buckle up... this is gonna be a read of all time.
This hotel is officially open with the first TKE EOXs in the greater DC capital region. I visited the hotel only 2ish weeks after it opened, and the right elevator was already out of service, a phenomenal start. The remaining elevator? Well... let's just say, there's a reason these things only cost like $120k to install (according to the county records)... about the same cost as a 2-floor Monospace300 and 30k (25%) less than an equivalent Gen3 install. Similar to what's already on YouTube, it has a very delayed startup, the wittur guide shoes are loud and rough, and this one in particular has a loud jolt when brake releasing due to a combination of poor adjustment (the elevator jolts slightly when brake releasing) and the wittur slides making a loud noise if the elevator moves suddenly (evos do this too). There are only 3-4 other EOXs on YouTube so far though, and this seems like the first for both a fanless ride and a talking EOX. This one does seem to level a fair bit better than almost every 3300 I've been on. The regen icon when moving up is pretty interesting.
The EOX is TKE's ultra budget "glorified LULA" elevator, designed heavily from the Schindler 3300, and competes in the same space as the Gen3 Core and Monospace 300DX as well. KONE and OTIS's budget models are a whole league above both the EOX and 3300, so I'm gonna focus on this vs the 3300.
The EOX is better at (lipstick on a pig):
Doors - this is a big one. The wittur equipment is way better than what Schindler uses, even if the actual doors are thinner than standard TKE
PI appearance and fixture durability - this is kinda subjective though. I do think the EOX screen is way cleaner and better designed than Schindler's, and the animations are fluid. Fixture durability is TBD but the buttons are clicker than FI-GS. I like this voice better than Schindler's
Cab design - also subjective, but I like TKE's two-tone cab offerings for such a cheap elevator, such as this one. They offer a few more color options than Schindler and the choice between the vertical or horizontal split design.
Performance per dollar - this will change over time. This currently seems to be the cheapest way to get 200/350FPM elevators if budget is one's only concern. In a perfect world, EOXs will just be used to get faster elevators with less money, like 350FPM in 5-6 floor apartments, but of course that won't happen
The 3300 is better at (basically everything else):
Ride quality - Schindler's guide shoes are quieter and smoother than the Wittur ones TKE uses, albeit still a significant drop down from guide wheels
Noise - 3300s run much quieter, although they also have loudest in class brakes (often the loudest part of operation)
Maintenance & support - they've been on the market for significantly longer, so parts are easier to get. No 3300 I've heard of has been modded or replaced yet (not counting COP replacements)
Chimes - more unique lol
Not taking 5 seconds to start moving
Not having an ugly AF COP
This is the hotel built next to my work that I was watching get built for 1.5 years. Obviously, I was wondering for a while what elevators the builders would install here, knowing that Hilton is completely varied in what they install in every single Home2Suites that goes up. Around the time I found out Loudoun County has elevator records, I peeped the two elevator permits for this building, and read "Furnish and install MRL traction elevator. 1 of 2." Contact listed TK Elevator, and speed at 150FPM. I knew full well that evos started at 200FPM, and the hoist type was electric... so I was like "no way... this is gonna be the first?" and basically immediately started texting this to ElevatorsOfVA, Baron, DMVElevators, AdazElevatorz, Uncommon Elevators, etc. and posted on my YouTube feed shortly after. I drove over to the front of the hotel semi frequently, either if I got lunch at Taco Bell/CFA across the street, or on a whim to check the progress, and started spotting the TKE vans between July and September (which btw is a long time to be installing an EOX marketed towards installing in less than a month lol, but this is the very first for the region so the techs are unfamiliar). Eventually, the hotel's website went live, with an opening date originally scheduled for March 2026, with it getting pushed back to May 2026. As we got into Fall 2025, those dates got pushed up significantly, first to January 13ish 2026, then up a whole month to December 6-7, 2025, and that's what ended up happening. I'm sure there's still some construction finishing up, especially in the back area for the patio and stuff, but it's open for business, and here we are... we do indeed have the DC region's first EOXs.
Since this hotel did open in 2025, I wanted to take the opportunity to film and process these elevators before 2026... to symbolize the disappointment of riding the new econobox elevator model.
Recorded 12/27/25
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