Making Your Valet Service Work For You

Hiring a valet service is an excellent way to make your guests feel more welcome and relaxed at your event while simultaneously reducing your planning load. While a valet service can go a long way towards reducing the amount of planning required for parking, they don't remove the burden entirely. There are still steps that it is necessary to take to make the most of your event valet parking service. By following these tips to plan and work with your valet service before the day of your event, you will help to guarantee that your guests have an exemplary parking experience.

Fully Understand Your Parking Needs

Rough estimates are not good enough when it comes to planning for parking. Underestimating your parking needs can lead to disaster on the day of your event, especially if you have not sufficiently prepared for overflow (see below for more on that!). If your event is relatively small and parking space is plentiful, then it may not be necessary to conduct detailed research. If, however, parking is limited and you expect a large number of attendees, then it will pay off in the long run to have accurate parking estimates to provide to your valet service. These estimates will better them to develop an efficient parking plan and prevent traffic jams at the drop off location.

Consider Your Overflow Options

What happens if your primary parking becomes full during the event? This eventuality may not be a concern if you are not working with limited parking space, but it can be a significant issue if your event's location does not have plentiful free parking available. Most valet services will not bring cars to off-site parking locations, so once your on-site parking is full the valet personnel may need to direct your guests to overflow areas. Having this information on hand in advance will help to prevent confusion and get your guests parked quickly even if no room is available in your main lot.

Review Your Valet Service's Plan

Once your valet service performs an in-person visit to your venue location, they will develop a parking plan for the day of your event. Request to see this plan at least several days in advance. While the service you hire will have experience and expertise in parking planning, you still know your event's specific needs better than anyone else. By reviewing the plan, you can bring up any apparent issues or request changes that might better work with your guests' needs. Taking this action early in the process provides time for discussion and for the plan to be modified as necessary.