Key points
- Battery electric cars were 26.2% of new UK car sales from January to September 2026.
- In one survey of UK EV drivers, 48% said they would not stay at a hotel without onsite charging.
- Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb all let guests filter by EV charging, so hotels without it drop out of those searches.
- The North East has 150.2 public chargers per 100,000 people, below the UK average of 174.9.
- Overnight AC charging suits hotels: almost any car is full by breakfast.
The short answer
Electric cars are now a normal part of your guest list. Drivers plan trips around where they can charge, and the booking sites let them filter out hotels that can't help.
A charger in the car park keeps you in those searches. It also gives guests a reason to stay longer and spend more on site. Our page on EV charging for hotels covers how we set it up.
EV drivers are already booking your rooms
Battery electric cars made up 26.2% of new car registrations from January to September 2026 (SMMT). In September alone the share hit a record 28.3%.
That growth is reaching the roads. At the end of June 2026 there were 2,017,000 licensed zero-emission cars in the UK, up 34% in a year (DfT). That is 5.8% of all cars on the road, and the share keeps climbing.
The government's ZEV mandate requires 33% of new cars sold in 2026 to be zero emission, rising to 80% in 2030, although that later target is under review (DfT). The full figures are in our UK EV sales guide.
Guests check for charging before they book
EV drivers don't leave charging to chance. In a survey of more than 1,000 UK EV drivers (Travolution, reporting SMS plc research):
- 48% said they would not stay at a hotel without onsite charging
- 67% said charging influences their choice of hotel
- 83% said they would wait for a hotel charger to become free
The booking sites have caught up. Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb all offer an EV charging filter, and so do Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Marriott (NerdWallet). Hoseasons runs a dedicated collection of holiday lodges with EV charging.
When a guest ticks that box, every hotel without a charger disappears from the results. You never see the booking you lost.
Hilton says EV charging is "the number one highest conversion amenity on Hilton.com", ahead of pools and free breakfast (Skift). That is a global chain, but guests use the same filters when they book a 20-room hotel off the A1.
The North East is short of chargers
The North East has 150.2 public chargers per 100,000 people, against a UK average of 174.9 (DfT). London has 345.1.
Fewer public chargers means visiting drivers are more anxious about where they will top up. A hotel that solves that problem has a clear advantage over the one down the road.
Rapid chargers on the main roads help drivers in transit. They don't help a couple who want to arrive, park and wake up to a full battery. That job belongs to the place they sleep.
Charging keeps guests on site and spending
A car on charge is a guest who isn't driving somewhere else. That matters for your bar and restaurant.
- 97% of EV owners said they would visit destinations more often with better charging, and 52% would stay 30 minutes or more longer (Zest/CACI survey).
- One in five EV drivers would use a full-service restaurant while charging (Deloitte).
- A study of 4,000+ US charging stations found each new station raised spending at nearby businesses (MIT). That is California data, but the pattern is a useful pointer.
What guests expect when they arrive
Having a charger is half the job. Guests judge you on whether it works and whether it's easy.
- It works first time. A broken charger is worse than none, because the guest planned around it. Remote monitoring helps spot faults early, often before a guest notices.
- The price is clear. Show a price per kWh at the charger and on your website. Public chargers must show the maximum price in pence per kWh under the Public Charge Point Regulations.
- Paying is simple. In the SMS survey, 43% preferred to pay for charging on their final bill. Others will want to tap a card or use an app.
- The bay is free. Mark the bays clearly so petrol cars don't park there.
- They can find it. List the charger on Zapmap, your Google profile and every booking site you use. Our guide to getting listed on Zapmap and booking sites walks through it.
- Reception knows how it works. A one-line answer at check-in builds confidence.
Good to know: Whether a charger kept for staying guests only counts as "public" under the regulations isn't addressed in the government guidance. Check the current guidance, or ask us, before you decide how open to make it.
Why overnight AC charging fits hotels
Hotels don't need expensive rapid chargers. A guest parks for 10 hours or more, which is plenty of time on AC.
Most cars accept 7.4kW or 11kW on AC, which adds roughly 25 to 37 miles of range per hour (LGA, derived). The average usable battery is 73.4kWh (EV Database). Overnight, almost any car gets a full charge.
Our dual 22kW pedestal charges two cars at once and handles the few models that can take 22kW. The 7kW vs 22kW guide explains the speeds honestly.
What happens if you wait
The pressure only goes one way. The ZEV mandate target rises from 33% of new cars in 2026 to 38% in 2027 and 52% in 2028 (DfT). Each year, more of the cars arriving at your door will need to plug in.
Meanwhile, destination charging is growing slowly. Zapmap counted 62,609 destination chargers in mid-2026, up just 5.7% in a year (Zapmap). Hotels that add charging now still stand out.
The hotels that move first also get listed first. Drivers can review chargers on apps such as Zapmap, so a reliable charger builds a reputation over time.
There is a practical point too. Charging works best when it's planned with your car park, not squeezed in later. If you're resurfacing, extending or adding parking, that's the time to lay the cables.
What to do next
Start with a free site survey. We look at your car park, your supply and how guests use the site, then set out both packages so you can see which one suits you.