I see many threats about the $3.00 or so energy fee. I don't have a problem with this fee.

However, I think some hotels charge a very high parking fee. I was recently in SFO's Interconti Mark Hopkins; got a nice low special rate through Expedia; no miles (Sir, with this rate no miles!).

But then they charged me $28 a day for parking. Even when I don't count the tips for valet, that's a lot of money. And I had to park at the hotel. All parking places around the hotel were occupied by a production crew shooting a movie, driving up and down Nobhill with motorbikes.

I always have a car, and I assume most of you have. So I try to find out what are the parking fees when I book on-line. I have never seen such an information on the websites from any of the hotel chains.

Is somebody out there who has also trouble with high parking fees in hotels?

Sorry, empathy, but no sympathy from me; parking in any big crowded city is usually high. San Francisco is so expensive, that when I lived there a few years ago, the cost of insurance and parking both at home and at work (neither came along with the rent or job offer) was prohibative enough to keep me from having a car there. The same goes for tourists; this charge is just part of the landscape.

Tips for the future: Either find a cheap place to put your car (if you absolutely have to have one), or forgo the car and use the public transit. It's not a coincidence that cities with high parking rates usually have great mass transit systems (New York, San Francisco, Chicago all come to mind).

If you do some homework, you can find options to park. However, DON'T expect to find such deals on Nob Hill, Times Square, The Loop, etc. Options are (in order) SOMA (although that's getting scarce), an obscure garage on a sidestreet in Manhattan (I've found them for as cheap as $10 per night), etc. In any case, you'll need to get to and from your car, either with a cab, walking, or again, public transit.

Unfortunately, parking (free, cheap, or otherwise) is only a "given" in wide-open spaces cities, where land is not at such a premium. If you choose to do the public transit option, you're in good company; as a hotel manager (in all of the mentioned cities) I can assure you that most guests are aware of the parking expense and hassles, and do choose to take cabs or the mass transit options. For many of these people, this is viewed as part of the local color, as most residents use it as well (as opposed to the cheap/free parking cities, where public transit is sometimes unsavory). However, mass transit in these cities is exceptionally cheap, safe, and generally a lot FASTER than the car. Plus, where to you expect to park once you get to your destination? You'll go nuts trying to feed meters (if you can find them), avoid the metermaids, potential car thiefs, etc.

The American notion of the nuclear family with two/three/four cars, plentiful free parking, cheap gas, etc. (I grew up in a city where this is the norm) is simply not valid in many cities, and the trend is getting worse; now "secondary cities" like St. Louis, Cleveland, etc. are going that way.

One interesting point: Some hotels in "cheap parking zones" consider placing the parking gates/attendants to repel would be car thieves, purse snatchers, and the like, just because the delay of the parking booth presents a barrier to the quick getaway. (I know this isn't relevant to your point, but thought I'd throw that in).

Finally, I spent a night at the New York Hilton a few years back; the room was comped, but the parking was almost $50! I was similarly put out, but I paid it, as I didn't have the time to prepare for an alternative, nor to search around for one. I hope that my car slept as well as I did!

And, if they did not have to put your car in there, they could rent it out for alot more money. Or use the floor space for more rooms, or meeting rooms. Since the number of people with cars is somwhat low, then only charge those with cars.

As to the energy charge - this is crazy. We ALL need the lights on. Same with water. We ALL need the water. And the bed, we ALL need a bed. These should be part of the room rate, not an add on.

Sheraton JFK used to have free parking for guests using a parking tag. Now, they charge $10/day for mandatory valet service.

Don't forget the standard reply to the excessive parking charges.

"It is a seperate company from the hotel!"

$40.00 a nite has been quoted to me. WOW!

I 100% expect to have electricity and water when I check into a hotel. This is why I find the energy surcharge so offensive. If the hotels costs have increased, then up the room price, don't nickel and dime me.

However, as has been pointed out above, parking is only needed by some guests. And in many cities a car is rendered obsolete by the mass transit system. I live in MYC and have only driven a car about 8 times since 1994 (that's 7 years). Every one of those times was in a town without mass transit. Otherwise, I always take public transit. If my room fee were increased to lower the cost of parking for some guest that chooses not to use the other alternatives that I am using, I would be quite upset.

Electricity - it's an expected part of the room - no surcharges!

