For most hotels, the best charger is a Level 2 AC unit matched to the overnight stay. The U.S. DOT puts Level 2 at 7–19 kW, adding roughly 10–20 miles of range per hour — across a full night parked, that refills a day’s driving without DC hardware. DC earns its place only where the stay is short. Choose by dwell time first, then by the connectors your guests arrive with, then by keeping the bays for guests.
Key Takeaways
- Dwell time chooses the class: overnight stays are Level 2 work; DC is a short-stay supplement.
- Connector fit is a property-level check — count your own guests’ inlets before specifying.
- Access control is part of the selection: uncontrolled bays will not stay guest bays.
- Spec compact DC honestly: useful for day guests, below the DOT fast-charging band.
Start With the Stay, Not the Charger
| Guest pattern | Typical dwell | Hardware class that fits |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight guest | All night | Level 2 AC wallbox or station — the night does the work, speed is not the constraint |
| Day guest: conference, restaurant, spa | A few hours | Higher-power AC; a compact DC unit as a supplement where day trade justifies it |
| Highway short stop | Under an hour | DC class — a different business from guest charging, closer to a public station |
| Staff | A workday | Level 2 AC, shared and scheduled around shifts |
Most properties are dominated by the first row, which is why the general planning in our hotel EV charging guide starts from AC. The exception proves the rule: a roadside property whose trade is the short stop should spec for the stop, not the night.
The Connectors Your Guests Actually Drive
The second check is physical fit. Guests arrive with whatever inlet their car carries — Type 2 in much of Europe, NACS or J1772 in North America — and a charger they cannot plug into is a complaint, not an amenity. Count the mix from your own car park and booking enquiries before choosing. A socket-version wallbox lets each guest use their own cable and covers the inlet they brought; a tethered unit fixes one connector and is simpler to walk up to. Neither answer is universal — the right one is the one that matches your guest parc, and the comparison of the charging classes themselves is in Level 1 vs Level 2 vs DC fast charging.
Guest-Only Access Is Part of the Choice
A charger selection is not finished at the hardware. Bays that passing drivers can use will be used by passing drivers, and the guest who booked for charging finds the post taken. Access control — RFID cards issued at reception, or app accounts tied to the stay — keeps the bays inside the guest offer; our guide to RFID and user management for shared chargers covers how the groups are run. Open, unmetered posts near the entrance are the one configuration to avoid: no control, no record, no way to keep a promise made in a listing.
Hardware for Each Job
For the overnight bays, the EV-ACT3204PE 22 kW wallbox (tethered Type 2 cable, RFID and app, IP66, CE) is the guest-night unit: the socket form covers guests’ own cables, and a reception-issued card starts the session. Where several bays line up, the EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC station (two Type 2 connectors, up to 43 kW shared, OCPP 1.6J, RFID, IP54) serves two cars from one floor-standing unit. For the short-stay supplement, the EV-RHDC30K-L is a compact DC charger at 22 kW with OCPP 1.6J and IP54 — stated plainly, that sits below the U.S. DOT’s 50–350 kW DC fast band, so spec it as a faster top-up for day guests, never as corridor fast charging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 7 kW charger enough for overnight guests?
Usually, yes. The DOT’s Level 2 band starts at 7 kW and adds about 10–20 miles of range per hour; even at the band’s low end, a car parked all night takes on well over a hundred miles of range. The limit at a hotel is rarely kilowatts — it is bays.
Tethered or socket for guest bays?
Tethered is simpler for the guest and fixes the connector; socket lets guests use the cable that fits their car and moves cable wear to them. Properties with an international guest mix often favour socket for exactly that reason — check your own mix first.
Should a hotel buy DC fast charging instead?
Only where short stays dominate the trade. For an overnight property, the same budget buys more Level 2 bays — and whether guests can find a free bay matters more to the stay than how fast one car charges.
Related Reading
- Hotel EV Charging: How to Plan Guest Charging That Pays Off
- Level 1 vs Level 2 vs DC Fast Charging
- RFID and User Management for Shared EV Chargers
- Do Hotels Have Charging Stations for Electric Cars?
