AN EVOLVING MARKETPLACE Not only will access to charging data help resorts track demand trends over time and determine when to start planning for expansion, but it can also be integrated into marketing strat- egies, marrying the charging experience with the rest of the customer experience. “We have the ability to offer special rates in our promotions,” says Norton, “such as sending pass holders a code for free charging while promoting other aspects of our business.” Resorts with chargers are also listed on apps that help driv- ers find places to plug in. Onsite chargers can present a brand- ing opportunity as well, according to Rathbun. “Our chargers are co-branded and are kind of a cool little billboard,” he says. Another benefit is that resorts have an opportunity to establish themselves as climate leaders by making charging publicly available, incorporating EVs into their fleets, and providing customer education. By modeling the transition to electrification that they want to see reflected in guest behavior, resorts will raise guest awareness about driving electric. While EVs aren’t perfect and won’t alone solve our climate crises, they are one lever we can pull to help mitigate the warming climate. It’s unclear just how much, if at all, administration changes at the highest level of government will influence investment decisions at the local level. What is certain is that resorts, espe- cially those with long-range sustainability goals and carbon reduction targets, will continue to make decisions based on what is best for their business, their customers, and the envi- ronment in which they operate. “For a business that has a large percentage of its volume coming from two-plus hours away, it really is a critical business decision for us,” says Norton of Loon’s EV charging installation. “If we want those people to come here, we need to provide this service to them, and it’s proven out.”
they are ready to head home. “We are trying to limit people from leaving their vehicles overnight but don’t want to incon- venience someone who paid to go skiing for the day,” says Loon’s Norton. “Nobody wants to worry about moving their car midday and whether parking is even available at that time.” WHO’S IN CHARGE? Regular and proactive monitoring of the equipment is inte- gral to ensuring a consistent charging experience for guests. At Purgatory, it’s the grounds maintenance crew that takes care of clearing snow around the equipment and checks that the chargers appear to be operational. “Then our homeowner ser- vices team oversees the operations, which is not much of a lift,” says Rathbun. EV charger providers often offer a service agreement for any combination of remote monitoring, maintenance, equip- ment warranties, and troubleshooting to support resort staff that manage the units. Networked equipment typically allows managers to remotely access data about usage and uptime, which is helpful for tracking and forecasting demand. Killing- ton is updating some of its chargers to allow the resort to track usage and operational information for the first time and “will make troubleshooting issues easier for the team to solve or con- nect to offsite help for more complex issues,” Laramie says. Loon’s one-year-old chargers include access to a dashboard that provides operational insights. “It’s nifty,” says Norton. “At any given time, I can open the program and see how many vehi- cles are plugged in, how many chargers are live, if there are any issues, how many kilowatt hours we’re using, the fee that we’re charging, and how much greenhouse gas we’re saving by charging people’s vehicles.”
Some existing EV charging infrastructure at Kill- ington, Vt., (pictured left) will be removed to make space for a new base area development, requiring planners to create new charging stations, with updated technology, in other key locations.
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