Around 4,000 hotel and B&B owners are being offered the opportunity to have electric vehicle charging points for free as part of a strategic partnership between the AA and Chargemaster.
The UK’s leading provider of EV charging infrastructure will work with any AA-inspected establishments interested in taking up the offer to determine the best charging points for their location.
A rapid charger would be most suitable for hotels along busy routes, while destination chargers are ideal for electric car-owning visitors looking to charge overnight.
4,000 AA hotels and B&Bs offered EV charging points by Chargemasterhttps://t.co/gR3d40S8Qe pic.twitter.com/HA1Fs1nFM7
— bp pulse (@bppulseuk) July 31, 2018
The Sandford Springs Hotel in Hampshire is the first establishment to benefit from the offer, with guests and visitors able to call upon a 50kW rapid charger, which is available for any EV driver to use on the Polar network.
Edmund King OBE, president of the AA, said: “Alongside our automotive heritage, the AA has been involved in the hospitality industry since 1908. We know that when EV drivers are looking for hotels, they will actively seek out those with charging points.
“We have witnessed enormous changes in both the automotive and hotel sectors over the last 110 years, and we are delighted that our AA recognised hospitality businesses can benefit from this tremendous offer.”
‘Competitive advantage’
David Martell, chief executive of Chargemaster, added: “We believe that within the next five years, all hotels will offer EV charging, just like they provide wifi today.
“Our offer for AA hotels is a great opportunity for hotel owners and operators to get a competitive advantage with a facility that could attract hundreds of thousands of customers in the coming years.”
Chargemaster, which is now part of BP, operates Polar, the largest electric vehicle charging network in the UK, with more than 6,500 public charge points.
Oil giant BP bought Chargemaster in a deal described as “an important step to scaling up and deploying fast and ultra-fast charging on BP’s UK forecourts”. Luton-based Chargemaster will be renamed BP Chargemaster as part of the deal.
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