Thanksgiving jumpstarts the beginning of the busy holiday travel season, with tens of millions of Americans setting out to visit family and friends each year – the vast majority of them by car.
This year, AAA expects 54.3 million Americans nationwide to journey 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving. That’s nearly 5% more people than last year, and nine out of every 10 are likely be in a personal vehicle.
For drivers, that could mean major traffic jams along high-traffic corridors and remote areas, especially during peak hours. INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, predicts travel times in the most congested U.S. cities could be as much as quadruple a normal trip.
This matters especially to Electric Vehicle drivers because they’re growing in number and can tend to feel what’s known as “range anxiety” when traveling long distances on routes without ample charging stations. They also need to factor in charging time when traveling, which can take as little as about 45 minutes to multiple hours depending on the car and the power level of the charging station. But they need not fret about running out of juice on many of those routes: they can stop at a Hilton hotel, recharge and relax, thanks to an expanding EV charging program with Tesla Inc.
Tesla’s Destination Charging program has placed Tesla and Universal stations at about 350 Hilton properties around the world, the vast majority in the U.S. but others in countries such as Spain, Finland and Jordan. This comes as the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars is growing rapidly. It topped three million globally in 2017, up 54% from the year before according the International Energy Agency, and some estimates say the number on U.S. roads is now more than 700,000.
By strategically installing charging stations throughout Hilton’s vast network of properties – including more than 15 airport hotels in the U.S. and elsewhere – the company is aiming to help road warriors travel with purpose by feeding their wanderlust and need to help the environment – a goal Hilton shares.
Consider it a gift for the holidays and beyond.
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