More and more hotels offer charging for their guests – sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee. Most hotel chargers are Level 2 – that means they should fully charge your car overnight. 

Staying at a hotel with EV charging can save you time, giving you more time for exploring.

In this post, we’ll cover 

  • How to find hotels with EV charging stations on common hotel booking sites
  • Other tools to find hotels with EV charging 
  • Some tips for finding hotels with EV charging
  • Frequently asked questions 
Red Chevy Bolt charging on a level 2 charger

Finding Hotels with EV Charging Stations

When you are planning a road trip with an EV, you’ll want to look for hotels that have charging stations. Increasingly, hotel booking sites are including EV charging as a filter option. Some apps for finding EV charging stations include hotel filters, too.

How To Guide: Booking.com 

This How To Guide uses Booking.com as an example of how to find hotels that offer EV charging. The process is similar on other sites, such as Hotels.com, Airbnb, etc.

1. Select your hotel location, dates, and number of people

At the top of the page, put in your destination, travel dates, and the number of guests.

In this example, I am looking for a hotel in Portland, OR for April 26-29 for 2 adults. Go ahead and hit the search button to get things started.

Booking.com search bar to search for hotels with EV charging.

The search will bring back a list of hotels meeting your basic search criteria. Depending on your location, it might be very long. This example search returned 193 properties!

2. Filter for hotels with EV charging

Next, we’ll refine the search by filtering for hotels with EV charging.

The left side of the screen offers different types of filters. Scroll down to find the section labeled “Amenities.” You’ll likely see just a few of the more common ones listed.

Click on “Show all 14” to view all the amenity options.

Amenities list on Booking.com for finding hotels with EV charging

With the full list visible, find “Electric Vehicle Charging Station.” The number in parenthesis indicates that there are 19 properties with this amenity. When you click in the box next to “Electric Vehicle Charging Station” the site will immediately update your list of hotels to just those offering EV charging.

Booking.com full amenities list showing how to search for EV charging at hotels

3. Get details on a specific hotel’s charging station

Now you have a list of hotels in your destination that have EV charging. Once you find the best hotel for you, you’ll want to get a little more information on their charging station.

Click on the hotel name or the “See Availability” box to find more details about a hotel.

Scroll down to the section called “Amenities of Hotel.” Look for the section labeled “Parking.”

Example of hotel parking information that shows how to find EV charging options

The example I chose says that an EV charging station is available. The hotel also notes that public parking is available onsite, but there may be charges.

4. Double-check the Hotel EV Charging Information

I like to double-check my charging plan with another source of info, especially if I won’t have a lot of extra time during my trip – I don’t want to get stuck driving around town looking for charging when I could be out having fun or taking care of business.

When planning your stay at a hotel, consider looking for answers to these questions:

  • Is the charger on the hotel property or in a nearby parking garage (sometimes the case in larger cities)?
  • What type of charger? Level 1, 2, or 3?
  • Is the plug compatible with your vehicle?
  • Is there a fee for parking?
  • Is there a fee for charging? If so, how do you pay for it?
  • Do you need an app or membership to operate the charger?
  • Is the charger available to pull up to or do you need to make arrangements for access?
  • Is the charger functioning?

There are a couple of ways to find this information:

  • Call the hotel directly. Not the corporate reservation line, but the actual site where you’ll stay.
  • Most hotel EV chargers are listed in the Plugshare app. This is a good place to get updates from recent users and other details on individual chargers.

5. Back up Plan

I recommend always having a backup charging plan. Chargers go down or you may not be the only EV needing to charge. This is especially true for a Level 2 charger if multiple vehicles need to charge overnight. 

I found this comment about a charger at a hotel near my home in PlugShare:

Got in too late and someone else had taken the charger. […]

A backup plan doesn’t need to be extensive; it may be simply knowing where there are fast chargers on your route and that you have enough charge to get there if your hotel charging doesn’t go as planned.

Nine Hotel Search Websites Offering EV Charging Filters

As more hotels offer EV charging, more booking sites are including EV charging as a filter option. Here’s a list to get you started:

1. Stayncharge.com

The Stayncharge site specializes in hotels that offer EV charging. At the top of the description of a hotel, there’s information on the type of charging available. At some hotels, you can reserve a charger along with your room. You can also filter on the type of charger available: J-1777 or Tesla.

2. Airbnb

In the filters section of Airbnb, under amenities, look for “EV charger.” Once you’ve found a place, be sure to review the amenities so you know what level of charging is being offered. I’ve seen both Level 1 and Level 2 offered.

