# Have you been ICEd at your hotel?



## FogNoggin (Mar 19, 2019)

I recently vacationed in Maine. The hotel we stayed at didn't have any destination chargers but did offer standard outlets I could use. It all worked out fine because there was a Supercharger nearby.

I'm now planning a fall trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN. Despite being a wildly popular vacation destination, the nearest Supercharger is over an hour away. Staying at a hotel with charging stations will be very important, but browsing hotel facilities on PlugShare has me concerned. ICEing seems to be rampant at hotels in the area and, as usual, hotel management can't/won't do anything about it. I often breeze through the parking lots of hotels in my own town and see ICEing all the time, often by hotel employees. It's usually blatant and malicious ICEing, plenty of parking to be had but that Escalade just has to park in an EV space. And don't even get me started about ICEing by EVs who aren't even plugged in. 

What's your experience at hotels been? I realize the EV life often requires us to be resourceful, but being deprived of an amenity at my hotel shouldn't be part of that.


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

I keep some of these in my console. It doesn't fix the problem, but it helps them share in your pain.

I would also be concerned about the EV chargers being broken. I was in Cherokee a month ago, on the other side of the Smokey Mountains Park from Gatlinburg, and the Tesla charger at the welcome center died after about 30 minutes of charging. I had to have the someone shuttle from the Hotel since there was no Uber. I have also had to use public chargers. Most of the public chargers in the area are free but you do need the app to turn them on. I would download and setup chargepoint and plugshare prior to your trip. The cell phone reception might suck when you need to download it while standing in front of the charger.

Stickers on eBay


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Related story: I closed someone's trunk that was left open in a store parking lot once, and a cop drove up. He warned me that not everyone appreciates a gesture like that, and if the owner of that car sees that and flags down a cop, I could be charged with vandalism just for touching it. So I don't do that anymore.

How that's related is, be careful with those stickers, if they aren't official it can be considered vandalism. 

As for the OP, I would call the hotel ahead of time and ask them (nicely) if they can make sure a charging space is available for you. If they know it could be the difference between getting repeat business and not, they may just find a way to block one of the EV spaces off for you.


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

I agree it's straight up vandalism. I am more worried about getting shot than a vandalism ticket, which I would proudly pay and brag about the incident or get my attorney involved for fun. 

I was traveling to Decatur Alabama a couple months a go and called the Hotel with a destination to ask if there were any available since it would be about midnight that I was arriving. She said she could not see them from the desk but felt I would be alright. When I arrived only one was available, but I could not get it to work. I went in to as the woman I spoke to earlier at the front desk if it needed to be turned on or authorized. She said no but she would move her ICE car that was blocking one of the other chargers. I had to limp, slow with no AC, to Huntsville supercharger the next morning to continue.


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## SR22pilot (Aug 16, 2018)

FogNoggin said:


> I recently vacationed in Maine. The hotel we stayed at didn't have any destination chargers but did offer standard outlets I could use. It all worked out fine because there was a Supercharger nearby.
> 
> I'm now planning a fall trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN. Despite being a wildly popular vacation destination, the nearest Supercharger is over an hour away. Staying at a hotel with charging stations will be very important, but browsing hotel facilities on PlugShare has me concerned. ICEing seems to be rampant at hotels in the area and, as usual, hotel management can't/won't do anything about it. I often breeze through the parking lots of hotels in my own town and see ICEing all the time, often by hotel employees. It's usually blatant and malicious ICEing, plenty of parking to be had but that Escalade just has to park in an EV space. And don't even get me started about ICEing by EVs who aren't even plugged in.
> 
> What's your experience at hotels been? I realize the EV life often requires us to be resourceful, but being deprived of an amenity at my hotel shouldn't be part of that.


The Margaritaville Hotel has 4 destination chargers in the valet area. Even if you aren't staying there they will open the gate and let you charge. I have never seen them ICE'd. Super convenient if you stay there. The Christmas Hotel also has at least one destination charger. If you do the Titanic exhibit you can get a lot of charge there. However, there is only one charger. I doubt it will be ICE'd since it is in a far back corner but there could be another Tesla there.


