Green Living Guy Hilton, Hampton Inn EV Challenge a Success

Recently, I was able to participate in an electric vehicle challenge from Hilton Hotels, the Hampton Inn and Hertz.  You see several Albany-based Hampton hotels are making eco-conscious travel more of a reality with electric vehicle (EV) charging stations now offered upon booking.

These companies worked together and with my old stomping grounds NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) to place General Electric EV charging stations at Hampton Inn hotels in the Capital District of the State of New York.

Given that I knew that area very well (lived there for college, graduate school and married) I took the challenge.

Off I went in a Chevy Volt (circa 2011 from Hertz at the Albany International Airport) to the first of several hotels to charge the car, have some coffee or fruits that they had out to eat.  The first was on Albany International Road Hampton Inn.  The manager was great and allowed me to charge the car and take pictures of the hotel.  Right here is the first one at the Sky Chargers with the retractable heavy duty charging cord from General Electric.

Off I went to most of the hotels (the last one is a completely other story) but without question the way the hotels are situated, you can take a Chevy Volt, go hotel to hotel and be all electric vehicle.  Now I call that a Clean Commuter!

Here are some other cool things I learned along the way from Hilton that we will have more in-depth articles in the future.  Yet I thought it was important to let you know the green in the Hampton Inn that I never knew about!

1. They use LED bulbs and are transitioning every lamp to LED. Most of the hotels had totally switched over to LED.  Some older bulbs still remained but you could see the transition.  No question.

   

2. Inside the hotel lobby were coffee stations.  Every cup in every hotel had changed the cups to eco friendly and sustainably sourced materials.
3. The program, called Green Electric Vehicle, launched as a pilot at four Hampton hotels in Albany and is in the process of branching out to other Hilton Worldwide hotels in the U.S.  Travelers renting a car during their stay, Hertz provides a broad EV fleet at the Albany International Airport. More Hilton Worldwide hotels within the Albany area will be installing the charging stations early next year.
4. Now, in partnership with Skychargers, GE, and Hertz, any Hilton Worldwide hotel that is seeing an influx of electric vehicle use in their area is able to install EV chargers.
5. For more information about the program or to book a stay a Hilton Worldwide EV-friendly hotel in the Albany area, visit www.skychargers.com/ or visitwww.hampton.com.  To learn more about Hilton Worldwide’s corporate responsibility initiatives, go to cr.hiltonworldwide.com.
6. Skychargers project is part of Charge-NY, Governor Cuomo’s initiative to accelerate the use of electric vehicles in New York State by promoting the demonstration of EV charging equipment. Additional support came from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).