Installation of the Month (April 2021): Hilton Hotel & Plaza San Gabriel

Hilton is one of the most recognizable and respected organizations in the world. They own 18 different brands and more than 6,400 properties in 119 countries. Since 1925, they’ve been a model of the hospitality industry – synonymous with customer relations, integrity and innovation, which extends into areas like sustainability and the environment. Their website’s “Corporate Responsibility” page cites a commitment to fighting climate change, stating: “We seek to operate and grow sustainably, reducing our consumption of natural resources… We are proud to have set carbon reduction targets aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement.” And they continue to back up this commitment, including recently asking us to install EV charging banks at one of their key Los Angeles locations.

As such, our featured site for April is the Hilton Hotel & Plaza located at 225 and 227 West Valley Boulevard in the city of San Gabriel, about 10 miles northeast of downtown LA. See it here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hilton+Los+Angeles%2FSan+Gabriel/@34.0798006,-118.1020363,15z/data=!4m8!3m7!1s0x0:0xcc63da5b0a5522ce!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d34.0798006!4d-118.1020363

The 4-star property features luxuriously appointed guest rooms and suites with signature Hilton Serenity beds, blackout curtains, mini fridges, Italian marble bathrooms and bath amenities by Peter Thomas Roth. Downstairs, hotel guests can make use of a fully functional business center, conference rooms, fitness center, indoor lap pool and modern restaurant serving Asian fusion dishes. A rooftop terrace with fountain and spacious ballroom each offer stylish event accommodations. Next door, the Plaza boasts dozens of shops, eateries, even a day spa. Moreover, the property is less than a mile from the San Gabriel Square Mall and just a short drive from key points of interest like the Staples Center, Little Tokyo and downtown Arts District. See more on the Hilton website here:

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/laxsghf-hilton-los-angeles-san-gabriel/

Much of our focus has been on installing chargers at social and leisure destinations – areas outside of commuters’ workplaces and homes – to facilitate electric mobility as a viable lifestyle alternative to internal combustion. Retail outlets and hotel chains are a critical part of that strategy, especially now that COVID has led many more people to opt for road trips over flying, making this a prime time to exploit EV technology. For the San Gabriel property, our installation included four DCFCs on the hotel side of their underground parking garage and another four on the plaza side along with four Blink Level 2 chargers. The DCFCs are 50 kW Slim Lines with integrated cord retractors, 15-inch color displays, up to 480 VAC, and a better than 90% efficiency rating. The Blinks boast an ergonomic pedestal design, ground monitoring circuits, and an output voltage of 208 to 240 VAC.

The convenience of being able to charge your EV overnight during a hotel stay, while shopping or while attending an event at the property cannot be overstated. According to a recent Autolist.com poll of 1,600 car shoppers, two of the top three reasons given on why EVs would not be a consideration were driving range and lack of charging infrastructure. Overcoming biases against EVs will, therefore, require increasing publicly available charging sites that eliminate concerns about range, accessibility and convenience. Brands like Hilton are in an especially enviable position to motivate a change in attitudes, not only because they have innumerable locations, but also because they can offer complimentary charging for guests, further reducing the cost of transit, which addresses the third most cited reason for avoiding EVs.

All this said, we want to thank our client Hilton for trusting us with this installation and for giving their patrons not only the choice but an added incentive to go electric – yet another reason why they continue to be leaders in the world of hospitality!

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Addressing Pain Points in Creating EV Infrastructure

A recent GovTech.com article titled “How Biden Plans to Build 500 EV Charging Stations” discusses the President’s goals for creating a nationwide network of 500,000 such installations by 2030. While it does a smart job laying out many of the pain points we face in facilitating EV adoption, the mention of solutions was far less prevalent, and ones that were mentioned seemed speculative or tenuous. However, over the last three years, EVCS has already taken the lead in addressing many of these challenge areas, allowing us to dominate the installation market across the West Coast.

Spectrum News: SoCal Company Looks to Meet Growing Need for EV Charging Stations

Recently, our CEO and co-founder, Gustavo Occhiuzzo, was featured in a Spectrum News 1 segment titled “Inside the Issues” with Alex Cohen. He was able to not only convey the challenges we face as we work toward a more electric future, but also the strides EVCS has already made in addressing those challenges as well as some of our most significant achievements. Examples include our deal with LADOT to install DC fast chargers at 57 city-owned lots, our doubling of non-Tesla chargers in LA since last year alone, and the fact that EVCS has become one of the largest and fastest growing installers of EV charging stations on the West Coast in less than three years. See the interview clip and accompanying article below to learn more.

Recap of “Today, Explained” Podcast: It’s Electric!

Recently, we listened to Vox’s Umair Irfan discuss on his Today, Explained podcast how Norway has been trailblazing in the world of electric mobility and what strides the US can make to follow suit. We not only found the episode a fascinating exploration of how our Scandinavian friends serve as both innovators and motivators, but it elucidated ways in which EVCS can and has been working toward similar goals within the US. Below are some of the key takeaways from the podcast as well as how it relates to what we’re doing here and now.

EVCS Fast Charging Network to Use 100% Renewable Energy (Newsire)

One of the most common criticisms foisted on the electric mobility industry is that EVs are not technically carbon neutral since the electricity needed to power them is generated through fossil fuels, including coal and natural gas. This argument is not without merit and presents those of us in the EV infrastructure sector with yet another lofty goal – true carbon neutrality through electrical grids powered by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. And our most recent press release discusses how we at EVCS are doing just that.

EVCS Secures Credit Facility with Macquarie Group (Newswire)

We recently employed PR firm Firecracker to help us get the word out about all of the wonderful things EVCS is doing to make an all-electric future a reality. One major step toward this goal was our securing a credit facility that would allow for accelerated expansion of EV infrastructure, giving us confidence that the financial support required would be available when we needed it. Our PR team then went to work, drafting the following press release that outlines the particulars of this momentous achievement: