pgolier

For those who are interested, I ended up parking for the 12 days at Extra Car, on International Blvd.

http://www.extracar.com/cgi-bin/extracar/welcome

They were great - very helpful and friendly staff and pretty reasonable. I ended up buying a pre-paid 15 day punch card which came to $110 after taxes. Since I parked there for only 12 days, I still have 3 days left on the card.

The lot is "valet" (i.e. stacked parking) so you do have to leave your key with them, but they know when you are returning, so the car is ready for you when you return to the lot.

It was a good experience, even at busy holiday time.

Jeeves

The Airstar/Shuttlepark lots are closing on April 30, 2008 to make room for the Port of Seattle Consolidated Rental Car Facility. Losing those two lots will eliminate quite a few parking spots from the off-airport inventory.

They say that they will reopen after a brief closure in a different location.

http://www.airstarparking.com/

Seattlenerd

As before, the nearby (across Hwy 99) ShuttlePark2 lot is not affected:

http://www.shuttlepark2.com/

IK in Seattle

I was a big fan of Shuttle Park 2, and I've parked there probably 100 times since it opened. I was not to trilled when I returned last night and was told the new AAA rate was now $10.95 a day, up 35% from the $8.10 a day I had just paid a couple weeks ago.

At that price point I will be heading back to Master Park A or B.

Fredd

Good to flag this. ^ We've noticed too and are continuing to look at other options. Once the rapid transit is running to the airport I'm hoping for a better supply-and-demand parking situation for out-of-towners.

We've also parked at a variety of hotels when we're not leaving the car at a son's house in Issaquah. I worry about break-ins and or car theft when we leave the car in open hotel lots - I know that can even occur in enclosed parking lots but it's less likely. We stayed in one not-too-expensive hotel (forget the name) that included Master Park parking in its Park and Fly. For a trip over a week it would have been cheaper to buy the room even if we weren't staying in it!

Seattlenerd

Interesting. I just quickly checked their Web site at www.shuttlepark2.com and noticed they have two new coupons -- one is 3 days/$30 for midweek parking that begins Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday,and is good starting today (4/13) through 6/30/09. The second is a 15% off posted rate coupon, also good through 6/30/09. They can't be combined.

But the 15% off the $12.70 posted daily rate makes the coupon rate $10.80 a day, actually cheaper than the new AAA rate (which I can't find anywhere).

Fredd

We just used SP2 again last week and offered the discount coupon along with a AAA card. The cashier confirmed the discount coupon was cheaper.

Nonetheless their price has been creeping higher and higher as noted by IK in Seattle.

Seattlenerd

One other note: ShuttlePark 2 is not listed on the AAA Washington Web site any longer as a preferred parking partner:

http://www.aaawa.com/discounts/travel/index.asp

MasterPark, Ajax and Diamond are.

Jeeves

I'm another frequent SP2 parker who has been using the AAA coupon for quite some time. I used the 15% off for my last stay. Even with the big increase, they are still cheaper than many of the other major lots. The Point Club is another benefit. I've accumulated enough points for a free week long stay.

I better cash those points in soon before they start thinking about devaluing them.

Seattlenerd

No kidding. The lot was pretty unapologetic when I offhandedly commented about their abrupt dropping of the AAA discount on Friday.

IK in Seattle

I emailed the SP2 manager about the 40% jump in the discounted price. The response was they are still less one of the other AAA lots (Master Park), and they have the Point Club. Of course Master park is now only $1 a day more and they have Valet Parking, I don't have to stand in the rain, it is closer to the airport, I can get Alaska Miles and I don't have to wait while they drop off 4 or 5 other people before they get to my car.

He also seems to have disregarded the other AAA lot (Ajax) which is now $3.60 a day less.

Jeeves

SP2 also has less frequent shuttles compared to the other major lots. The main reason I have used SP2 in the past was the lower price and the point club. Now the price advantage is mostly gone.

BearX220

Yeah, the thrill is gone re: ShuttlePark2. The current "rack rate" is $12.70 a day, although they're still offering 15%-off coupons online and also a 4-days-for-$35 deal. But it wasn't so long ago that they were couponing for $7 to $7.75 a day. And the lame, erratic shuttle-bus service is a big strike against them -- I'm no longer willing to overlook it. After a late transcon, tired and cranky, I hate having to shiver in the dank pickup alley at SEA for up to 25 minutes and phone in at least twice to summon a shuttle.

I've been using SeaTacPark lately (the one with the green VW Beetle logo) -- also a ways from the airport, but there's a $10.95-a-day coupon online and much more frequent, better-run shuttles than ShuttlePark2.

My family and I have a long vacation coming up and none of the major, non-sketchy parking providers offer much of a deal for extended stays. SeaTacPark will do $150 a month plus tax, but I think it'll be cheaper to order up Town Cars at either end of the trip and leave our own car at home.

Jeeves

For long trips, I thought it would be a win-win to pay a friend or family member the money you would have spent on parking or a shuttle service and have them do the drop-off/pick-up. Lots of folks are in need of cash and this would be a good way for someone to make some quick cash. So far, I haven't had the right circumstances to follow through with my plan.

Fredd

We sometimes stay over with a son and his family in Issaquah, and will go out of our way to leave our car with them on longer trips. Since they have three very young children and a demanding schedule we won't let him drop us off or pick us up unless it's on a weekend. Still, the last time we took a cab back to their place we discovered fares had significantly increased and the tab was about $60 with tip!

The shuttle service costs money too and is less convenient so we may just have to hang on until the rapid transit completion almost inevitably tilts the supply-and-demand ratio back toward the customer.

P.S. BearX220's comments are also spot-on. ^