IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced a new partnership with EV charging solutions provider EnviroSpark, with the aim of scaling up the availability of chargers across its properties in the US and Canada.
The rollout will require buy-in from individual hotel owners, but the agreement means properties “can now partner with EnviroSpark on EVCs depending on their individual needs and requirements”.
IHG says that around 1,100 of its hotels globally already have EV charging facilities, and it is supporting owners in North America “with an EV charging guide with best practices to encourage installation of EV chargers across its portfolio of more than 4,100 open hotels” in the region.
The group has also added an EV-charger search filter to its IHG One Rewards app to help customers plan ahead.
IHG said that the move aligns with its Journey to Tomorrow responsible business plan, and pointed to research by Goldman Sachs which forecasts that electric vehicles will make up about half of new car sales worldwide by 2035.
Last year rival hotel group Hilton announced an agreement with electric car manufacturer Tesla to install up to 20,000 charging points at 2,000 hotels across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Commenting on the news Brian McGuinness, SVP of global guest experience, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said:
“Providing guests with more EV-charging convenience is a natural next step for IHG. With iconic road-trip brands such as Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, taking care of travellers on the road is core to what we do every day.
“Through our agreement with EnviroSpark, we’re providing even more options for IHG owners to install EVCs at hotels while making travel easier for a growing segment of sustainability-minded travellers.”
