Leading hotel management system, SIHOT, together with energy transition start-up LADE, is facilitating improved guest experiences with connected onsite electric vehicle (EV) charging hubs.
A direct integration between LADE and SIHOT PMS automatically applies electricity top-up charges to the guest’s hotel room, reducing friction in the payment and billing experience.
Using LADE’s charging stations, guests connect their EV and authenticate at the charger using either a QR code by smartphone and entering their room number and ID or through an RFID key card issued by the hotel. Hotels can also integrate existing chargers if they support the Open Charge Point Protocol (OPCC). The charging process is immediately connected to their hotel account to be automatically billed on check-out. Active charging processes can be controlled within SIHOT PMS, allowing hotels to end charging on check-out.
Currently available in Germany and Italy, hotels - such as Best Western Hotel Nierstein and Rhine-Main Youth Hostel Mainz - are lining up to benefit from this partnership as the number of EVs on the road increases.
“In an effort to bring greater simplicity to hotel amenities and facilities, we are exploring ways to integrate new devices into the PMS to provide greater seamless digital journeys to guests and for hotel operations,” said Carsten Wernet, Chief Executive, SIHOT. “With EVs becoming more commonplace, the need for hotels to have onsite charging hubs grows. It makes sense to integrate EV charging into the overall hotel offering and provide seamless payment experiences for guests. Our partnership with LADE reflects our ongoing commitment to reduce the friction throughout the guest journey and provide more automated services.”
“For e-mobility to work, we need more and better charging infrastructures; our hotel partnership with SIHOT is one way to realise this. EV owners staying at a hotel can simply park, register and head to their room while the car recharges, knowing the cost will be applied to one centralised bill along with other costs from their hotel stay,” said Dennis Schulmeyer, founder and CEO, LADE.