3. Booking.com

See specific instructions above.

4. Expedia

The Expedia interface for filtering works much the same as in the Booking.com instructions above.

5. Hotels.com

The Hotels.com interface for filtering works much the same as in the Booking.com instructions above.

6. Kayak

The Kayak interface for filtering works much the same as in the Booking.com instructions above.

7. TripAdvisor

The TripAdvisor interface for filtering works much the same as in the Booking.com instructions above.

8. Google

Simply googling the “hotels with EV charging” and the name of the place you are going will also bring up options.

9. Reservations.com

Of all the websites I checked, this one didn’t provide any information about EV charging. Even for hotels that have EV charging, this site didn’t list EV charging availability.

Apps to help you find hotels where you can charge an electric vehicle

⭐️BONUS: List of Apps Offering EV Charging Filters for Hotels

Instead of looking for hotels with EV charging, you can reverse the search and look for EV charging with hotels. Several EV charging apps have filters to identify stations at hotels. These apps can do double duty – help you find a hotel with charging and help you confirm or complete the information you find elsewhere. 

Plugshare

Plugshare is both an app and a website that maps EV chargers across the country. It includes a filter option for chargers at hotels. In addition to finding chargers, the app provides information on which network (if any) the charger is part of and whether or not there is a cost to use the charger. Users can leave comments about chargers, which can help identify ones that may often have problems.

EV Hotels ($)

The EV Hotels app is geared specifically towards finding hotels with EV charging. Hotels with charging are green; hotels without charging are orange; and hotels with a charger within walking distance show up yellow. You can also adjust the walking distance to meet your abilities. This app does require a one-time $2.99 fee to download.

Tips for Finding Hotels with EV Charging Options

Finding hotels with EV charging options is getting easier and easier. More and more hotels offer charging and more hotel booking sites are including this information.

Remember these top tips for finding hotels with EV charging.

🚗 Call for more info

  • Once you know where you want to stay, give the hotel a call to ask for more information about their charging station.
  • If the hotel you want to stay at doesn’t appear to have charging, call anyway. Let them know that you’d like this amenity. The more they hear from potential guests who want EV charging, the sooner they are likely to add it.

 🚗 Double-check

  • Use an app, such as PlugShare, to get more information on the charger at your hotel. PlugShare will tell you if the charger is part of a network (possibly a fee) and the type of plugs available; comments from fellow users may tip you off to a problem charger or let you know where to park.

 🚗 Look for a charger near your preferred hotel

  • If the hotel you’d like to stay at does not have charging onsite, there might be charging nearby.
  • EV Hotels can help identify hotels that have EV charging nearby.

FAQ: Hotel EV Charging

Which hotel chain has the most EV charging stations?

  • Marriott has over 1,000 hotels with charging stations available for guest use.
  • According to Hilton’s website, they have just over 1,200 hotel locations with EV charging. Their website allows users to filter locations for EV charging.
  • Holiday Inn is another hotel chain that is building out EV charging at their hotels.
  • Best Western’s website works very much like Booking.com – search for your location and dates, then filter for EV charging.
  • Radisson Hotels have Tesla charging and offer Level 2 chargers for non-Tesla vehicles.
  • Choice Hotels began installing chargers at their properties in the first half of 2022.

Do hotels charge for electric car charging?

Some do; some don’t. If you need to pay, you’ll most likely pay at the charger just as you would at another public charger. Find out what network a hotel’s charger is part of before you head out so you have the appropriate memberships or apps to use it.

Does it cost to charge a Tesla at a hotel?

It depends. Some hotel charges require payment; some don’t. If you need to pay, you’ll most likely pay at the charger just as you would at another public charger.

Can I use Tesla chargers at hotels?

If you drive a Tesla, Yes! For the rest of us, not at this time. Right now, Tesla chargers only work with Teslas.

Is it OK to charge EVs at an Airbnb?

Some Airbnb host offer EV charging. Even if they don’t, depending on the type of lodging, you might be able to plug into a standard outlet – it’s not a lot of charge, but it may be just the bit of juice you need. Of course, check with your host before pulling out the cord.

If you are the first guest with an EV, you may need to do a little education, including explaining how much electricity you will likely use (not nearly as much as they probably think).

Conclusion: Hotel EV Charging

Yes, you can charge an EV at a hotel, just not all of them – yet. So knowing how to find the best hotels with EV charging will help you choose accommodations that meet all your needs on your next road trip.