# Tesla owners travel preferences



## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

As a Tesla owner, when you travel:

Do you bring your Tesla with you?
If yes, do you look for a place to stay with EV charger?

Do you want to bring your pet?
What do you want the hotel to provide you as an amenity that you do not already get?
ex: Car related movies, local coffee/tea brands, local EV related activities, natural foods, local gyms, etc... (what is important for you?)


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

As someone who is either over-prepared or bordering on paranoid:

1. For long road trips: No, I would worry too much about if something happens to the car on the road, how do I get it home? For short roadtrips within Florida, yes. And I would try to stay someplace with an EV charger, just for peace of mind - what if I'm out too late and/or too tired to drive to the Supercharger at the end of the day?

There are people who come to Florida every year (snowbirds) and drive their car all the way down the east coast from NY/NJ,MA, or from MI or OH, sometimes even during winter weather. I'm not sure how they aren't afraid of their own car being stuck somewhere in between.

2. No, I'm terrified at the prospect of a pet getting loose far from home.

3. I'm not very demanding of hotels, so nothing besides an EV charger. And a mini-fridge. I hate it when hotels cut out the mini-fridge to save costs.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

JasonF said:


> 3. I'm not very demanding of hotels, so nothing besides an EV charger. And a mini-fridge. I hate it when hotels cut out the mini-fridge to save costs.


Nice, a mini-fridge is a must! It'll keep food/drinks that you buy/leftovers from restaurant cool. What if there were complementary items left for you in the mini-fridge... what would you like to see?
ex: cool water, local candy, etc...


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

GigaTexas said:


> Nice, a mini-fridge is a must! It'll keep food/drinks that you buy/leftovers from restaurant cool. What if there were complementary items left for you in the mini-fridge... what would you like to see?
> ex: cool water, local candy, etc...


What is "local candy"? How is that different from "candy"?


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

GigaTexas said:


> Nice, a mini-fridge is a must! It'll keep food/drinks that you buy/leftovers from restaurant cool. What if there were complementary items left for you in the mini-fridge... what would you like to see?
> ex: cool water, local candy, etc...


I don't do much hanging around hotels on a trip, so water bottles is all I need.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

Klaus-rf said:


> What is "local candy"? How is that different from "candy"?


Examples of "local candy" by cities:
-Edis Chocolates - Austin, TX
-Goo Goo Candy - Nashville, TN
-Ghirardelli Chocolate - San Francisco, CA
-etc...


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

I don’t go out of my way to take road trips, so from South Florida … Atlanta is probably as far as I’ll go (~10 hours) with my Tesla.

If a hotel has EV charging great, but generally speaking I don’t worry about it.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

This year, I did road trips to Cape Canaveral Fl and to Boca Chica Beach, TX in my Tesla.

I just started a two-week road trip through New England a couple of days ago.  

For the TX trip, I tried to pick hotels that offered charging. For the current New England trip, I did not. Being able to fully charge over night while you sleep makes a HUGE difference. I definitely recommend doing that when possible.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

garsh said:


> For the TX trip, I tried to pick hotels that offered charging. For the current New England trip, I did not. Being able to fully charge over night while you sleep makes a HUGE difference. I definitely recommend doing that when possible.


Thank you for further proof of the importance of EV charging at the hotel/sleeping location!

Do you care if it's a Tesla charger or third party company?
(Ex: ChargePoint, JuiceBox, etc...)


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

GigaTexas said:


> As a Tesla owner, when you travel:
> 
> Do you bring your Tesla with you?
> If yes, do you look for a place to stay with EV charger?
> ...


1 yes, they are the only cars I have.
2 N/A
3 I've put in over 2,000 nights in hotels over the last 20 years. At a hotel, you get what the brand offers.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

GigaTexas said:


> Thank you for further proof of the importance of EV charging at the hotel/sleeping location!
> 
> Do you care if it's a Tesla charger or third party company?
> (Ex: ChargePoint, JuiceBox, etc...)


I only care that it's free.
The hotel I'm currently at has a ChargePoint station that charges $1.50/hr. That's WAY more expensive than supercharging, so I'm not taking advantage of the charger.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

garsh said:


> I only care that it's free.
> The hotel I'm currently at has a ChargePoint station that charges $1.50/hr. That's WAY more expensive than supercharging, so I'm not taking advantage of the charger.


Totally understand. Yes, the EV charger needs to be free. It's a small step to show the location cares about its guests.

@Ed Woodrick, appreciate your feedback. With only Teslas, are you thinking about getting a Cybertruck? And over 2,000 nights in hotels, wow!! Hope you get free room upgrades and concierge lounge membership


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## SalisburySam (Jun 6, 2018)

GigaTexas said:


> As a Tesla owner, when you travel:
> 
> Do you bring your Tesla with you?
> If yes, do you look for a place to stay with EV charger?
> ...


