Chargemaster partners with ibis and Novotel hotels to install electric vehicle charging points across the UK
Chargemaster, the UK’s largest supplier and operator of electric vehicle (EV) charging points has partnered with AccorHotels, owner of ibis and Novotel, to offer EV charging points at its hotels across the UK.
Rolling out at the beginning of 2016, the first phase will see 60 hotels receive EV charging points as part of Chargemaster’s POLAR network. The charging points will be free to use for ibis and Novotel visitors to charge their electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The charging points will be 22kW or 7kW state-of-the-art fast chargers, enabling electric cars to be charged in 60 minutes. However, residents are likely to take full advantage of the facility for charging their EVs overnight.
Chargemaster CEO David Martell said: “This is a major step forward in the provision of destination charging in the UK. Hotels are one of the obvious locations where EV drivers have a fundamental need for charging facilities and we are delighted to work with AccorHotels to achieve this.”
He added: “We expect hotels to adopt electric vehicle charging as a customer service in the same way that they have provided wifi across the board.”
Thomas Dubaere, Managing Director of AccorHotels UK and Ireland commented: “As a leading operators of hotels across the UK, we are always looking at ways to enhance and improve facilities for our guests. We recognise that many of our customers are adopting low-emission vehicles and we need to provide charging points at our hotels to accommodate them. In providing a national rollout of this service, AccorHotels continues to lead the field in customer service and our commitment to sustainable development.”
AccorHotels is the first major hotel chain to recognise the increasing need to install charging points to accommodate the growing population of business and leisure motorists using low-emission vehicles to visit their hotels.
With electric and plug-in hybrid car sales in the UK having quadrupled over the last 18 months, it is widely forecast that one in ten new cars by 2020 will be electric or plug-in, making destination charging vital for the future-proofing of infrastructure.
About Chargemaster
Chargemaster Plc is the UK’s leading provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, benefitting from over 25 years of experience working within the telematics and vehicle-orientated industry.
Chargemaster works in partnership with leading energy providers, vehicle manufacturers, government agencies, management consultancies and property development and blue chip companies. Chargemaster is the largest UK supplier of public and workplace charging units in the UK, with over 4,000 charging points in its POLAR network, and has supplied over 10,000 charging points across Europe. It has over 8,000 regular EV users.
The company operates its own manufacturing facility at Luton Airport which is currently producing over 2,000 charging units a month and operates to ISO9001 quality standards.
It also has its own fleet of over 40 mobile technicians’ vans carrying out installations and maintenance operations across the UK with a focus on quality of service and reliability. Its national network records a daily reliability rate of over 98%.
About AccorHotels
AccorHotels is a Group united by a shared passion for hospitality and driven by a shared promise to make everyone Feel Welcome. Over 180,000 women and men in 3,800 AccorHotels establishments look after thousands of guests every day in 92 countries.
AccorHotels is the world’s leading hotel operator and offers its customers, partners and employees:
- its dual expertise as a hotel operator and franchisor (HotelServices) and a hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest);
- a large portfolio of internationally renowned brands covering the full spectrum, with luxury (Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery by Sofitel, Grand Mercure, The Sebel), midscale (Novotel, Mercure, Mama Shelter, Adagio) economy (ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget, adagio access and hotelF1) establishments;
- a powerful marketplace and loyalty program Le Club AccorHotels
- almost half a century of commitment to corporate citizenship and solidarity with the PLANET 21 program.
Accor SA shares are listed on the Euronext Paris exchange (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and traded in the USA on the OTC marketplace (Code: ACRFY)
Follow news on Accor: http://www.twitter.com/accorhotelsnews | www.accorhotels-group.com
Book a hotel:www.accorhotels.com
