This past year was a big year for us at The Valet Spot and we have even bigger plans for 2014 which we’ll be sharing soon. Before we close the book on 2013, we wanted to take a look back on some of the big events this year.
Credit: Paul Swansen | Flickr
Valet Parking in the News
2013 was an event-filled year for the valet parking industry. It’s an exciting time in the industry. A lot of big things are happening that are improving businesses and operations as a whole.
Software was huge in 2013, a number of valet parking apps were launched. One company, ParkWhiz, made headlines when they raised 2 million dollars in funding with their software that helps you book parking spots ahead of time.
This seems to be a really popular service with more and more companies like this popping up. It seems as a culture, we are moving more towards mobile and software as a service. Perhaps we should make a special phone holder on our valet podiums 😉
Los Angeles caused quite a stir when they imposed fees for valets. Author Dennis Romero criticized Los Angeles saying that “private property owners now hold the keys to the valet kingdom.” As if parking in LA wasn’t hard enough, these fees and regulations make being a valet in LA a bit harder.
There was a valet incident with Chris Brown over apparently ten dollars. While celebrities get the short end of the stick when it comes to their mistakes being magnified on the world stage, this blow up seemed a bit over the top. Luckily for Chris Brown, ArtofManliness can teach him and all of us how to use valet parking.
The National Parking Association held there esteemed 2013 Valet Parking Olympics. Events consisted of Key Jumble, Luggage Load, Slalom and Valet Relay. Congrats to Towne Park for their 2nd place overall finish!
Yes, it seemed everywhere you looked there was a story about the valet industry. Even Disney jumped on board with valet parking downtown!
New and Improved Valet Parking Equipment
We introduced two new products in 2013 and another was developed that’s due in February 2014. The Professional Kiosk is a modernly designed premium podium for people that want an upscale, classy look. With stainless steel accents and a curved design, this podium really stands out. The second product, the Compact Podium, is our smallest podium for when space really matters. It’s still stylish with steel accents and can be upgraded with the LED kit illuminating the whole front panel.
We also made lots of improvements to our current line of valet podiums thanks to feed back from our customers. Here is a recap of some of the changes we made this year:
Improved Drawers
- Reinforced the handle of the drawer with an additional plate for support and improved the locking nut to keep it locked firmly in place.
- Beefed up the welding, strengthening the face of the drawer.
- Improved the locking nut that secures the sliding track.
Improved Handles
- We Beefed up the size of the handle, reinforcing the door and drawer of the podium.
- We Updated the locking mechanism, firmly securing the handle even after extended heavy use.
- We switched to high grade stainless steel, making the handle even more resistant to corrosion and wear.
The Valet Parking Podcast
Perhaps, the biggest thing we did in 2013 was start The Valet Parking Podcast. This is where we connect with influencers and valet parking professionals and discuss what it takes to run and operate a successful valet parking operation. We released four episodes in the last few months of 2013 and we look forward to releasing many more in 2014. We hope to continue providing valuable insights into the parking industry and elevate businesses as a whole. Some previous episodes covered valet insurance, generating leads for your business, and going behind the scenes of a 400 location valet operation.
Lifetime Guarantee on Valet Podiums
Also this year we introduced our Lifetime Guarantee. The guarantee make sure we are holding ourselves and our suppliers to the highest quality standards possible. This is the first and only guarantee of it’s kind in the valet industry and we are proud to deliver on our promises to our customers.
Cheers to 2013
And everyone in the valet parking industry that rocked it! We are ready and excited for 2014. Bring it on!
P.S. Is there any event from 2013 that we missed or you think we should’ve included? Let us know in the comments!