1. Yes, take the Tesla. My other car is a 2012 Nissan LEAF and only goes about 35 miles so no travel in it.
1a. I look for a Supercharger near the destination and try to charge up before stopping for the night. Nice if hotel has charging, but not a big criterion for me.
2. Always (94lb German Shepherd)
3. Hotel amenities: pet friendly, clean, daily housekeeping, close to restaurants other than the typical road chains, appears safe for parking and walking. Don't really use and therefore don't care about gyms, local foods/coffees, etc.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

All I want from a hotel/motel is quiet and a downstairs hdcp room. No kids partying in the room next door. Restricted diet here so I usually can't eat what is offered for "Continental Breakfast". I couldn't care less about free charging. -I don't expect any hotel/motel to top off my petrol car (has never been offered, btw) so I don't expect free EV charging either. When I'm EV-tripping I plan ahead and allocate time for charging stops. Every place I've been in the last year with gyms has them closed - Something about a pandemic.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

SalisburySam said:


> 1. Yes, take the Tesla. My other car is a 2012 Nissan LEAF and only goes about 35 miles so no travel in it.
> 1a. I look for a Supercharger near the destination and try to charge up before stopping for the night. Nice if hotel has charging, but not a big criterion for me.
> 2. Always (94lb German Shepherd)
> 3. Hotel amenities: pet friendly, clean, daily housekeeping, close to restaurants other than the typical road chains, appears safe for parking and walking. Don't really use and therefore don't care about gyms, local foods/coffees, etc.


For your Nissan Leaf, does it have a sticker "My other car is a Tesla"? 😂

Happy to read you have a German Shepard that you'll travel with.

Local food spots are a must that not all hotels know about!
Ex: sometimes there are great foodtrucks with really good food! Maybe someone here will make an electric/sustainable foodtruck.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

Klaus-rf said:


> All I want from a hotel/motel is quiet and a downstairs hdcp room. No kids partying in the room next door. Restricted diet here so I usually can't eat what is offered for "Continental Breakfast". I couldn't care less about free charging. -I don't expect any hotel/motel to top off my petrol car (has never been offered, btw) so I don't expect free EV charging either. When I'm EV-tripping I plan ahead and allocate time for charging stops. Every place I've been in the last year with gyms has them closed - Something about a pandemic.


Agree that a quiet room, hdcp is a plus... ADA accessible.

Gyms are a case-by-case scenario during the pandemic and up to each person's personal safety decision. Not gum but public environment related, I just went to an orchard to pick pumpkins and a few had a mask and a lot did not. A lot of people were there but the entrance was much faster to get into it so many other people chose not to go.

The orchard does not have an EV charger...yet!


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

GigaTexas said:


> Totally understand. Yes, the EV charger needs to be free. It's a small step to show the location cares about its guests.
> 
> @Ed Woodrick, appreciate your feedback. With only Teslas, are you thinking about getting a Cybertruck? And over 2,000 nights in hotels, wow!! Hope you get free room upgrades and concierge lounge membership


When you max out a hotel's affinity program, you do get a few upgrades.
And yes, there are some reservations for Cybertruck, we'll see what happen when they start to exist.


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

Ed Woodrick said:


> When you max out a hotel's affinity program, you do get a few upgrades.
> And yes, there are some reservations for Cybertruck, we'll see what happen when they start to exist.


This just in (recently), the Cybertruck is being pushed back to a later release date 😲


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

GigaTexas said:


> This just in (recently), the Cybertruck is being pushed back to a later release date 😲


Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!


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## GigaTexas (Oct 2, 2021)

Klaus-rf said:


> Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!


Maybe Tesla will release a Beta Cybertruck to test while their plans are still be worked out:


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

GigaTexas said:


> This just in (recently), the Cybertruck is being pushed back to a later release date 😲


And may be pushed again. Until ANY EV starts indicating that production has started, I don't worry about it. SOOO many have been promised, very few delivered. Tesla has 4 in volume production, that give them a significantly better track record than anyone else though.


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## SalisburySam (Jun 6, 2018)

GigaTexas said:


> For your Nissan Leaf, does it have a sticker "My other car is a Tesla"? 😂
> 
> Happy to read you have a German Shepard that you'll travel with.
> 
> ...


1. No, but the LEAF does have rear windshield stickers that say "I Identify as a Tesla" in keeping with today's PC climate.
2. We have a hammock-style cover for the rear seat for our dog, with flaps that come up the two door sides and a zipper to open the front portion if desired. After any trip, there is a lot of dog fur but mostly confined to the back inside the hammock-enclosed area. Easy to remove and shake out and what's left in the car is an easy vacuum job. And then of course there are the noseprints. Things get a tad messier when we leave the dog in the car to do a short shopping trip with Dog Mode. Several times we've returned to the car a few minutes later to find the dog in the driver's seat with a big smile. Another big plus: with Dog Mode, Sentry is disabled, but a large GSD sitting in front is a pretty good deterrent to would-be evil-doers.


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