Overnight stays are the ideal use case for EV charging. The case for acting now is stronger than most hotel owners realise.
EV adoption is accelerating. In 2025, 23.4% of new UK car registrations were fully electric. That figure hit 32.2% in December 2025 alone. The guests arriving at UK hotels and B&Bs in 2026 and beyond are increasingly driving EVs, and a growing proportion of them are choosing where to stay based on whether they can charge overnight.
This guide covers everything a hotel or B&B owner needs to know: what hardware to specify, how to price sessions, which grants apply, and how the numbers work. No installer to promote, no CPO to favour.
In this guide
EV charging is a function of time and power. A standard 7.4kW smart charger delivers roughly 7.4 kilometres of range per hour of charge. An overnight guest arriving at 6pm and departing at 10am has 16 hours plugged in, which means a full battery on most vehicles regardless of how depleted it was on arrival.
This is what makes hotels and B&Bs structurally better placed for EV charging than almost any other business type. The car is already there, stationary, for the duration of the guest's stay. No rapid charging infrastructure, no grid connection drama, no complex CPO relationship required in most cases. A 7.4kW tethered smart charger installed in the car park does the job completely.
For the vast majority of hotels and B&Bs, the right answer is a 7.4kW single-phase AC smart charger, tethered, with OCPP-compliant back-office software. Here is why each of those specifications matters.
*After Workplace Charging Scheme grant. Assumes adequate existing supply and standard cable run.
7.4kW over 22kW — 22kW AC requires three-phase electrical supply. Most UK hospitality properties are single-phase. Installing three-phase where it does not exist typically costs £3,000–£8,000 and involves a DNO application. For overnight stays, it is unnecessary — 7.4kW delivers a full charge in the time a guest sleeps.
Tethered over untethered — tethered means the charging cable is permanently attached to the unit. Guests do not need to bring their own cable, carry it from their car, or know which cable type they need. For hospitality, tethered is non-negotiable. Untethered sockets are appropriate for workplaces where employees have their own cables; they are the wrong choice for a guest-facing installation.
OCPP compliance — OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) is the open standard that connects your charger to back-office software for session management, metering, payment processing and remote diagnostics. An OCPP-compliant charger lets you switch back-office provider without replacing hardware. Avoid proprietary closed systems that lock you to a single supplier.
A practical starting point is one charger for every 8–10 parking spaces, with a minimum of one unit regardless of park size. More important than the initial number is future-proofing the installation from day one.
For a rural B&B with four parking spaces, one tethered 7.4kW unit is the right starting point. For a 30-room hotel, two to four units with ducting for future expansion is a reasonable initial deployment.
A dedicated EV charge point is not subject to Ofgem’s electricity resale rules in the same way as other electricity resale. Ofgem confirmed in its 2014 decision that selling electricity from dedicated EV charge points does not require a supply licence. You have genuine pricing flexibility, subject to being fair and transparent.
The standard approach for hospitality is per-kWh pricing with a session fee. Including charging in the room rate is possible but exposes you to high-consumption guests eroding your margins. Free charging is difficult to sustain as EV adoption increases.
After payback the charger generates ongoing margin. A 7.4kW unit running at 3 sessions per week generates roughly £700 net margin per year on electricity alone, indefinitely.
TRevPAR (Total Revenue Per Available Room) captures all revenue generated per room, not just the room rate — including food, beverage, spa and ancillary services. EV charging influences TRevPAR in two ways that go beyond the charging session itself.
Dwell extension. An EV-driving guest who can charge at the hotel has no reason to leave and drive to a public rapid charger. That guest stays on site, eats in the restaurant, drinks at the bar, uses the spa. A guest who cannot charge at the hotel may leave during their stay to top up elsewhere — taking their F&B spend with them. F&B typically represents 25–30% of TRevPAR in full-service hotels.
Booking preference. Research from the hotel EV charging sector indicates 67% of EV-driving guests say charging availability influences their hotel choice, and 48% would not book a hotel without EV charging where alternatives were available. At current EV adoption levels (23.4% of new registrations in 2025), this already represents a material share of the booking market — and that share grows every year.
UK hotel and B&B operators can access the following grant schemes. All require an OZEV-approved installer — your installer applies on your behalf.
For a full breakdown of every current scheme with eligibility criteria, see the complete grants guide.
A standard hotel EV charging installation follows a straightforward process once you have chosen your hardware and installer.
The 8kW contactless payment rule. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, any publicly accessible charger at 8kW or above installed after November 2024 must offer contactless payment. A 7.4kW unit is below the threshold and is exempt. If you choose 22kW AC and your charger is accessible to non-guests, contactless payment is mandatory.
Electricity resale. Ofgem confirmed in 2014 that selling electricity from a dedicated EV charge point does not require a supply licence. You can charge guests per kWh without becoming a licensed electricity supplier. Pricing should be fair and transparent. See the full Ofgem rules section.
Planning permission. EV charger installation at business premises is generally permitted development across England, Scotland and Wales. Listed buildings and conservation areas are exceptions. Your installer will confirm as part of the site survey.