By Monique Uhlenhaker
Revelers in downtown Austin, Texas, have a new, and safe, option for parking their vehicles when visiting Sixth Street, the historic entertainment district in the city’s downtown core. In late August, the Austin-based valet and parking service company Next Level Valet began operating a valet stand that emphasizes customer safety and responsibility in the tourist attraction and known party hotspot.
Promoting safety
Operating in this location from 4:30 pm to 3:00 am Thursday through Saturday, the new valet stand aims to “promote safe streets and safe behavior” while also offering a convenient service for drivers, said Andies Shepherd, the CEO of Next Level Valet. “We want to promote a safe, vibrant city,” Shepherd said.
Vehicles will be parked in the Littlefield parking garage at 508 Brazos Street, while those left past 3:00 am will be available for retrieval from the nearby Driskill Hotel. Valet patrons are charged a flat rate of $25 during operating hours and $45 for overnight parking. Participating area businesses use a QR code to validate $15 parking for their customers.
In the event a customer appears inebriated or unable to drive their vehicle safely, attendants will assist them in obtaining a rideshare service or taxi to get home, Shepherd said. “Paying that overnight storage fee is a lot cheaper than a DWI [arrest],” he noted.
Gathering feedback
For the first 90 days, Next Level Valet is operating the program as a pilot to garner customer input for use in improving its services. To this end, the company uses the valet software solution from Vaya Valet to manage its operations, including receiving feedback from customers.
“We felt this was the best opportunity to really engage with the experience of the guests and drive our performance,” Shepherd said. “We felt like this tool really gave us the best opportunity to be able to assess that.”
Monique Uhlenhaker is a contributing editor for Parking Today. She can be reached at [email protected].