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## FogNoggin (Mar 19, 2019)

Madmolecule said:


> When I arrived only one was available, but I could not get it to work. I went in to as the woman I spoke to earlier at the front desk if it needed to be turned on or authorized. She said no but she would move her ICE car that was blocking one of the other chargers. I had to limp, slow with no AC, to Huntsville supercharger the next morning to continue.


So are you saying that one charger was being ICEd by an employee of the hotel and she didn't move her car for you?


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

She did move it but it would not work either. I only pointed that out because she was the one that told be she did not know if there was space available even though she was taking one of the spaces. They were Siemens brand EV, it was powered up, would try to start charging and then fail in a few seconds. At the time I thought it was my J1772 connector. That was not the case. She said that she heard someone else mention that they had a problem but since they are unfamiliar with these EV chargers they did not report it for maintenance. They maintenance guy that can fix the TV or AC in your room typically does not have much in the way of EV charger repair and testing skills.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Madmolecule said:


> She said that she heard someone else mention that they had a problem but since they are unfamiliar with these EV chargers they did not report it for maintenance. They maintenance guy that can fix the TV or AC in your room typically does not have much in the way of EV charger repair and testing skills.


A good hotel will have a plan in place for getting _anything_ on their property repaired quickly, even if it's 3rd party owned and maintained. If they're ignoring maintenance, that's not a good sign. It's only a matter of time before they can't hide it anymore, and their online reviews take a dive.


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## pjfw8 (Apr 28, 2016)

We exclusively stay at resorts and hotels with Tesla destination chargers. When we make our reservation, we ask to reserve the Tesla charger. Has worked so far. Hotel staff have been very positive! We always thank staff for their help and ask them to tell the owner/management how much we appreciate charging availability. Disney World is the only exception. They do not support destination charging at their hotels.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

pjfw8 said:


> We exclusively stay at resorts and hotels with Tesla destination chargers. When we make our reservation, we ask to reserve the Tesla charger. Has worked so far. Hotel staff have been very positive! We always thank staff for their help and ask them to tell the owner/management how much we appreciate charging availability. Disney World is the only exception. They do not support destination charging at their hotels.


They don't really want people parking there _at all_.


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

Hotels and Charging. Huge need getting bigger. The two things travelers need that takes a while is sleep and charging. Comfortable bed and reliably charging will be the interstate hotel Moto of the future. I think hotels should only install Tesla chargers. This is easier for me and frankly no other vehicle has the range for the highway. Tesla needs to develop a way to monetize wall chargers, or commercial destination chargers. I installed three AV chargers at my office. after being turned down by Tesla for a commercial installation. A Juicebox a Delta and a Tesla. I originally thought I could put the Jukebox and Delta on a network and charge non-employees to use them through the app. It was about $30 per month per unit to include it on someone's service. It was easier for us to give the power away and that is the current model for hotels.

It would be great if Hotels displayed on the website the number of stations or their status of whether they’re working or not and how many of them are being used. It would be fantastic to be to check in to a charger in advance or at least reserve it in advance from the app or website. 

Employee training: have the employees at least plug in a vehicle. I’m not saying extensive training but it be great for each of them to see how it is done at least once


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Madmolecule said:


> I think hotels should only install Tesla chargers. This is easier for me and frankly no other vehicle has the range for the highway.


Hopefully that won't be the case for much longer.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

I have to wonder...How much extra would the average EV owning traveler pay for their room at a hotel with chargers? If I'm getting a charge worth, say, $10; and I'm going to contribute to the hardware cost, say, $5; and a little for staff training, overhead, and maybe a little profit, say, $5. Is the average EV driver willing to spend an additional $20 a night? I'm not so sure that EV owners expecting free fill-ups from anywhere is a viable model for the long term.


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

I would say $5-$10. It is unfair for the non ev folks. I don't eat the cinnamon rolls or use the in room coffee but they still provide it. The phone has become useless at a hotel and the TV is not far behind. I one time they thought putting a phone next to the toilet was a good idea (did not think that one all the way through).

