Under the effect of increasingly stringent regulations and ambitious environmental strategies, corporate vehicle fleets are becoming increasingly electrified. This trend, far from being anecdotal, is an opportunity for hoteliers: to stand out and attract professional clientele by offering an electric vehicle charging service. Explanations
Companies are electrifying: what impact on the market?
Companies are increasingly encouraged, or even obliged, to decarbonise their activities, under the combined effect of environmental legislation and their own corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. With this in mind, renewing their car fleets in favour of decarbonised engines is one of the first levers to be activated. This trend is already well underway, as evidenced by the latest figures from the Arval Mobility Observatory1: electrified vehicles (100% electric and plug-in hybrids) accounted for 21 % of corporate registrations in the first quarter of 2024. In detail, 100% electric models recorded an increase of 16.76% over the period.
This dynamic will accelerate in the coming years under the effect of increasingly constraining regulations. While the Mobility Orientation Law already imposes a progressive tightening of low-emission vehicle quotas on companies with large fleets, a new bill should soon strengthen these obligations. The transition is therefore well and truly underway!
For hoteliers, the stakes are high as this transition brings numerous commercial opportunities.
Business travel: a fundamental lever for business development
Although the Covid-19 crisis temporarily slowed down business travel, activity has resumed with a vengeance. Professionals have clearly not given up on business travel, considered essential for business development by 92% of them, according to the 2023 Barometer of American Express Global Business Travel2.
While spending on flights is now subject to increased scrutiny, due to decision-makers’ growing awareness of the carbon footprint, this is not the case for spending allocated to hotels and trains. The latter are even doing well. A study published at the end of 20233 even made that year the new benchmark, with overall spending in the business travel sector reaching 28.5 billion euros. And the forecasts for 2024 are even better, suggesting a further increase.
Seizing commercial opportunities and attracting professional clientele
In the current context of flourishing business tourism, professional clientele represents a significant share of bookings for many hotel establishments. And this clientele is of particular importance, as it can be retained. According to the Coach Omnium consultancy, 46% of professional clients book between one and four stays per month, mainly during the week4.Willingly consuming on-site catering and breakfast services, this target segment offers a major opportunity to develop turnover. Complementary to leisure clientele, present during holidays and weekends, it also allows to smooth out hotel activity throughout the year.
To stand out from competitors, it is essential to respond precisely to the specific needs of professional clients, particularly in terms of efficiency and practicality during their trips. In this context, the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure (ou IRVE) constitutes a key strategy to strengthen your attractiveness. Offering this service will thus represent a major asset to attract business travellers and retain them in the long term.
Which hoteliers have taken the plunge?
- Accor: the group has announced the deployment of charging stations in more than 800 hotels, across all ranges (under the F1, Ibis, Mercure and Novotel brands).
- Radisson plans to equip 300 of its European hotels as part of its “Green Mobility Mindset” initiative. The operation started in July 2023 at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia in Oslo, with eight charging stations.
- Best Western France has also committed to this path. The group, which estimated that 50% of its clients were positioned in the business segment in 2023, aims to equip 30% of the parking spaces in its 300 hotels by 2025. B&B Hotels and Louvre Hotels are following the same strategy to adapt their service to demand.
- Akena Hôtels: the hotel chain has decided to equip all its new hotels with charging stations, thus accompanying a real upmarket move for the establishments. At the beginning of 2024, Marc Plisson, Managing Director, testified: “We decided to test charging stations on three or four establishments, particularly in Reims. And gradually, the importance of such a service became obvious!“. With travelling sales executives making up two-thirds of their clientele, the manager now considers it a service “as essential as Wi-Fi” to meet their requirements.
1 Arval Mobility Observatory, Market Review 2024, May 2024
2 American Express Global Business Travel Business Travel Barometer
3 EPSA, “Business Travel: 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook”, October 2024
4 Coach Omnium, “Bonus: business travellers and the hotel industry“
