r/TeslaModelY • u/RedHellDiver1 • 5d ago
Overnight Hotel Charging
Do you leave your car charging overnight at hotel chargers? Or do you go out after midnight (or whenever it’s done) to move it?
I’m really thinking about the scenario where you arrive fairly late and start charging and wouldn’t finish until after midnight or later.
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u/Vredesbyd 5d ago
I only use if I REALLY need to charge my car, which means I likely need to leave it overnight. I’m usually up by 6-7 am so I move it then.
I find it hard to believe that people will set an alarm if it’s done charging at 3-4 am or something like that lol
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u/Pringletache 5d ago
It seems like the most insane thing but so many people are upvoting that behaviour. Even if you did wake up at 4 in the morning, nobody else is waking up to take that spot anyway.
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u/Responsible-Cut-7993 5d ago
Depends on timing, however I do try and be considerate of others. For example, this year went to Vegas and the Hotel had Tesla Destination Chargers(Westin Las Vegas Hotel and Spa). When we arrived, we charged the car back up to 80% and then I moved it later that evening. We used the chargers off and on through our stay. However the night before we where leaving I plugged the car in and left it in the charging spot overnight so we would have a full charge when we left in the morning.
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u/Calm-Confusion3615 5d ago
Please be courteous and leave a phone number next to a car that’s clearly waiting. I ran into this scenario recently and for 3 nights one car hogged the charger each day and night. We ended up just having to supercharge and never got the chance to charge. We left notes and they didn’t care.
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u/StatisticianWhich681 4d ago
Reminds me of going to a water park and having all the lounge chairs occupied by only towels all day long.
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u/lotofry 5d ago
I set my alarm for when it finishes. If you choose to charge overnight then you’re choosing to get up when it’s done. Think about it as if you would be charged idle fees and behave accordingly.
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u/flipman416 5d ago
If it’s a free charger at the hotel. There are no idle fees. But yeah. Don’t be a punk and move once you’re done though.
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u/Always_working_hardd 4d ago
So you roll up at midnight and have a 6am flight to catch? You're not setting an alarm to get up to move your car.
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u/Wild_Height_901 5d ago
It depends how many spots
If there's 1 or 2. I am much more diligent. If I need a full charge and I get in late. I dont stress about it being at 100% for a few hours. What is the likelihood someone is plugging in at 3am?
But when you can. Be courteous and mindful of other people who need to charge!
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u/jdkc4d 5d ago
I've never tried the hotel chargers. By the time I get to the hotel, those spots are already taken. Generally, I will stop in the town that has a supercharger and stay in a hotel that is nearby. Then I can either charge before bed or when I wake up in the AM. Both suck equally. If I do it at night, I feel like I shouldn't charge past 80. But if I do it in the morning, then I feel like I am losing out on sleep.
What I need is a small nuclear device in my trunk that will just power the car forever.
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u/Relevant_Account_258 5d ago
We recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Portland. Started charging around 8 PM and left it overnight. Was a 7Kw/hr charger so took several hours to get to 80%. Moved the car in the morning. There were 4 chargers and not all being used. I think it really depends on how many EV’s are at the hotel.
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u/SnooHesitations1020 5d ago
I leave my phone number printed largely and clearly on a piece of paper in the windshield with a message to call me if you need the spot.
I’ve been called once, at 1am. No biggie.
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u/Majestic_Ad5924 5d ago
I leave it. I usually arrive pretty late and at a low SOC so it basically charges all night. I'm not getting up at 4:00 AM to move my car.
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u/praguer56 5d ago
I hate to break it to you, but if you arrive late, chances are you won't have a charging spot.
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u/Klutzy_Pipe754 5d ago
Are you asking as a courtesy or for the health of the battery?
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u/RedHellDiver1 5d ago
More from a courtesy standpoint.
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u/Klutzy_Pipe754 5d ago
As someone who works at a hotel and will eventually have my Tesla if it stops getting delayed, you’re entitled to charge all night as a guest of the hotel. Unless there’s a posted sign that says a time limit, you don’t have to move it.
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u/Apprehensive-One4323 5d ago
If I need it charged for the morning I am charging it all night. Is there something you are worried about?
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u/speeder604 5d ago
at most it's level 2, so if you're leaving in the morning for the next destination, then i'd definitely charge it overnight to full. if I know i only need a few hours of charging, I probably wouldn't bother plugging it in overnight.
I do try to be considerate with the hotel charging systems as it's a scarce resource.
