EV Charging for Leisure Venues: Longer Stays, Different Needs
Holiday parks, distilleries, golf clubs and visitor attractions are not motorway services. Here is how to plan EV charging around the way leisure guests actually stay.
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A holiday park is not a motorway service station, and EV charging for leisure venues should not be planned as if it were. Leisure guests stay for hours, days or a full week. That changes which chargers make sense, where they go and what guests expect from them.
What do leisure venues need from EV charging?
EV charging for leisure venues works best when it is matched to how long guests stay. Most leisure visits last hours or days, so reliable 7kW to 22kW AC chargers usually serve guests better than expensive rapid chargers. Placement, simple payment and support when something goes wrong matter as much as speed.
How leisure charging differs from a quick stop
Guests stay longer
A family on a week-long holiday, a group on a distillery tour or a golfer playing a round all leave their car parked for hours. Over that time a standard AC charger adds plenty of range. Rapid charging, which suits a 20-minute stop on a main road, adds cost and power demand that most leisure sites do not need. We cover this in more depth in designing EV charging around dwell time.
Different guests use the same site differently
One venue can have several kinds of visitor. Day guests at a restaurant or spa, overnight guests, staff on shifts and golfers all park for different lengths of time. The best installations give each group the right charger in the right car park, rather than one type everywhere.
Many sites are rural, and power is limited
Leisure venues are often in the countryside, on the coast or on islands, where grid capacity is tight and the nearest public charger may be miles away. That makes on-site charging more valuable to guests and makes it more important to work within the power you have.
Guests arrive tired and unfamiliar with the site
A guest who has driven several hundred miles does not want to download an unfamiliar app or hunt for a charger in the dark. Clear signs, simple payment and 24/7 driver support are part of the guest experience. Our guide to EV charging that guests don't need help with sets out what that looks like.
Is this you?
Guests or owners are asking whether you have EV charging before they book.
Your site is rural, and the nearest public charger is a long way off.
You have more than one car park, or more than one kind of visitor.
You run several sites and want them all to work the same way.
You have been quoted for rapid chargers but most guests stay for hours or overnight.
How to plan EV charging for a leisure venue
Step 1: Map who parks where, and for how long
List each car park and who uses it: overnight guests, day visitors, staff and any club or event parking. Note how long each group usually stays. This is the brief for everything that follows. Our hospitality and destination charging page explains how Connekt approaches it.
Step 2: Survey the power and the layout
A site survey checks available capacity, cable routes and the best bays for charging. On rural sites it often shows that a well-chosen set of AC chargers can work within the existing supply, without a costly upgrade.
Step 3: Check the funding routes, especially in Scotland
Funding options differ across the UK. In Scotland, the Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund, delivered by Energy Saving Trust, supports publicly accessible chargers on Scottish islands and in remote rural areas. Our Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund page explains who is eligible. Funding options elsewhere in the UK change over time, so book a call and we will tell you what your venue could qualify for.
Step 4: Plan the installation around your season
Leisure venues cannot close for a week of groundworks in August. Plan works for quieter periods, phase them across car parks, and make sure the installer reinstates the ground fully so the site looks as it did before.
Step 5: Make it easy for guests and invisible for staff
Guests should be able to find a charger, start it and pay without asking at reception. Behind the scenes, chargers on Connekt's network run on Connekt Cloud, with remote monitoring and 24/7 UK driver support, so your team is not the help desk.
Real examples from leisure venues
Verdant Leisure: 12 holiday parks
Verdant Leisure worked with Connekt on a fully managed rollout across 12 of its holiday parks, with 20 chargers and 39 connectors. A mix of 7.4kW and 22kW chargers was chosen to suit each park's power and guest usage, and works were coordinated park by park to keep disruption to guests to a minimum.
Coorie Retreats: luxury glamping in Galloway
At Coorie Retreats, on the Rhins of Galloway, guests often travel several hundred miles and stay a minimum of two nights. Connekt installed a dual 7.4kW AC charger for overnight charging, with electrical upgrades, connectivity improvements and groundworks, working within the site's available power.
Cameron House: one resort, four kinds of visitor
At Cameron House on Loch Lomond, Connekt installed 24 chargers across four locations, each matched to its users: fast chargers for guests spending a couple of hours at the resort, rapid chargers for the VIP and valet car park, 7.4kW chargers for staff, and fast chargers at the Carrick Golf Club for golfers out on the course.
For most leisure venues, the right answer is not more power. It is the right charger, in the right place, for the way each guest stays.
When this isn't the right fit
Leisure-style charging is designed for longer stays. If your venue mainly serves short stops, such as a roadside café on a busy route where drivers stay 20 minutes, rapid charging may suit you better, and the business case looks quite different. Our article on why location matters more than charger speed helps you work out which describes your site.
Frequently asked questions
What type of EV charger is best for a holiday park?
For most holiday parks, 7kW to 22kW AC chargers are the best fit. Guests usually stay overnight or for several days, so a slower charger has plenty of time to add range. AC chargers cost less to install, need less power than rapid chargers and suit rural sites where grid capacity is limited.
Should leisure venues charge guests for EV charging?
It depends on your goals. Many venues charge a tariff per kWh so the chargers cover their running costs or earn revenue, while others offer charging free as part of the stay. Coorie Retreats, for example, offers charging free of charge to guests. Our hospitality and destination charging page covers both approaches.
Is there funding for EV chargers at rural leisure venues in Scotland?
Yes, for eligible sites. The Scottish Government's Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund, delivered by Energy Saving Trust, supports publicly accessible chargers on Scottish islands and in remote rural postcodes. Eligibility and grant levels depend on location and charger type, so check the current rules on our Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund page.
How many EV chargers does a leisure venue need?
Start with how many guests drive electric and how long they stay, then allow room to grow. A small glamping site may need a single dual charger, while a multi-park operator might need several at each location. A site survey helps size the first phase and plan the cabling so more chargers can be added later.
Can EV chargers be installed without disrupting guests?
Yes, with planning. Good installers phase works around bookings, schedule groundworks for quieter periods and fully reinstate the ground afterwards. On Verdant Leisure's 12-park rollout, Connekt coordinated works at each park individually to keep disruption to guests and daily operations to a minimum.
The bottom line
Leisure guests stay longer, arrive from further away and expect charging to simply work. Plan around how long they stay, work with the power you have, and choose a partner who looks after the chargers once they are live. To talk through your venue, book a call with Connekt.
This article is general information, not electrical, legal or financial advice. Grant eligibility, regulations and tariffs differ across the UK and change over time; check the current position with a qualified installer or the relevant body before acting.
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