03/10/2024
Let’s talk: Airport (GEG) Parking
How do you as a host deal with parking your vehicles for your guests?
A part of our Turo car rental experience as hosts has included this facet of getting and retrieving vehicles from the airport. It costs time and money and some guests seem to not realize or care about it on our end. In our goal to provide all guests equal treatment and our best effort we always try to make this delivery option as seamless as possible for them.
When we have a guest request to get the vehicle in one hour parking we typically require them to send flight ✈️ information so we can track it and make sure they can get the vehicle before the two hour limit. The nice thing about one hour parking for us is that it takes the least amount of time to find parking. It does cost hosts $4 for two hours and you risk a $30 (or more depending on time) ticket if they don’t get to it on time. Depending on your delivery fee, this cost can add up to your overall parking costs.
When a ticket does arise, it may have to be split by you and your guest, paid by you in full or them. It can be a bit awkward to approach the conversation of who’s responsible for paying the ticket if you don’t have something written in place, but fortunately most one hour deliveries go really smooth. Picking up the car in one hour is also something that can require you to drop everything to avoid getting ticketed if your guest isn’t communicating their intentions and time.
Parking in the garage and economy for delivery are two other options that require the guest to pay as they leave. To some, a $15 fee to exit GEG garage parking is a lot and that’s understandable, especially if they’re already paying a high delivery fee. The garage is nice for rainy ☔️, snow y⛄️ and super hot days. It’s closer than economy and a pretty nice option in our opinion. I think the economy lot is the least desired option for both parties. Although some guests may not mind being lost looking for their vehicle like the Seinfeld episode, I’m sure the vast majority would rather save time and spend an extra $3 to get it out of the garage.
From the guest perspective, either pulling up the vehicle to their gate and handing the keys to them or parking in one hour is ideal. From a cost and time perspective, this is not a big deal as long as the delivery fee is set appropriately to account for the hosts parking amd labor costs. Do you have someone going with you to give you a ride back, will you Uber/ Lyft back, or do you happen to have a vehicle 🚗 there that a guest returned that you can use?
I’m interested to hear what your thoughts as hosts are about airport parking. Please share your tips, tricks, or knowledge about how other hosts can maximize their time and perform airport pick-ups and drop-offs with thr maximum benefit to them and their guests.