Parking - an added requested benefit only needed by some guests - parking fees are legit.

JMHO

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I wish I were 1,000 miles away

It is true about the garage usually being separate from the hotel. Ampco Parking has a lot of contracts with hotels in California, so they lease the space and it is, essentially their space.

I agree with everything above, too. SF has a good transportation system and large cities do have high parking charges. Not nice, but a fact of life.

But it is a shocker to see that on your bill when you go to check out.



[This message has been edited by Nanook (edited 05-30-2001).]

Most NY's will likely "understand" the seemingly usurious parking fees - even if we do not like them!

Seems like a General Travel forum topic to me (as do the threads on energy surcharges).

Djlawman

Two things bother me with hotel parking rates. First of all, in downtown areas, such as Boston and New York, parking is usually significantly cheaper on weekends in every garage, yet the hotels make sure to charge the full regular weekday rate. For example - daily rates of $28-$35 are the norm in Boston hotels, which is consistent with daily parking rates in all the downtown garages. Yet on weekends most downtown garages have rates in the $8-9 daily range while the hotels keep charging their usual $28-35 rates (in some cases while they stow your car in one of those $8-9 garages). The second thing that really bothers me is hotels in resort or suburban areas that have mandatory valet parking for a fee. Some examples are the Four Seasons in Palm Beach and the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. At the Four Seasons they park your car in an open lot, and then charge a daily parking fee that makes you think you are in New York City. If you have a car, you must valet, and there is no on street parking or other viable alternative (and they know it). Parking rates should be consistent with the rates in the geographic area, and not be used to gouge guests.

I agree about the resort thing. If they park your car outside, and most parking in the area is free, then please don't gouge me.

I also feel that it is perfectly appropriate to charge for parking in a high parking demand area. When I travel, I usually don't have a car, so I don't want my rate to be ratcheted up because the parking space is included. It would raise the room rate for everyone.

Djlawman/// you are right! Too bad so many people do not take the time to consider where to place these threads.

I often send an e-mail to those people. The ones with lots of posts, on the other hand, know better and are just lazy, inconsiderate or stupid.

On occasion it is difficult to decide. This obviously was not one of them.

The worst offenders (IMHO) are those that post trades all over instead of the forum so designed for trades. "I thought I would have a better chance of getting what I want that way" is the most common reply. Selfish. The purpose of separate forums is to minimize the off topic posts we must read, if we are seeking the purest of subject posts.

BeantownFlyer makes a good point about the weekend city locations and the resort locations both and I surely agree! Admittedly, I've often let the hotel garage keep the car many times even though it's one quarter the price accross the street! Shame on me, but I say to myself, well,... I'll get all those additional points!

BYW- Any chance I can convice you to perhaps edit and mollify the above post, ranles? A bit harsh, no?

just my 0.02!

I guess I'll live with parking charges at places like the Mark Hopkins in SF, in Central cities, etc., but I guess my least favorite parking trick is the mandatory parking charges where the hotels have conspired with the cities, and/or local homeowners/businesses to rip you off: Take the Glendale Hilton, for example, in LA.

Glendale has PLENTY of on street parking, and the hotel is in a big open area. Every business around it has the lots posted for towing, the city offers NO on street metered parking (even though the streets are fully wide enough for multi lanes and left turn lanes etc., and all the residential/business neighborhoods are posted as towing 3am-5am. Thus, your only choice is the $15 hotel parking, when there are literally HUNDREDS of parking spaces empty within 1 block, and THOUSANDS within 5-6 blocks, a reasonable distance to walk in a "safe" city.

You can probably cite dozens of examples identical to this if you travel on business. The Hilton Burbank and some of the Woodland Hills hotels come to mind in LA.

ranles writes:

Too bad so many people do not take the time to consider
where to place these threads.

I often send an e-mail to those people. The ones with lots of posts, on the other hand,
know better and are just lazy, inconsiderate or stupid.

On occasion it is difficult to decide. This obviously was not one of them.
=============================================
Sorry, if and when I posted this in the wrong forum.

Howver, there is a saying: If you are sitting in a glass-house, don't throw with stones.

I searched for "ranles" in The Buzz! Guess what I found there?

Author: ranles, FT Evangelist
Topic: Rental cars

Traveling to NZ in April. How do I get the best deal on a car?