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Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Hilton Hotels said Thursday it will install Tesla Universal Wall Connector chargers at hotels throughout the United States and Canada. The hotel chain plans to install 20,000 of the universal chargers, which were recently launched and work with any North American vehicle model, in 2,000 hotels in the two countries beginning in 2024.
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"Through this expanded agreement with Tesla, we are significantly changing the landscape of universal EV chargers in North America in an incredibly short amount of time. Across Hilton's family of award-winning brands, this network of EV chargers will offer our guests even more value with the convenience of much-needed overnight charging access in more locations," Matt Schuyler, Hilton's chief brand officer, said in a statement.
Hilton said more travelers are looking for EV chargers, based on the continued growth of searches at Hilton's website for hotels that have chargers.
"Installing infrastructure at popular destinations, like Hilton hotels, enables EV owners to charge where they park, meaning no unnecessary refueling stops along their journey. We applaud Hilton for their leadership in the space and look forward to continuing to ramp this critical program with other industry leaders," Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's senior director of charging infrastructure, said in a statement.
Tinucci said Tesla wants to install convenient EV charging "anywhere electric vehicles are parked for more than an hour or two."
She said to make sure EVs get adopted at scale, the joint EV industry goal should be to vastly improve on the traditional gasoline vehicle ownership experience, not just meet it.
A number of other auto manufacturers are adopting Tesla's charging system to standardize EV charging and make it easier for EV owners to travel without worrying about charger availability and compatibility.
In August, Fisker announced owners will be able to use the 12,000 charging stations Tesla operates in North America by 2025.
GM and Ford both said this summer they're partnering with Tesla to adopt the Tesla charging system. GM said it would save $400 million in costs it had previously expected to build out its EV charging.
In July GM joined BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes and Stellantis in a joint effort to build 30,000 EV charging stations by 2030. The goal is to eliminate the "range anxiety" many people feel when considering buying EVs.
