The expected disappearance of combustion-powered cars by 2035 is already shaking things up in the automotive world. According to Avere-France, the national association for the development of electric mobility, the market share of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles was 18.3 % last year, compared with 15 % in 2021 and just over 2.5 % in 2019. A significant acceleration accompanied by the deployment of recharging solutions. After a slower-than-hoped-for start, this roll-out is now moving up a gear. With 82,107 charging points open to the public by 31 December 2022, France has seen a significant increase in the number of such solutions, with 53 % growth in one year.
These points are open to the public, hotels are the perfect place to stay. Hotels where residents have plenty of time to recharge their cars during the night, while visiting guests can give their cars back their autonomy for lunch, a meeting or just a coffee.
From then on, hotel groups are working hard to implement these solutions. In July 2021, Radisson announced a partnership with pan-European player Allego to develop a network of recharging solutions in all its hotels in Europe by 2025. At the end of last year, Radisson estimated that it had installed more than 510 charging stations in 141 of its hotels in the Europe-Middle East-Africa region. These include a first ultra-fast terminal at the Radisson Blu in Frankfurt, allowing travellers to recharge their vehicles in just 20 minutes. In the same vein, in Denmark, the business chain Zleep Hotels is preparing to open a 164-room hotel next year within Europe's largest parking and recharging station, Recharge City, covering 270,000 m2.
This acceleration is also evident in France. Of the 2,000 Logis HotelsMore than 300 have already been fitted and the roll-out is set to continue. As part of its 2022-2025 visionthe French network of Best Western aims to see 30 % of car parking spaces in its 300 hotels equipped with charging points. For its part, through its subsidiary Weboost, Louvre Hotels joined forces with French operator Electra in the middle of last year to deploy ultra-fast charging hubs in Campanile, Kyriad, Première Classe and Golden Tulip hotels. Around twenty hubs, representing more than 80 charging points, were expected to be in place by the end of 2022.
Another key player in the accommodation sector, AccorInvest, owner of hundreds of hotels, most of which are partners of the Accor group, has also designed the a partnership with Electra to equip 68 establishments with hubs combining fast (22kW) and ultra-fast (150 to 300 kW) charging points. A total of 362 charging points, the first of which have been operational since the beginning of 2023, will then be rolled out in several waves, mainly in urban areas, starting with Paris and Lyon.
The latest of the major hotel operators to commit to this energy transition, B&B Hotels has also announced a major roll-out plan, this time in partnership with ENGIE Solutions. In total, 4,200 charge points to be installed in more than 340 hotels in France by 2024The first of these will be installed in the first quarter of 2023. Of these, 3,600 will have a capacity of 22 kW. At the same time, a selection of 70 B&B establishments will have 600 high-power (300 kW) chargepoints, in addition to the traditional chargepoints. By next year, 20 % charging points in B&B hotel car parks will be available to recharge electric vehicles, at a preferential rate for customers.
While these solutions will undoubtedly become as commonplace as broadband WiFi in the long term, business travellers who use or hire electric vehicles still need to be made aware of their deployment. To this end, CDS Groupone of the leading players in corporate hotel reservations, has developed new functions in its tool for business customers and travel agents. Using a filter, users can now easily select hotels with charging stations for electric vehicles, information that also appears in the hotel description in the form of a pictogram. A good way for mobile professionals to keep up to date.
Note that on 9 March 2023, Les Rencontres Flotauto Parisorganised at the Grande Halle de La Villette, will showcase solutions from 250 exhibitors specialising in business vehicle management and low-carbon mobility, including around 40 exhibitors specialising in charging stations. Free registration on the website meetings.flotauto.com
