Luxe Valet, a San Francisco-based smartphone app startup, is planning to extend service to Boston in the near future, the company announced on their website on Tuesday.
Luxe Valet allows customers to pinpoint their location and drop their car off anywhere in the city, where a valet will come and pick it up, their website states. The valets will park the vehicles in garages, where the company has arranged a special rate, and when the Luxe customer is ready to leave, they tell the company where they want their car returned, and it will be delivered to them within 15 minutes.
“The main benefit, first and foremost, is never having to look for a spot again and knowing you have a parking spot right in front because you have a valet to meet you,” said Sarahjane Sacchetti, a marketing and communications consultant at Luxe Valet.
Co-founder and CEO, Curtis Lee, launched Luxe Valet after continually struggling to find a parking spot in San Francisco, making him late to dinner reservations, Sacchetti said. Luxe Valet has become a successful app in San Francisco, and the company has chosen to expand to Boston after deeming the parking a “pain point” for the city.
One of the main struggles Luxe has is keeping up with the demand of customers, Sacchetti said. For Boston, Luxe is in the process of recruiting valets to begin service.
Jeffrey Furman, an associate professor of strategy and innovation at the Boston University School of Management, said Luxe Valet seems to be a business whose long-term prospects are entirely consistent with market competition.
“Whether they can offer this service at a price that makes it more attractive for people to park their cars with a rolling valet, rather than to drive them from all the way to a parking garage is a complete experiment,” Furman said.
In San Francisco, Luxe Valet charges $5 an hour with a $15 maximum for customers. The company is still figuring out the price points for Boston to ensure a high value for their product, Sacchetti said.
Because parking in Boston is often an issue, especially with the record-breaking piles of snow on the streets, Furman said he can see some issues with the app’s potential for success.
“The potential logistical problem is if this is used mostly for big events, you’ll have a peak motor problem where everyone will like their car back at once and so you need lots of workers to bring the cars back at the same time,” Furman said.
Ian Mashiter, a professor of strategy and innovation in SMG, said the company provides a good price, given the cost of downtown parking.
“It’s a very interesting concept. One of the key measures of success is whether they can find cheap parking,” Mashiter said. “The problems will be recruiting the valets. Clearly, they have to recruit them and do some background checks because I don’t want to give my car to somebody who’s not going to look after it properly. I think the dangers in the business model are around reputation.”
The success of the smartphone app in San Francisco encouraged the company to expand to Los Angeles, and they are continuing to move to cities around the country, including Chicago and Seattle.
“It’s a really clever idea, and clearly they’ve got some very good investors behind them,” Mashiter said.
Several residents said the lack of parking in Boston would make the app extremely useful, even to residents.
Clarissa Hadge, 28, of Jamaica Plain said the app will do well in Boston, especially among college students.
“With the rise of Uber and Lyft, everything has become more tech savvy, and I think it’s worth it,” she said.
Sally Elliott, 60, of Back Bay, said the app pinpoints the problem of parking in the city.
“It’s so hard to find parking, but I have a spot because of that. It’s very difficult, even if you’re a resident,” she said.
Jeff Ryan, 25, of the North End, said parking is a significant problem in Boston.
“Living in the North End, I’m surrounded by busy traffic and below par drivers,” he said. “What makes matters worse is that parking is next to impossible. All first come first serve basis, which frustrates a lot of drivers who are unable to regularly find spots and have to resort to paying astronomical prices every month to rent a spot.”
