Harvard Square hotel to provide "Juice Bar" for electric cars
By Susan Wilson
Imagine a hotel that promotes green vehicles and you have The Charles Hotel on Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The hotel is providing bicycles for guests to pedal around the downtown scenic routes, variable parking rates based on the size of the vehicle and a parking garage where electric and hybrid vehicles can recharge.
The Charles Hotel has received the “Good Earthkeeping Award” from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Presumably, this is the equivalent of the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” for environmentally conscious hotels.
The bicycle program is called originally enough, “The Hotel Bike Program”. The hotel has six Electra Amsterdam Classic Bicycles that guests can use to ride around Cambridge. The bicycles come complete with baskets so guests can do their shopping easily while getting exercise. Biking is the cleanest form of transportation since the only “exhaust” is the riders panting up hills.
The “Juice Bar” is located in the hotel garage and provides two “parking stalls” for electric vehicles and hybrids to recharge. The stalls will be “equipped with dual charging outlets, featuring a GFI protected outlet with 50/60 AMP, 240 volt 20 AMP, 120 volt service, which will electrically charge cars between two to four hours.” Should you forget your hybrid/electric car back-up adapter, the hotel will provide you with one.
The final green vehicle program is called the nanoMAX™ small car detection system. As you drive into the parking garage special nanoMAX™ sensors will register the size of your vehicle and will encode it on your parking ticket. Certain sizes will receive parking discounts.
The Charles Hotel is anticipating the future use of cleaner cars and vehicle needs. By providing charging stations and parking discounts for smaller cars, the hotel is not only encouraging more responsible behavior on the part of its guests but will be a frequently visited getaway and conference location for environmentally aware corporations and groups.
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