Take a look at hotel parking rates before you book. Some locations offer free parking, some have reasonable charges, but others have highway robbery rates, especially in big cities.
If you can’t find the rates online, call the hotel and ask to avoid parking-sticker shock after your arrival.
San Francisco is one of the worst cities in which to rent a car because hotel parking fees are outrageous and can exceed your airfare. If you plan on staying within San Francisco, you’ve got plenty of transportation options, including train, bus, street car, taxi and Uber. These options are way cheaper than the hotel parking price and the cost of the car rental itself.
Daily valet parking at the Fairmont San Francisco is $66 per night. If you went for seven nights, you’d pay $462 just for parking. The Grand Hyatt New York only offers valet parking and the cost is $60 to $70 per day.
Some hotels have special rates that bundle parking into the rate. We looked at June rates at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown, and the park-and-stay rate was $319 per night, but the cheapest rate was $279 per night, so you would pay $40 more per night by renting a car. If you must have a car, the park-and-stay rate would be worth booking because the rate for both on-site parking and for valet parking is $65 per day.
If you must have a car, you can look for alternate parking lots nearby, but make sure they are in safe locations.
If you only need use of a car for part of your trip, consider renting just for those days. You will pay less for the rental and parking fees. If you are in San Francisco, for example, and you want to go to the wine country or San Jose, rent a car for the day. Some hotels have car rental agencies in the building, but check prices because they can be high.
While you will want to avoid renting a car altogether in some cities, in others it can be hard to get around without one.
In Texas, things are spread out. If you are visiting Houston, unless you are staying downtown the whole time, you will probably want a car. Daily hotel parking fees are generally much cheaper, and sometimes parking is even free.
You’ll pay much less than at places where real estate is at a premium, like New York, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, which are all cities where I don’t think you need a rental car because of good public transportation.
Los Angeles is another city where I would suggest renting a car. You’ll want to hit the beach, the Santa Monica Pier and Disney.
If you go to Florida, you probably will want a car, but there are some ways to get by without one. If you are going to Orlando just to visit Disney, you could get by without a car. Another spot that comes to mind is South Miami, where there is plenty to do without a car.
Uber is another option for getting around. The crowd-sourced taxi option has a smartphone app that allows you to plug in your destination and see if the cost is to your liking.
Many of the big cities that have hefty hotel parking fees have great public transportation, including options to get from the airport to downtown.
In San Francisco, you can take the BART train into downtown for less than $9 from San Francisco International Airport, and the fare is less than $11 one-way from Oakland International Airport to downtown San Francisco.
In New York, you can fly into Newark and get an express bus to Manhattan for $16 one-way or $28 round trip. All of these fares are much cheaper than what you would spend on a taxi from the airport to downtown.
By not renting a car in a city where you really don’t need one, you can save a fortune on your vacation costs.
(Tom Parsons is CEO of
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