Valet parking is popular in certain parts of the Valley, but it appears Sky Harbor Airport is not among them. A pilot program at Terminal 4 may never fully take off.
Sky Harbor’s valet parking program offers two options: make a reservation to leave your car with a valet at the curb or just pull into the garage and hand your keys to a valet.
During the first 13 months, the airport reported 7,646 valet transactions, totaling fewer than 25,000 days parked. Aviation Director Jim Bennett told a council subcommittee the airport has potentially lost approximately $420,000.
“That is due to the business arrangements that we have with the valet parkers where they get to retain a majority of the fee that the customer pays to park whereas if they were self-parking in our facilities we would retain a majority of the fee,” he said.
According to the Aviation Department, industry benchmarking determines a successful program should represent about 5 percent of volume, but the valet pilot program captured 0.42 percent during its first 13 months.
If the bottom line doesn’t improve, Councilwoman Thelda Williams said valet service should end and Bennett agreed. A decision will be made after the pilot program wraps up in about nine months.
