Scandic, the largest hotel network operating in the Nordics, runs 280 hotels across six countries and in an exclusive interview with the team at Scandic, we share details on how Virta has helped them introduce EV charging to their customers.
What was the defining factor that made you decide to introduce EV charging at your hotels?
Back in 2020, the demand from our customers for EV charging started growing as the sales of electric vehicles were skyrocketing. EV charging became an expected and demanded amenity in hospitality destinations. We think our customers will soon expect EV charging as much as water coming from the tap.
In your opinion, why is it important for hotels to introduce sustainable practices like EV charging?
Sustainability has been a cornerstone of Scandic’s actions for decades, so introducing EV charging in our hotels came naturally. We closely cooperate with the environmental certificate Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the toughest third-party validation in the industry, which sets our goals in the areas of energy, water, chemical use, waste, organic food and procurement. Ecolabeling is essential because we want to improve our sustainability performance and offer guests an opportunity to make good environmental choices. EV charging is one of the actions that takes us closer to reaching those goals. We also see more corporate customers with extensive sustainability programmes requesting EV charging possibilities.
Introducing EV charging at a venue can seem daunting; how did the team at Virta help with this process?
We wanted to keep our focus on providing a great place to sleep, meet and eat. So, the biggest value Virta provides us is the easiness. We don’t need to put extra effort into operating the chargers and providing this service to customers. Our personnel was trained to help EV drivers whenever needed, but with the help of Virta’s customer support, we didn’t need to hire any extra personnel for these tasks. Also, with the Virta mobile app, our EV driver customers can be self-sufficient and start and stop charging with a few clicks.
What benefits has your venue seen in terms of business and footfall since installing the EV charging points?
EV charging in our hotels has grown in popularity fast. Our meeting and event customers and overnight guests use the charging stations daily. We’ve seen 125% year-on-year growth in charging sessions, and we’re ready to increase the number of charging stations as the demand grows.
