Would you like to transform your hotel’s parking from a necessary evil and source of guest upset to a highly profitable part of your hotel that improves your customer satisfaction?
If you are an urban, resort or airport hotel, valet parking can provide significant profit and operational benefits, especially if you have access to a third-party valet service or temporary help.
Four ways valet parking can help:
- Increases your existing parking capacity by 10% or more
- Enables you to control access to your spaces
- Increases your guests’ safety
- Provides more convenience and better experience for your customers
Increases capacity
Valet parking can create a minimum of 10-15% extra capacity in your existing lot by enabling you to stack cars one behind the other in parking spaces and park cars in non-parking spaces. If you have access to off-property space to park cars, you can add even more capacity.
Controlled access
For more efficient access to your guests’ cars, valet parking enables you to separate your hourly customers from your overnight guests. Valet parking also gives you flexibility re: where to park cars in your lot for special situations:
- Parking cars together for attendees at a specific event can enable a quicker exit.
- Before a snowstorm, putting all cars in one section makes snow removal easier.
Increased guest safety
With valet parking, you are able to restrict guest access to your lot, so you no longer need to worry about guests getting hit while walking through your lot or hitting other guests’ cars. There is also less worry about strangers and other potential safety concerns in your lot.
Convenience and better experience
- Urban hotels – You can offer valet parking for local customers who do not want to spend time driving around in search of a space or would rather wait inside your hotel instead of in a garage when picking up their car.
- Airport hotels – Via valet parking, you can pick up your guest’s car at the airport’s departure area and deliver to them at baggage claim upon their arrival.
- Resort hotels – For waterfront and nearby hotels, valet parking can provide the capability for you to offer combination parking/water access packages during slow periods.
Two pricing keys to encourage valet parking at your hotel:
- Keep the incremental price of your valet parking vs. self-parking reasonable. Ideally, $5 or less above hourly self-parking options, $5/day above overnight and weekly self-parking rates.
- Provide at least three to four hourly pricing options (0-2 hours, 3-4 hours, etc.) at prices competitive with nearby lots, net of the valet increment.
Parking can become an extremely profitable part of your hotel’s operations. Expanding your valet parking can help you increase your hotel’s parking revenue, profit and customer satisfaction, plus improve your operations, without major investment.