All I am saying is while you are sleeping is a great time to charge. The pay per use model would work fine, although it is hard to do with most chargers and impossible with Tesla.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

FRC said:


> I have to wonder...How much extra would the average EV owning traveler pay for their room at a hotel with chargers? If I'm getting a charge worth, say, $10; and I'm going to contribute to the hardware cost, say, $5; and a little for staff training, overhead, and maybe a little profit, say, $5. Is the average EV driver willing to spend an additional $20 a night? I'm not so sure that EV owners expecting free fill-ups from anywhere is a viable model for the long term.


The last few years, my sister and I have been going to AZ for about a week during baseball spring training. Hotels are always at a premium for that month or so. This last year, we rented a Turo Model 3 and the hotel we were at does not have charging. AND the only 110v outdoor outlets (which they said we could use) were not working. we stay in Glendale/Peoria, which is on the west side of Phoenix, where there are no superchargers. If there was a comparable hotel in the area for $20 with a 50A destination charger, it absolutely would be worth it.


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## GateFather (Nov 1, 2018)

Stayed at a hotel in Maryland this summer for a couple of nights and it had 2 destination charger spots. When I got there, a hyrbid (forget what make/model) was in one of the spots and a Model 3 in the other. The hybrid was not plugged in and there was a note on the windshield. I thought maybe it was something like "if you need this spot, call ###" but instead it was a note written by another EV driver and it was very aggressive. Basically said they should not park there when not charging and that this person almost had to be towed because of this hybrid.

I checked again that night and the Model 3 was gone, but the hybrid was still there. In fact, the hybrid was there the entire weekend. Not plugged in, just sitting with the note on the windshield. Hotel would not take any action to remove it - I asked. I did get charged overnight and moved my car in the morning, but there are some seriously selfish people out there, so watch out. Here is the situation I pulled up to when I arrived at the hotel:


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

I recently stayed at a hotel because plugshare said they could reserve the EV spot for me...called ahead to have it reserved and was told it couldn't be done. Arrived to the available charger (phew)...and a sign/stanchion beside the spot with 'reserved for EV user'. I guess the person who answered the phone didn't know about the reservation system...or didn't want to move the sign for me.


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## Jim Brown (May 3, 2016)

FRC said:


> I have to wonder...How much extra would the average EV owning traveler pay for their room at a hotel with chargers? If I'm getting a charge worth, say, $10; and I'm going to contribute to the hardware cost, say, $5; and a little for staff training, overhead, and maybe a little profit, say, $5. Is the average EV driver willing to spend an additional $20 a night? I'm not so sure that EV owners expecting free fill-ups from anywhere is a viable model for the long term.


Zero dollars extra. I'd just look for another hotel if possible or try to be sure there is a Supercharger nearby. You just gotta do that if you're gonna drive an electric car, and you plan on taking trips outta town. You plan ahead. Besides, businesses, including hotels, provide free charging stations for only 2 reasons. #1) They think EV owners (especially Tesla) are rich. Or at least have more money than their average customer. And they want you to spend that money at their establishment. And #2: See reason #1. It's not something they do out of the kindness of their hearts. You have to look at it for what it is. A business decision. They are there to make money. So they're trying to attract customers they think have money.

If you find the hotel you are staying at has chargers that don't work, you make sure you tell somebody about it. I mean it's one of the reasons you made the reservation at that hotel in the first place, to have someplace convenient to charge. So you tell the hotel manager (in a nice way of course) that this is the reason you came to his hotel, but he didn't measure up. It's the same thing you would do if the hotel advertised free breakfast, but then the cafeteria was closed. Then you let other EV owners know that this hotel advertises charging, but doesn't care enough to be sure the chargers work. You can write a little blurb on Plug Share so others can see. When the hotel realizes that EV drivers aren't coming to their hotel anymore, they'll either take the chargers out, or hopefully, get them fixed. On the other hand, if you do business with a company that provides free charging, and you have a good experience, make sure other EV drivers know about that too.

I don't know the answer to the "getting ICE'd" problem. I've seen it a few times. Some people are just jerks. You can't really do anything about that.

