Marriott taps EV Connect as charger provider, countering Hilton’s recent alliance with Tesla

Hospitality group Marriott International has announced an agreement with charging services provider EV Connect to implement and manage chargers across thousands of hotels in the US and Canada. The news comes weeks after Hilton Hotels announced a similar agreement with Tesla.

Marriott International is a hotel group consisting of 31 different brands that make up over 8,500 properties across 139 different territories around the globe. If you’ve stayed at a hotel before (who hasn’t?), chances are you’ve rested your head under the Marriott umbrella.

Since hospitality is centered around comfort and ease for the customer, Marriott has recognized the imminent EV revolution that should see $1.6 million in US sales alone this year and now looks to implement charging infrastructure to support those guests arriving in electrified vehicles.

Meanwhile, EV Connect – a subsidiary of Scheider Electric – has been providing all-in-one EV charger services since 2010. It currently supports customers in 41 states, including GM, Verizon, Hilton, and now Marriott International.

6,000 Marriott locations will qualify for new EV chargers

According to details from EV Connect today, it has been selected by Marriott as the hotel group’s preferred charger provider for the US and Canada through its own namesake platform. As you can see above, EV Connect offers various EV charging solutions from some names we cover regularly on Electrek, including FreeWire, Juicebar, and Tritium.

The veteran company will enable turnkey charging solutions to 6,000 qualifying hotels under the Marriott umbrella in which those locations can choose their ideal hardware and scale as needed. The EV Connect platform will provide consultation, installation, maintenance, and software support. Marriott International’s senior vice president of global operations, Andrew Bodziak, elaborated:

Our guests increasingly expect EV charging stations at our properties, and this collaboration will help us meet rapidly evolving consumer demand and further the company’s sustainability goals. With EV Connect, we can offer properties an end-to-end turnkey service, simplifying the planning, installation, and maintenance processes while simultaneously delivering high-quality service our guests expect.

While this is the first agreement of its kind for Marriott, it is not the first EV charging alliance in the hospitality industry. In early September, Hilton Hotels announced a deal with Tesla to deploy over 20,000 Universal Wall Connectors across 20,000 locations – building upon a relationship that dates back to 2017.

With chargers soon rolling out across the Marriott network as well, EV drivers should be emboldened to take more road trips without having to stress as much about where to replenish overnight. EV Connect’s senior vice president of business development, Ram Ambatipudi, shared a similar sentiment:

As the world shifts toward sustainable energy and clean transportation, hotels and resorts that provide charging facilities for EVs can attract guests who prioritize sustainability and carbon-neutral travel. This collaboration between EV Connect and Marriott marks a major advancement of the EV market’s expansion, and it has significant implications for the hospitality sector as a whole.