The Indian hospitality industry is gearing up to cater to guests who are adopting a more environment-conscious lifestyle — specifically those who are switching to electric vehicles (EVs). This trend is not limited to large players as small and mid-sized hotels are stepping up, especially the ones that have properties along highways or in off-beat locations.
Sonali Jadav, who works with a tour operator and travels over 70 kilometers everyday visits the charging station located at Hotel Pravin in Old Panvel to recharge her EV. For this, she pays around Rs 210/day. But her mode of payment is not cash. She uses an app to make the payment.
She says, “I travel from Mumbai to Panvel. We need to recharge the battery of my electric car regularly. I come to this hotel to recharge it and in the meantime, I grab a quick bite too.”
India is still in its nascent stage when it comes to infrastructure for charging electric vehicles. However, one advantage of it is the digitised process of charging EVs. “Before finalising on the charging point, we check on the app if the point is being used by other customer or is vacant.” Jadhav believes this makes the whole process simpler. For a country as populated as India, it is critical to save on time. This is because for every public charging facility, there are 135 vehicles lining up, as per Alvarez and Marsal. This number globally can be anywhere between 6 and 20 EVs per public charger.
For Sonali, who has been driving for over 15 years, switching to an electric car was a cake walk. She recalls, “I have been driving an EV for over 5 months and I’m hopeful someday like petrol pumps, EV charging stations will be present in every nook and corner of the city making charging cars seamless.” She adds that while in cities, supply of electricity is largely uninterrupted, in remote areas it can be irregular. At times it even gets difficult to get good mobile connectivity, depending on the service provider.
Meanwhile, multiple establishments say that having a charging station or three is becoming essential for business as many guests who drive such vehicles specifically search for the facility before booking rooms or tables. Vijay Shewakramani, Managing Director of Brightland Resort & Spa says, “Some customers who do not wish to visit my resort specifically end up here for the EV charging points. In locations like Mahabaleshwar, if a guest travels from Mumbai or Pune, will require a charging point to recharge their car to return home.” He adds, “When guests are looking to book a stay, they also check if there are charging stations at the property or someplace nearby.”
Shewakramani believes this space will grow as more and more people switch to EVs. “Currently in our parking lot, out of the 30 vehicles parked, at least two would be electric vehicles.”
Meanwhile, for smaller hotels, charging points become an added amenity and extra revenue generator. “We have seen business improve with the installation of charging points. Over 10-12 people come for daily, just to recharge their car batteries,” says Rahul Rajendra, employee of Hotel Pravin.
Virendra Goyal of Tata Power believes that small businesses are looking beyond income. “There is awareness about emission among small businesses today. They are concerned about the same. In the process, additional revenue is generated.” He laments, “We are seeing a lot of interest from small and large hotels. We have deployed over 800 plus charging points in hotels and restaurants. This is providing them with additional footfalls and it’s an excellent place to deploy EV charging points. Apart from certain amenities, they offer customers food and a secure place to recharge their vehicles. It is a win-win situation for all.”
By 2030, India would need close to 13 lakh charging stations, as per a latest CII report. This means India will need many businesses to step up to attain this target. This is where the Indian hospitality industry could coming forward, especially small and mid-size hotels.
Tata Power, which is India’s largest EV charging point operator with a nearly 60 percent market share, says it plans to cover 25,000 charging stations by 2028. A large number of this target would come on private properties along highways and off beat remote locations. Goyal lastly reiterates, “In the next 5 years, we will install 25,000 chargers. Over 4,500 charging points are live. We have deployed over 800 plus charging points in hotels and restaurants. Close to 350 such locations are in the pipeline at various stages of installation.”