Installation of the Month (June 2021): Hyatt Place Riverside/Downtown

The ability to travel is something many of us take for granted. Our Interstate Highway System allows us to freely traverse state boundaries – to go wherever we choose whenever we choose – from the snow-capped Colorado Rockies to the soupy Everglade swamplands to the historic lighthouses of coastal New England. However, EV drivers are more acutely aware of their travel limitations because many areas of the country have yet to adopt pro-electric infrastructure policies, often leaving them with few ground-travel options other than ICE vehicles. We knew getting more Americans to embrace the electric revolution would require buy-in from the hospitality industry. As such, much of our focus has gone toward hotels that, by serving as site hosts for charging stations, can help kickstart that ubiquitous access required to convert many EV holdouts.

As the 2021 vacation season shifts into high gear, we felt it was only appropriate to make the beautifully appointed Hyatt Place Riverside/Downtown – home to one of our newest charging installations – the featured site for June. The contemporary five-story building located at 3500 Market Street in the heart of Riverside can be seen here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hyatt+Place+Riverside%2FDowntown/@33.9854347,-117.385424,15z/data=!3m1!5s0x80dcb1f07ee885d5:0x9be8fe34febc200e!4m8!3m7!1s0x80dcb1f080deee6f:0x43303e7c9b61d412!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d33.9851488!4d-117.3735366

Hyatt Place is conveniently nestled among countless restaurants, bars and cafes, with popular area attractions like the Riverside Convention Center and Fox Performing Arts Center just a short walk away. Guests can enjoy luxurious guest rooms with signature bedding, a complimentary breakfast bar, swimming pool, fitness center, meeting rooms and a 24-hour mini market, all while their EVs charge outside. Moreover, the property sits along a key travel corridor that links metro Los Angeles with hip desert city vacation spots further east like Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. More about Hyatt Place can be found on their website here:

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/california/hyatt-place-riverside-downtown/ralzr

Clearly, we were thrilled when management asked us to install not one, but three Tritium Veefil RT50 DC fast chargers. These slim, stylish, lightweight stations boast up to 50kW of power, 380-480 VAC supply input, a liquid-cooled interior, and a durable UV-resistant, easy-to-use exterior. The units can charge any EV on the road, require very low maintenance, and feature Open Charge Point Protocol, which allows for seamless integration with the EVCS network.

Hyatt’s commitment to furthering green energy solutions is no surprise to anyone who takes a simple glance at their “Our Planet” webpage, which states, “The biggest environmental challenges cannot be solved alone, so we collaborate with companies in our industry and beyond, stakeholders, and experts to stay at the forefront of best practices and to contribute toward meaningful solutions.” Hyatt Hotels Corporation President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian goes further, declaring, “We have a responsibility to grow thoughtfully and with purpose. We have to build and operate more efficient hotels to reduce waste, energy… and carbon emissions.”

With industry leaders like Hyatt paving the way toward a future where responsible mobility is the norm rather than the exception, we’re confident other hospitality chains will soon follow. And not only hotels and motels, but landmarks, national parks, amusements and other tourist sites that see electrified transportation as an important part of our nation’s future. The ability to freely travel the roads of our great country is so critical to our identity as Americans, but thus far such travel has mainly been limited to pollution-emitting ICEs; now, with Hyatt’s help, EV drivers will be able to start experiencing that freedom, too!

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Navigating California’s New EV Mandate

California’s going all in on electric. On August 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom made a very important announcement concerning the future of transportation in the Golden State: “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.” Big and bold, indeed. And while highly encouraging, it brings up a number of questions moving forward.

How EVCS is Repairing Reliability Concerns

One of the biggest concerns among EV drivers today is the reliability of public chargers. One recent survey from the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley claims as many as 23% of public chargers in the Bay Area alone are, as Wired sums up, “nonfunctioning at any given time, stymied by broken screens, shoddy credit card or payment systems, network connection failures, or damaged plugs.” And that’s in a locale prioritizing the conversion to electric. Testimony from motorists seems to corroborate these findings. A CEC survey of 1,290 EV drivers found that fully 60% had experienced damaged or inoperable chargers, while almost half needed assistance from customer service. We find this wholly unacceptable and have taken measures to ensure that chargers in the EVCS network rise to the standard of operability our customers expect. Here are a few ways we’re doing that:

Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.

Mexico to Canada EV Road Trip: EVCS Interview

We sat down with EV owner and enthusiast Anthony Williams, a 60-year-old business owner from San Diego, who recently commemorated the 10-year anniversary of his first trans-American road trip in an EV by retracing the same route to see what had changed in the world of EV fast charging, for better or for worse. Below are some of his insights and feedback.

Installation of the Month (June 2022): KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center

“For us, healthcare is not only about caring for our patients, but also about investing in the people who live in our communities.” These are the words emblazoned across the home page of the KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center’s website. Facilities like these are attractive partners for us because, like us, their goal is the betterment of humanity. In fact, just replace “healthcare” with “electric mobility” and “patients” with “planet,” and you have the EVCS mission statement in a nutshell. Allying with kindred spirits creates a natural synergy for us through the sharing of core values like customer service and an improved quality of life. Imagine then our excitement when KPC decided to install four of our newest DC fast chargers on their Anaheim property, giving us the opportunity to continue expanding our network southward.