Destination Charging for Hotels & Hospitality: A 2025 Guide
How UK hotels, pubs and restaurants should plan EV destination charging in 2025 — charger speeds, tariffs, ROI, guest experience and brand partnerships.
For UK hotels, pubs, restaurants and visitor attractions, EV destination charging in 2025 has shifted from "nice to have" to a measurable booking driver. Booking.com, Mr & Mrs Smith and Sawday's all now filter on EV charging, and AA data shows EV-driving guests stay 0.4 nights longer on average when charging is on site.
But destination charging is not the same as workplace or rapid-hub charging. Done wrong, it drains capital and frustrates guests. Done right, it pays for itself in 3–5 years and feeds the bar/restaurant.
What "destination charging" actually means
Destination charging = matching charger speed to guest dwell time. A hotel guest stays 14+ hours; a restaurant guest 1.5–3 hours; a pub guest 1–2 hours. The right charger speed delivers a full or near-full charge inside that window — no faster, no slower.
Speed-to-dwell matrix
- Hotels (overnight, 12+ hrs): 7kW AC is plenty. A 7kW unit delivers ~80kWh overnight — a full charge for almost any EV.
- Restaurants (2–3 hrs): 22kW AC. Adds ~50–60kWh in a 2-hour sitting — comfortably enough for most return journeys.
- Pubs / cafés (1–2 hrs): 22kW AC, or 50kW DC if the site has the supply and turnover justifies it.
- Visitor attractions (3–5 hrs): 22kW AC mix with one 50kW DC for top-ups.
Installing 150kW rapids at a hotel is a waste — the car sits idle for 11 hours. Installing 7kW at a motorway-adjacent pub is too slow — the guest leaves before they get a useful charge.
The ROI model for hospitality
Hospitality destination charging has three revenue streams, not one:
- Direct kWh margin — typically 8–18p/kWh over cost. Modest.
- Incremental F&B spend — EV-driving guests average £14 additional spend per visit when charging on site (CBI hospitality data, 2024). This is the real number.
- Booking uplift — listings with EV charging see 6–11% higher booking conversion on OTAs.
Model 2 and 3 together, not just kWh margin. A 4-bay 22kW scheme at a country pub typically pays back in 2.5–4 years on F&B + footfall uplift alone.
Tariffs and guest experience
- Free for residents/guests, paid for non-guests — common at boutique hotels. Sets a premium tone.
- Free first 2 hours, then 45p/kWh — pubs and restaurants. Encourages turnover.
- Flat 55–65p/kWh, all users — visitor attractions. Simple, transparent.
Whatever model you pick, contactless payment must work without an app. PFCC (Public Charge Point Regulations 2023) now mandates this on all chargers ≥8kW installed after Nov 2024.
Brand and roaming partnerships
Listing on Zapmap, Octopus Electroverse, Bonnet and Allstar One Electric roaming networks adds discoverable footfall — typically 15–30% of off-peak sessions. The CPO back-office handles the roaming agreements; you keep your retail tariff.
Grants and capital cost
Hospitality is not eligible for WCS (that's employees-only) but smaller venues can access the EV Infrastructure Grant for small accommodation businesses — up to £15,000 toward chargepoints and supporting infrastructure. See our grants guide for the current scheme list, or our install cost guide for capex ranges.
A typical 6-bay hotel scheme
4× 7kW (guest overnight) + 2× 22kW (day visitors / restaurant) on a load-managed feeder, dynamically capped to the site's spare 80A capacity. Installed cost: ~£18,000–£28,000 before grants. Payback on F&B uplift alone: ~3.5 years. Run your own numbers in the feasibility calculator.