It’s an issue nearly everyone with a cellphone runs into while they travel: how to keep the device charged.
Many bring their charger on the trip … and then lose it. Some even pay the heavy price of upgrading their phone to a new model with a longer-lasting battery.
June Zhu, an entrepreneur who moved from her native China to the United States in 2013, believes her company has another solution. ChargerGoGo provides phone-charging kiosks for commercial venues. It has a presence at the Las Vegas Convention Center with seven kiosks and at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The service allows a customer to rent a temporary portable battery-charger, which is small enough to fit into a back pocket and comes with universal connector cords that fit Apple and Samsung products.
The device charges fully in about 70 minutes and costs a few dollars, Zhu said. Once the device is fully charged, customers return the device to the kiosk.
Zhu referred to Las Vegas as a “pilot” market, but the idea seems to be catching on quickly. She’s talking to resort officials on the Strip and with Allegiant Stadium about expanding ChargerGoGo’s footprint.
“ I think this type of service will eventually become like Wi-Fi for any type of offline business,” Zhu said.
Chris Meyer, CEO of a meetings and trade industry consulting company, said he’s impressed with what ChargerGoGo offers.
“One of the most frequent requests our clients receive from customers is to help them charge their phones,” Meyer said. “ChargerGoGo kiosks enable customers to charge their phones worry-free while they’re at a meeting and events facility, bar, café or any other commercial venue.”
With ChargerGoGo, Zhu would like to get to the point where the kiosks are so common in Las Vegas, a visitor wouldn’t have to worry much about finding a station for a battery drop-off.
Zhu moved the company from California to Las Vegas in August 2020 because of tax benefits and because “this city is all about conventions and hospitality. That’s our target market.”
For now, the kiosks are geared more toward specific events, such as a boxing match or concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena, or a trade show such as CES at the convention center, but Zhu said they are also good for places like restaurants, coffee shops and hospitals.
ChargerGoGo also had some kiosks available during Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas in October.
“When you get a few big, reputable clients, you tend to get noticed, which makes it easier to partner with more of those businesses,” Zhu said. “We’re looking at arenas, convention centers, hotels, casinos, nightclubs, all of those types of businesses.”
A kiosk station that contains six battery packs costs $390. A 40-pack kiosk costs just under $3,900.
Zhu said China is ahead of the U.S. in offering options to charge cellphones, though she’s confident her business can help provide more options for American phone users.
“America is a little bit more of a mature market,” Zhu said. “There are some options that already existed in America, such as perhaps USB ports at a restaurant or a charging stand at an airport, though people have to stay there as their phone is being charged. I think we have a lot of room to grow our concept here.”