Hotels add plugs, ports for device-laden guests

Stephen Delaney travels with a laptop, an iPad, two cellphones and a backup power pack to keep all his devices charged.

When he walks into a hotel guestroom, he scours for the power outlets and USB ports.

“I hate when a hotel room does not have conveniently placed plugs,” says the Franklin, Tenn., USA TODAY Road Warrior and health care IT consultant. “Unfortunately, there are many hotels that have not yet added plugs on top of desks, nightstands, etc.”

Delaney has an ideal number of outlets and USB ports he would like to see in a room.

“Let’s say this: plugs on the nightstand, in the bathroom, on the desk — at least four on the desk — and others around the room in easy reach, without having to duck under furniture or behind furniture,” he says.

Many older hotel rooms have outlets hidden behind nightstands and desks. But hoteliers are listening to travelers such as Delaney and thinking carefully about the "plug-ability" of new properties when designing them and retrofitting older ones to handle multiple devices.

“Research suggests a single traveler may carry upwards of three devices when they travel,” says Kate Ashton, senior vice president of brand operations for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. “The last thing you want to do when you arrive at your hotel room after a long day of traveling is search for hidden power outlets to charge up those devices only to find they’re not in convenient spots — or there aren’t enough.”

Wyndham is adding outlets throughout new and renovated guest rooms, putting them in places such as nightstands, bathroom makeup mirrors and entryways.

At Holiday Inn, the first thing hotel guests can do upon entering a room is recharge their phones. When designing the new H4 guestroom, parent company InterContinental Hotels Group conducted focus groups and consumer testing to determine where to place power and USB outlets.

One result is a “Welcome Nook,” a place for guests to hang their coat, drop their keys and plug in devices.

A movable desk and five dedicated points of power throughout the room were added.

The company just opened its first hotel with the H4 design in Bellingham, Wash. All new and renovated Holiday Inn hotels will adopt the new design.

“We know that adding outlets leads to increased guest satisfaction scores,” says Errol Williams, vice president of Americas brand operations at IHG. “In our guest reviews, guests frequently commented that they liked having multiple outlets and USB ports available, especially where plugs were located by the bedside or built into lamps or desks.”

The new Canopy by Hilton brand, which debuted in Reykjavik, Iceland last year, was designed to have about 20 outlets and USB ports in each guestroom. They are located above both the nightstands and on top of the desk,

"Our guests are busy and do not want to spend time searching for outlets or leaving devices in inconvenient locations- they want their devices charges and in easy to reach locations and we have ensured our rooms and public spaces make this happen," says Gary Steffen, global head of Canopy by Hilton.

After a $28 million redesign of the Washington Marriott Georgetown, USB ports were added to each bedside lamp. Two USBs can be found on the alarm clocks and two at the work desk.

Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels have wall-mounted outlets adjacent to the beds and in all light fixtures and lamps.

“A dead phone battery is the difference between a good day or bad,” says Jonathan Meister, vice president of design and planning for Hyatt Place and Hyatt House.

Radisson RED, a new brand by Carlson Rezidor, will typically have eight power outlets and six USB openings above or close to the desk, above each nightstand and next to the mirror in the bathroom.

“Our goal is to have a power source within arm’s reach of every area of the room where a guest may be, as well as ample sources available in public areas,” says Steven Wolf, director of architecture and design for Radisson RED.

Choice hotels has required its Sleep Inn brand, even older properties, to meet minimum recharge requirements. Outlets can usually be found in nightstand lamps, desk lamps and "Power Your Sleep" recharge stations. ​

The company is filling up guestrooms at its Cambria brand properties with outlets.

Each side of the bed has a power pack with two standard outlets and one USB port. The alarm clock and cordless phones next to the bed each have two more USB outlets, including a fast-charging one.

The desk has an even larger power pack with four standard outlets and one USB outlet.  The second phone provides two USB ports.

Another power pack with two standard outlets and one USB port is located near the Keurig coffee machine next to the wardrobe. Even the full-length mirror has a charging station next to it.

That suits Road Warrior Kevin Korterud just fine. The New Albany, Ohio, technology consultant typically travels with four devices. The more plugs the better, and if there are many in one spot, he is thrilled.

“I like to have four in a centralized location,” he says. “When I’m in a hurry to check out of a hotel, I like to have all of my chargers in one place, so I won’t forget them. I lost track of how many chargers I have bought over the years when I left them in hotel rooms in a hurry to leave.”

The plug-ability of public spaces is another focus of concern for guests and hotels.

"More and more of our guests who are traveling solo enjoy being ‘socially alone’ and prefer to work in a public space rather than their room," says Randy Gaines, senior vice president of operations for new openings in the Americas at Hilton. "Where we used to have hooks under bars for people to hang a purse or jacket, we often now have outlets to make it easier for people to sit at the bar or a communal table and have a drink or meal while using their laptop."

Wyndham Hotels is adding plugs to tables and banquettes in their bars and restaurants, in seating areas in the lobbies and throughout hotels’ fitness centers and meeting rooms.

Cambria’s “Hang Out” area has power outlets in the inside arm of the sofas. There is also power in the base of banquettes and sofas and at communal tables in the bar and dining spaces. Outlets are located next to purse hooks at the bar front.

On the street level of the New York Marriott Marquis, there is a Mobile Qubes kiosk, where guests can borrow a mobile phone charger for the day for a fee and drop it back in the kiosk box at the end of the day. Most of the food and beverage outlets at the hotel have Marriott Cubes on the tables, where multiple items can be charged at the same time.

At the new Arlo NoMad in New York City, one of the most popular spots to sit at in the second-floor bar is not near the bartender but a sofa with a power station adjacent to it.

Most of the drinking venues at Arlo NoMad, and its sister property Arlo SoHo, have outlets on the face of the bar, so patrons don’t have to ask the bartender to charge their devices for them.

“They are in constant use by our guests,” says Maggie Houston, general manager at Arlo Nomad.