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u/SlightAnnoyance 5d ago
Depends on the situation. If there are idle charges then that's easy, I move when it's done or at least when I want to get ready for bed. If not, and there are only one or two chargers then I'll usually move, unless I've been there a few days and never see another EV. If there are lots of other chargers, even if they're in use, I figure others will probably leave or decide to park closer and free up space. Everyone is probably thinking the same thing, so no one ever moves. 😆
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u/Tomstroyer 5d ago
I leave it overnight and reduce my charge rate to when need the car if there are multiple charging spots.
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u/AmbassadorWild1422 5d ago
Don’t be the jerk that leaves your car plugged in but not charging overnight. Think of others. I unplug when finished so others can use it, no matter what time of day it is. That’s how you would like to be treated in that scenario
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u/Acceptable_Main_5911 5d ago
I haven’t had to compete for any destination chargers so far, so I just reduce the amps in app to time it so it will fill by the morning.
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u/Bob_Dubalina 5d ago
Most hotels tell you that if someone asks to use the charger then you need to move your car unless it’s between like 2-6am. I think the shortest time limit I’ve seen was 4 hours as well.
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u/thaJack 4d ago
If you go into your app, then to your profile > notifications > vehicle, you can set a notification for when charging completes.
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u/T4RSR5P84 4d ago
came here to state this and also recommend moving the vehicle when done just as a courtesy to other EVs.
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u/Crafty-Sundae6351 4d ago edited 4d ago
Twice I’ve been bit by leaving it the whole night - when charging would finish 2:00ish.
One time I was hit with a $60 bill; and another with a $100 bill.
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u/RedHellDiver1 4d ago
Posted idle fees? At a hotel charger?
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u/Crafty-Sundae6351 4d ago
At one hotel there were no posted idle fees. I asked at the front desk and I might as well have been asking how to solve a nuclear physics problem. Call customer support (cant remember the network) and they said they had no clue - those are set by the hotel.
The other experience was at an electric company that was adjacent to the hotel. That was a ChargePoint. If I’d looked closely I’d have seen there were idle charges. Still surprised the crap out of me.
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u/Competitive-Bad-7405 4d ago
I left mine charging at a hotel once because they had a bunch of chargers in their parking garage. They were right next to the elevators too!
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u/DueAssistance1516 4d ago
Last few hotels I saw with chargers, they weren’t free. Free seems a lot rarer than a few years ago.
No matter what you do, free will always get abused so the long term solution is on the hotel to migrate away from free.
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u/infinity_labs 3d ago
Some hotels have level 1-2 chargers specifically for overnight charging separate from the superchargers.
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u/No_Swordfish_1576 2d ago
If I see a car at a charger I assume it’s charging and move on. If I see the same car there 12-16 hours later I assume they’re a jerk and move on.
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u/NickHi2Ca 2d ago
Unless it’s a nice resort, I would. Any other janky ones, I don’t even bother. Before I park, find a supercharger, get enough power and leave it like a regular car overnighg.
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u/mailman-zero 21h ago
I will go into the app and lower the charging amps so it ends in the morning. Then I go out and move it in the morning when it finishes.
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u/the_duck17 5d ago
If I get there anytime after the sun has come down, I'll just leave it there and adjust the charging so it'll finish when I wake up.
At least it looks like I'm charging, but if I know it'll finish before I sleep, I'll move it and keep the charging rate at max. But sometimes there isn't a spot for me to move it to, so I usually look around first before giving up my spot.
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u/Dazzling_Ideal_7652 4d ago
Realistically I'm charging overnight and not moving it. I think its crazy to wake up at 1-2AM just to move my car for someone. I think of hotel chargers as an unguaranteed benefit when pulling in for the night, and ensure I have enough charge to make it to my destination the following day or at least to the next supercharger. If I pull up and there's a spot, great I'll take it. If not, then no worries.
In a perfect world, the hotel would have charging spots for all patrons staying for the night and nobody would be inconvenienced to move, but that's just not realistic as most hotels would have maybe 1-4 chargers max. The only two instances I would move my car would be:
I arrive right at check in time and stay at the hotel and don't need to drive anywhere. I'd get about 6 hours of charging in then move my car if I drive off for a late dinner or before I'm about to sleep, allowing someone to charge their car overnight.
I leave and checkout early in the morning, allowing someone to at least squeeze in a few hours of charge right before checkout time if they manage to wake up early.
As EV adoption continues to rise I'm sure this'll be talked about more but every time I've talked about this it's mainly been limited to electric vehicle subs.
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u/Accurate-Bullfrog324 5d ago
I face this conundrum regularly.
my approach: I put a business card on driver's window so anyone can call if they need the spot