Besides, the days of FREE charging are numbered. It may not be today, tomorrow or next year, but when businesses realize there are enough EVs out there, and that people NEED to get their cars charged, you can bet the freebies will go away soon enough. Remember when, if you bought a Tesla, you got Supercharging for life? Hmmmmmm ......... Enjoy it while you can. It's something you'll be able to tell your grand or great-grandkids about someday. "I remember back in the day when businesses gave away charging for free". "Really grandpa?!?! For free?!?!? WOW!!!"


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

Jim Brown said:


> Zero dollars extra. I'd just look for another hotel if possible or try to be sure there is a Supercharger nearby. You just gotta do that if you're gonna drive an electric car, and you plan on taking trips outta town. You plan ahead. Besides, businesses, including hotels, provide free charging stations for only 2 reasons. #1) They think EV owners (especially Tesla) are rich. Or at least have more money than their average customer. And they want you to spend that money at their establishment. And #2: See reason #1. It's not something they do out of the kindness of their hearts. You have to look at it for what it is. A business decision. They are there to make money. So they're trying to attract customers they think have money.
> 
> If you find the hotel you are staying at has chargers that don't work, you make sure you tell somebody about it. I mean it's one of the reasons you made the reservation at that hotel in the first place, to have someplace convenient to charge. So you tell the hotel manager (in a nice way of course) that this is the reason you came to his hotel, but he didn't measure up. It's the same thing you would do if the hotel advertised free breakfast, but then the cafeteria was closed. Then you let other EV owners know that this hotel advertises charging, but doesn't care enough to be sure the chargers work. You can write a little blurb on Plug Share so others can see. When the hotel realizes that EV drivers aren't coming to their hotel anymore, they'll either take the chargers out, or hopefully, get them fixed. On the other hand, if you do business with a company that provides free charging, and you have a good experience, make sure other EV drivers know about that too.
> 
> ...


Kinda made my point with your last paragraph, thanks.


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## FogNoggin (Mar 19, 2019)

OP here. After a lot of searching, we made reservations at a hotel in the Pigeon Forge area with _no destination charger._ (No king-bed rooms were available at any of the few hotels with chargers.) This is gonna be interesting, and our first real challenge as EV noobs. To further complicate matters, comments on PlugShare report that charging station phone apps frequently fail because of abysmal cell service in the area. We'll make it work and report back. If our hotel can offer an outdoor 110V outlet, that'll be all we need.

At least others have already braved this territory:


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## djejnyc (May 18, 2018)

We've driven all over the east coast from Maine to Virginia and all across NY state (college tours) and stayed at many hotels with destination chargers. Never had an issue using one or being ICE'd. Maybe I'm lucky? Actually, Ive never had a bad incident at any charger (we have no charger at our apartment building) in over a year of ownership. On the contrary, we get lots of questions from people interested in electric cars. Just letting you know our experience.


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## ajdelange (Jun 26, 2019)

Only stayed in hotels a couple of times since I've had the X. Neither had destination chargers but one had 1 parking space reserved for an "eco" vehicle (picture of a green car with leaves coming out of the roof stenciled on the bitumen). Right next to the handicapped spot. Very handy. 

Neither hotel was within 100 miles of a Tesla Super Charger but both were within reasonable range of a CHAdeMO station and in both cases I used those. In fact looking over logs I see that I have charged at more CHAdeMO stations than I have SC's. I guess I would recommend anyone going off into remote areas add a CHAdeMO adapter to his kit, expensive though it be.

The approach I took in planning the trips was to arrive at the destination with enough charge in the car to do whatever I planned to do in the town and get back to a DC charger. In some cases that may be a challenge. It hasn't been for me thus far.

Looking back at the OP I note, first, that it is over a year old so that the installation of the GreenLots charger there is moot for the poster at the time of his post but were he to make the trip today it might be available. I say might because it is reported intermittent. Thus in planning one needs a plan and a backup. There are other CHAdeMO chargers available near Gatlinburg, however. Depending on what he planned to do in Gatlinburg something could probably have been worked out.


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