News - Magazine Article

Automated Valet and US Parking Create Custom Valet System for Luxury Condominium

Valet parking for a residential site comes with unique and difficult challenges. Because of the potential for familiarity and recurring use, residents’ attitudes and opinions about the service and convenience of the operation are vital for its success. The same familiarity that makes good service the most important factor for the resident can also increase the risk of diminished vigilance and lapses in protocol by the staff. Safeguards in the form of technology, equipment and procedures must be in place to keep residents happy and profits secure.

A valet operation serving a multifamily residence will see the same customers arrive and depart every day. Residents and valets will become familiar with each other over time and they and the process of receiving and delivery of vehicles will be a part of residents’ daily lives.

Residential valet customers are leaving or coming home and that makes the experience much more personal. The goal of any operation serving residential customers would be to make the process as seamless, fast and predictable as possible. Customers patronizing a residential valet operation should not feel that turning over their cars to valets is an inconvenience of any kind. For the operator, the goal, while providing excellent service, is to always protect the bottom line.

One Miami is a residential condo in Florida with valet parking provided by US Parking, Inc. of Miami. US Parking chose Automated Valet®’s AVPM® for its operating system and the installation has been functioning for several months.

“We have put in place our service along with Automated Valet®’s technology,” says US Parking, Inc. General Manager Art Evans. “Valet service in this setting must be fast, secure and customized to meet the needs of the facility. We wanted to put the best possible procedures in place for the residents at this condominium.’’

US Parking Inc. is one of the oldest parking companies in Miami with 35 years in the parking business.

Their services include parking consulting for residential and commercial, valet parking and garage management and leasing.

“One Miami is a unique facility with complex operating requirements,” Evans says. “We don’t want the residents or other customers to have any idea how complicated it is. We want them to drive in and drive out without a moment’s thought.”

From their front door to their car door and back, residents at One Miami are provided with the latest in technology to make their valet experience as pleasant as possible. Many of these features serve the customer and the operator as well.

The site is equipped with technology that protects revenue and makes the entry and exit process move quickly. On entry, residents will find the procedure is simplified by several AVPM® features. Bluetooth scanners recognize VIN numbers to identify residents’ cars. The scanning process of vehicles by IP Cameras to record preexisting damages takes less than a second. As soon as a vehicle enters the system, the AVPM® Operation Board tracks and monitors its location and status as well as the secure delivery and safekeeping of its keys. If a set of keys is not delivered to the dispatch station within 15 minutes of receipt, valets and management are notified.

For the operator, the Operation Board keeps everything in order by providing real time reporting of the status of each car whether it is parked or en route and prevents the confusion and expense caused by lost keys and vehicles. When it is time to deliver the car, employees are not scrambling to find it or its keys. Residents are not inconvenienced by disorganization or human error. The operator is not plagued with fraudulent damage claims or the anger of a customer whose keys have gone missing.

“We chose Automated Valet over other operating system providers because we knew it would empower us to run this facility successfully,” says Joseph Padovano, president, US Parking. “The technology is superior and everything makes sense. The technological support is unbeatable and we trained in less than a day.” Automated Valet® CEO and founder Ken Gulec says the One Miami facility gave his company another opportunity to enhance the AVPM® system. Automated Valet® specializes in valet parking and self parking operations. AVPM® monitors and manages keys, vehicles, tickets, employees, payroll and revenue, all in one system.

“We tried to think about the needs of the customer who uses a valet service at their residence,” Gulec says. “There is a different mindset in a location like this, but with all the same practical needs of a retail or restaurant valet. What we had to do was balance the needs of the customer and the operator.”

Automated Valet’s® system includes an email request option that allows residents to send an advance email to request their vehicles. Sometime before they actually need to be on the road they can send an email to the valet for a scheduled delivery. While the resident makes his or her way to the garage, valets will ready the vehicle. This feature helps the facility maintain efficiency and accuracy of service and allows valets to deliver the car before the resident even arrives at the curb. Convenience only adds to the attraction of valet service in a residential site and a reputation for good service will solidify customers’ loyalty and patronage.

The One Miami site also offers self park services, usually negotiated on a monthly basis. Self park customers receive a garage entry pass conveniently created by the AVPM® system and use the same garage entry as valet parked vehicles. For highly detailed revenue control, the system also keeps track of monthly parkers, billing, ticket inventory and validations. Residents can purchase validations to give for their guests and the restaurant within the facility also offers validation. The AVPM® Validation Tracking System makes sure validations cannot be reused or duplicated.

Evans says the different aspects of the operating system are fulfilling their purpose successfully.

“With this new technology we have control of the factors that need to be controlled. We are able to offer speed, accuracy and service,” says Evans. “On top of that, we are able to track our business, manage our staff, prepare reports and do all the things we need to secure our profits.”

The One Miami site is also equipped with a Biometric time and attendance feature. Employees clock in and out of work with their fingerprints, making fraud impossible and payroll extremely accurate.

For safety and the peace of mind of those who call the condominium home, garage access control and face ID allow authorized residents, guest and employees into the facility and prevent entry for any others. Garage access control safeguards the operator as well, by tracking and enforcing payment before patrons depart. Face ID scans the faces of valets to secure entry and record who is moving within the facility and which employees are responsible for which transactions. These two security options also protect revenue by controlling entry and exit from the facility. Theft is limited, employee fraud is minimized and all the information is recorded should an issue arise.

Valets serving hospitality and retail facilities face a constant turnover of customers. While their needs are important and good service is
essential, the repetitive interaction is not a factor. A mistake or slow delivery can be dismissed as a fluke and a smile or apology can rectify many issues. But when a daily transaction occurs, the process will be carefully scrutinized by the customer and expected to be a non-event.

US Parking has taken a dedication to good service and Automated Valet®’s innovative system and made the valet service at One Miami a well-organized, profitable and highquality operation. The complexities of the site are addressed with inventive technology and a commitment to good service. What is most notable is that US Parking has created a valet operation where good service does not compromise revenue control and revenue control does not compromise good service.

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