Why free charging isn’t a perk, it’s the future
Picture four motels at a highway rest stop. Two have pay-to-use EV chargers. One offers free charging through Plunk. The fourth has nothing at all.
What happens next is entirely predictable. We’ve watched this exact movie play out three times already.
The Pattern We Keep Seeing
Act 1: Free Wi-Fi (2005–2015)
Remember when hotels charged $15/day for internet access? The incumbents had a bulletproof argument: “Business travelers expense it anyway.”
Then some hotels started offering it free. The paid-Wi-Fi crowd called it unsustainable. They introduced loyalty member exceptions and “premium tier” access. Within a few years, free Wi-Fi became table stakes across the industry.
The hotels that moved first captured market share during the transition. The ones that clung to paid access looked increasingly out of touch.
Act 2: Free Breakfast
Limited-service brands weaponized free breakfast against full-service competitors. The full-service response followed the same script:
- “Our restaurant is better“
- Fine, here’s a “grab and go” option
- Okay, complimentary breakfast for everyone
Act 3: Free Airport Parking
Airport-adjacent hotels discovered they could steal occupancy by bundling free parking and shuttle service. Competitors with paid parking emphasized “convenience” and “security” while watching bookings migrate across the street.
The Uncomfortable Position of Pay-to-Charge Properties
Here’s where it gets interesting for our four motels.
The properties with pay-to-use chargers aren’t just competing on amenity quality. They’re often locked into structures that make matching difficult:
Revenue-share agreements they signed with network operators. Those contracts assume charging revenue flows through the system. Removing the charger means breaking the contract.
Sunk electrical costs that were justified by projected charging fees. The ROI model assumed drivers would pay.
Network exclusivity that prevents them from adding a free alternative even if they wanted to.
Sound familiar? It’s the exact bind that hotels faced when they’d signed long-term deals with Boingo for paid Wi-Fi infrastructure. They watched competitors offer free access while they were contractually obligated to charge.
What Plays Out at the Rest Stop
The property with free charging doesn’t just attract EV drivers. It becomes the default choicefor EV drivers. When you’re deciding between four otherwise-similar options and one of them gives you free fuel, the decision makes itself.
The pay-charger properties will initially dismiss this: “Our charger is Level 3” or “Our network is more reliable.” Then they’ll try bundling: “Book direct and get free charging.” Eventually, they’ll either negotiate their way out of those pay-to-charge contracts or watch their EV traffic consolidate at the competitor down the road.
The property with no charger? They’ll insist their guests don’t need it. Right up until the data says otherwise.
The Window
This is the part that matters for property operators who haven’t yet committed to a charging strategy.
There’s a window—maybe two or three years—where early movers on free charging capture disproportionate loyalty from a rapidly growing driver segment. Once free charging becomes the expected norm (and it will), that differentiation disappears.
The properties that install free charging now don’t just get the amenity. They get the reputation as the EV-friendly choice, the positive reviews from early adopters, and the relationship with a driver demographic that’s growing faster than any other.
The properties that wait get to match what’s already expected.
The same forces that turned paid Wi-Fi, paid breakfast, and paid parking into competitive liabilities are now turning paid charging into one. The only remaining question is whether you lead the transition or react to it.
