VR Manager's Ultimate Guide: Here is our 4 step checklist to help you define your EV charging strategy

OK2Charge offers Professional Vacation Rental Managers endless options on how to operationalize EV charging across their portfolio. The flexibility is great, but will so many choices it can be difficult to decide which strategy is best. We've created this 4 step checklist with our key recommendations and best practices to help make that decision a little easier

PROPERTY MANAGER (most popular option) 

Are looking to accelerate the impact of EV charging as you get close to your prime booking season or need help filling last minute gaps? This is the strategy we recommend. 

Discounts are available bulk orders, allowing property managers to purchase chargers and either: 

• Resell chargers to owners
  • Resell at a premium to cover administrative and installation costs
  • Resell at your cost and pass savings directly to owners to drive adoption
• Provide to owners at no cost  to drive owner satisfaction and increase owner acquisition

OWNERS 

We will work with you to educate and drive adoption with your owners (read more below)

BOTH

• Consider a pilot program where you purchase the first 10+ chargers to more quickly drive more bookings by purchasing the chargers and marketing to your owners at no or low cost for a limited time. Hand pick your pilot or launch a first come, sign up list
  
• Mitigate the upfront costs for your owners by create a rent-to-own program for your owners (think of how folks purchase a new iPhone).
• Worried about purchasing chargers and owner churn? Define clear payback terms upon contract termination.

INSTALL COST 

Exact installation costs are dependent on configuration, location and requirements. On average our customers have paid between $800 - $1200 per charger. Here are a few ways to manage those costs: 

PROPERTY MANAGER (most popular option) 

• Offer to owners at no cost
• What is your average reservation total? At an estimated $2k upfront cost for the charger and installation, will you see an ROI with just one more reservation? 

OWNERS 

• Invoice owners and align with your current maintenance cost process

• Considering adding a no cost or discounted installation rate in your pilot program to drive more immediate gains 

WHO WILL INSTALL?

PROPERTY MANAGER (most popular option) 

• Do you have a staff electrician or preferred contractor? We are happy to coordinate installation with your preferred vendor. 

WE CAN HELP 

• We partner with Qmerit, a network of local, certified electricians to coordinate installation for Property Managers that need support. 
• Qmerit will work with you to provide the level of support you need. From executing 100% of the installation, to coordinating with your staff or preferred vendor so you have control in keeping key tasks in-house.  
• Click here to learn more how you can submit an installation quote, on your phone in minutes.

FIRST, WHAT DOES THE FEE COVER?

Our annual software fee is $199 per charger (equivalent to the standard Netflix subscription) and it includes:

• Ongoing platform upgrades, including new features

• As your PMS releases monthly/ quarterly API updates, we upgrade our platform, ensuring our direct integration always up to date. This API integration unlocks powerful management tools including access controls based on reservation and guest information

• Continued access to pricing tools to enhance your strategy 

• Self-service, Guest platform with automated payments and payouts eliminating the burden of manual reconciliation

• On demand reporting to monitor revenue, utilization and performance

• Partnership - from access to support to proactive, partnership success plans, we are invested in your success.

WHO PAYS FOR THE SOFTWARE?

PROPERTY MANAGER (most popular option) 

• Provide to your owners at no cost 

• Invoice your owners
• Owners can pay us directly 

When setting pricing remember, EV charger demand is still growing and today the largest and most immediate ROI property managers experience is a result of increased bookings. 

Think big picture and measure your ROI on the impact of elevating your brand experience with a modern, green friendly message and increasing bookings by capturing a new market of travelers who will become lifelong guests of your brand.  

PRICING OPTIONS 

"PAY AS YOU GO" (most popular option) 

Drive usage by adopting the EV pricing model your guests are already familiar with - charge a per KwH fee and let guests pay for the electricity they consume. 

Consider a marginal lift in rates to cover OK2Charge's 20% transaction fee. Example: Current electricity costs is .30 per KwH. Increase your rate to .38. 

Does your electricity cost vary based on time of day? Leverage our platform to charge different per KwH rates at different times.

FLAT FEE 

• Charge a flat per session, daily, weekly or per stay fee directly on our platform 
• Charge sessions are dependent on battery size, charging need and potentially time of use so identifying the right rate may be a bit more difficult 

ADDITIONAL, OPTIONAL FEES

Connection Fee

Add a $3-$5 connection fee to ensure a minimum revenue gain for each session 

Idle Fee 

Will you charger be in a public location? Charge a $5-$7 idle fee to discourage drivers from leaving their cars for a prolonged period post charge to maximize availability for the next EV driver. 

REVENUE SHARE BEST PRACTICES 

How should you allocate the revenue generated through charging sessions (less OK2Charge's transaction fee)? Whatever you decide, payouts are sent from our platform at the end of each month to your owners or you, no updating statements or manual reconciliation. 

100% to OWNER (most popular option) 

• Distribute the full revenue generated amount directly to your owners so they are able to cover their electricity costs. 

X% TO OWNER / X% TO PROPERTY MANAGER 

• You can also split the revenue generated between you and your owner 
• The strategy often requires an increase in price that may be less competitive and impact guest usage. Be sure to find the right balance.  

Final Thoughts... 

Your properties, your rules. We are here to guide you on best practices and give you the flexibility you need to define the strategy that is right for your business. 

Start somewhere and we'll iterate together. We encourage our partners to continually enhance their strategy post launch as they receive feedback from owners and guests.