Electric car plug in request

Great topic. We are here in the Hill Country, and not many chargers for EVs (although a new mega charger station is going in around 5 miles from here). We allow our guests to charge for free using one of the 50A/220 outlets we put in for an RV guest. I plan to install a similar outlet for our guests at the back of each cabin (where they park). Cost is small, since I’ll do most of the work. And it gives us another “benefit” to draw the EV crowd. Once we’ve completed the move to solar, the cost will be less (and allow us to deduct some of the cost of installing solar…)

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We have had 2 requests to charge an EV, we already have an outside socket as I charge my own car here when we don’t have guests. As our house is 7 bedrooms and we have a 3 night minimum stay the cost is relatively small, our 2 guests did offer to pay extra, but we declined.
It would be different for a 1 bed property accepting 1 night stays, if I were to stay anywhere myself I would be more than happy to pay extra to charge my car

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I offer it for free

RR

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Are all electric car plugs standard? I thought they weren’t.

There are 3 different levels. The slowest level 1 is a standard 110 outlet (in the US). The most common level 2 is not standard but is 220 and usually the same as a dryer or range, of which there are several amperage levels and plug configurations. The fastest level 3 is (I believe) only available commercially due to the high power level.

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Great tip! I was looking at expensive, but this makes sense.

I’ve only had one guest ask about it and that was about four years ago. But since that time, there are about twenty or so commercial charging stations that have popped up nearby.

Like @RiverRock I didn’t charge the guests.

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My daughter charged her Tesla through my window and it cost just under £4.00 British pounds per day. I have a Smart metre so could check it! Electric cars tell their drivers where the commercial charging points are and what voltage and speed they are. I would charge guests, the few who have asked for it have voluntarily offered £5.00 per day and I don’t reuse!!

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Our EV costs us about $100-125 USD a month to charge at .11 per kwh. We added a 220 in the garage when we upgraded electrical to code during our remodel (total cost: 5K, include upgraded panel, radiant heat flooring, new light fixtures installed, and 220 outlets in the garage and outside, and rewiring lots of mixed up circuits). I wouldn’t even think to ask a host if we could charge at a place, But I’d definitely be looking for a place we could charge overnight if taking an overnight trip - so definitely a bonus to include in a listing, I think. Not an issue with my rental though since it’s an apartment with no charging options, but there’s free EV charging stations within a 5 minute walk. I don’t think I would charge for that individually - as it gets more common my rates would change to reflect average utility cost.

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We installed a Level 2 EV charging station in our garage to differentiate our property and attract a slightly more premium price. Adding a few $ to a daily rate may go unnoticed to a guest, but charging them for a service (that really does not cost a lot) may appear petty. We had one guest who booked or home solely for the purposes of charging his car. Checked in at 3:00 p.m. and left at 8:00. They needed a comfortable place to hang out while their car charged. That likely covered a year’s supply electricity on a day that was not already booked.

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Wow! That is the cleanest “by the hour” thing I have ever heard of. Lol

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I’d have still changed the bed, just in case. :wink:

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We do the exact same thing too!

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AMEN! so many hosts not charging enough to begin with then nickel and diming guests just makes them look cheap.

RR

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@RiverRock And on the other hand there are those that would rather pay cheap and pay a l carte fir the extras they actually use as opposed to paying more to subsidize the extras that other use instead.

My most frequent example of something like this is when the cost of alcohol is rolled into every person’s meal when most are lushes and I more often drink sweet tea w free refills or even just water…

But I certainly understand your perspective may be the predominant one. :wink:

I don’t want cheap guests, so I do not offer cheap listings.

RR

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I guess another way is to pay for what you use as opposed to paying for what others usually use.

Hear hear! Can’t agree more.

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And what exactly is the definition of a “cheap guest”? Do you really believe that travelers who don’t feel the need to pay a lot for fancy digs loaded with amenities are “cheap guests”? Perhaps they just have different priorities.

My “cheap guests” have arrived with “hostess gifts”, taken me out for dinner, come home with bottles of wine to share, cooked up a kilo of prawns to share, bought and left a kilo bag of good coffee, asked me if there is anything I’d like them to bring down with them that I can’t get in Mexico and refused to accept reimbursement for it, and insisted on giving me gas money for dropping them off at the airport, even though I had to drive right by there anyway.

I love my “cheap guests”.

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Well, first, it sounds like you have generous guests. Send some my way! :smiley: What makes your guest’s “cheap”?

For me, “cheap guests” are ones who don’t want to pay me for my hard work. They rate low in value when they knew what they were getting and for how much. They want a nicer place but don’t want to pay for it. They try to sneak people or animals in w/o paying for them. They ask for one discount or freebie after another. Which sucks because I don’t have much extra to charge for… most fees are punitive for damage or rule breaking. And…I’m even pretty generous there if they’d just talk to me first.

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