room2 Southampton wins £10,000 prize from Drax to install electric vehicle charging
room2’s managing director and founder Robert Godwin accepts first place prize at the Drax Electric Vehicle event
room2 Southampton has been announced as the winner of the Drax Electric Vehicles competition at the EEA Summit, held yesterday on Tuesday 28 March 2023 at The Westin London City Hotel. Worth £10,000, the prize includes the supply, installation and first three years of free-of-charge software, service and maintenance of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station that will be added to room2 Southampton’s site, adding to its already stellar sustainability credentials.
This competition for Energy & Environment Alliance’s (EEA) members launched after research from Drax found that to accommodate electric vehicles, one in ten parking spaces needed to have an EV charging point, which will increase to one in five over the next ten years. This generous prize aims to urge businesses to keep up with this rapidly growing EV market.
We’re delighted to congratulate room2Southampton from the Lamington Group, who have been selected as the winner of this year's Drax competition. The judges were highly impressed by their submission, which highlighted the property's outstanding sustainability credentials. The addition of a Drax EV charging station will complement the hotel's existing facilities. We’re hopeful that this partnership sets an excellent example for other hotels looking to prioritise sustainability. Paul George, Commercial Manager, Drax
The market for EV charging is rapidly growing, and hotels can benefit significantly from offering this service to their guests. Not only can it provide a competitive advantage and generate additional revenue, but it can also reduce the hotel's carbon footprint and attract eco-conscious travellers and business travellers who drive EVs.”
room2 Southampton was the world’s first hometel and provides guests with the convenience and service of a hotel combined with the comforts and flexibility of their home, including fully equipped kitchens, sumptuous king beds and spacious spots to both work and relax. The hometel also provides spectacular views over Queens Park and the picturesque harbour, offering the perfect place to unwind. Now, with the addition of the electric vehicle charging station, Southampton can enhance guests' stays while protecting the environment.
room2 Southampton is implementing sustainability practices throughout the building to carry out founder, Robert Godwin’s, pledge to develop and operate whole life net zero carbon buildings following the successful launch of room2 Chiswick - the world’s first whole life net zero hometel. To work towards this goal, room2 Southampton has installed solar panels, switched to a renewable energy provider, achieved zero waste to landfill and designed a bespoke 3-in-1 bin assisting guests in making a conscious effort to recycle and properly dispose of waste. Passionate about encouraging guests to make more environmentally conscious choices in their everyday lives, the new charging station will now give guests a more sustainable option when travelling to the property via car.
We are honoured and very grateful to have won the Drax Electric Vehicles competition and hope this brings a new level of convenience to our guests that are looking to travel sustainably. We are committed to improving our sustainability practices wherever possible and the new EV charging points will be an important step in driving this forward. Thank you to Drax for making this possible! Managing Director and Founder of room2 hometels, Robert Godwin
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About room2
room2 is the UK’s first hometel brand, conceived in 2015. It is the third accommodation brand launched by the Lamington Group, an independent family-owned real estate investment and development company, which was founded in the 1960s and is based in West London. The brainchild of brothers Robert and Stuart Godwin, former members of the British Olympic Development Sailing team, hometels combine the best elements from Airbnb, serviced apartments and boutique hotels in an offering designed to appeal equally to corporate and leisure guests and those seeking alternative forms of residential accommodation. With innovative features such as 24-hour stays as standard, mattress selection, room2’s highly flexible offer provides kitchens in every room and is available from one night to one year.
room2 currently has three operational locations, in Southampton, Hammersmith and room2 Chiswick, which opened in December 2021 marking the world’s first fully whole life net zero hotel. room2 has a further pipeline of live projects across the UK with a Gross Development Value of over £100 million, including sites in Belfast, Fulham and Liverpool, featuring a mix of wholly owned assets and those pre-leased to room2 by development partners. room2 has signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, The Climate Pledge and The UN Race to Zero and is committed to accelerating climate action to cut global tourism emissions. room2’s Southampton property has recently been rated as the top hotel in Southampton by TripAdvisor thanks to their guest reviews.
About the Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA)
The Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA) is a not-for-profit coalition of hospitality investors, developers, asset managers and operators, working as a collective to transition the industry to Net Zero Carbon and ESG stewardship in a scientifically robust and commercially sustainable way.
