# Warning about valet parking of rental cars



## JimC (Sep 27, 2006)

_Dave: Feel free to move this if there is another forum where it is more appropriate.  It is a summary of a discussion over on the DIS-DVC Boards._

Thought you all might find this interesting.  Avis removed valet/parking attendants as authorized drivers under its car rental agreements.  It was found buried in one of those inserts saying "changes to your rental terms and conditions".  Not sure about what the other car rental companies have done.  It has been reported that Hertz and Budget have and that Alamo has not.  Best to ask when you rent and read the contract.

Now here is the really bad news.  Your personal insurance, the car rental company CDW and other such as AMEX Premium Car Rental Protection generally require you to be in compliance with the car rental agreement to be covered.  So when you authorize a Valet/Parking attendant to operate the vehicle you have violated the car rental agreement.  Therefore any loss when the vehicle is in the control of a Valet/Parking Attendant is the sole responsibility of the renter.   

And now for even worse news -- the car rental company will demand the cost to repair the vehicle PLUS the lost rental revenue for each day the car is not in service.  And you are stuck defending yourself if your insurance denies coverage.    

I suspect most reputable garage/valet parking operators have insurance to cover this.  Their carrier is likely to refuse to pay any lost revenue claims, leaving the renter to fight that issue.  In any event you need to establish that the damage occurred while the car was in their possession.  Walk around your car before you leave and if there is damage that was not there when you gave them the car have report filed before you leave.


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## laxmom (Sep 27, 2006)

Jim, thanks so much for the info.  We are heading to Oahu in November and are staying 1 night in a hotel.  Most in Honolulu seem to have valet parking.  I will definately check into this.


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## pwrshift (Sep 27, 2006)

Great post.  Thanks.

Bad move by the car companies.

Brian


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## jerseyfinn (Sep 29, 2006)

Jim,

Thanks for the post. I just go on-line to check our rental car company's T&C ( Dollar Rent a Car  ). It says in bold print that unless you specifically put another person on the contract at time of rental, no one else is authorized by Dollar to operate the vehicle.

Kind of an eye opener for all of those times we rent a car a valet park it on vacation.  The CDW and homeowners covenents make sense as it all flows from one to another.  It doesn't happen often, but one could be in for a real headache if you have a scratch/dent issue from a parking problem.

Thanks for the heads up.

Barry


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## Dave M (Sep 29, 2006)

Since this encompasses much more than Marriott stays, I am moving it to the Travel forum.


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## SOS8260456 (Sep 29, 2006)

Jim,
Thanks for sharing.  As we sometimes valet park (usually only on our DVC trips), this is good info for us to know.  Most times we have our own car, but sometimes we fly and have a rental car.

Lisa


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## mrsstats (Sep 29, 2006)

I have always refused to valet park my car because of this reason.  If they insist at a restaurant, we just wont eat there.


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## Bill4728 (Oct 2, 2006)

mrsstats said:
			
		

> I have always refused to valet park my car because of this reason.  If they insist at a restaurant, we just won't eat there.



Just had something funny happen with a valet. 
When to this restaurant at 2:30 and saw all these empty spots in the lot. (saw no valet sign) so I drove in and parked. Got out of the car, and the valet ran up, all upset that I parked. So, I tried to give him the keys but he said that the valet would be closing at 3 till dinner. He wanted me to move my car. I said no and asked for the manager since we were eating there and they couldn't/wouldn't park my car. The valet just kind of stood there with this look on his face so, we all just went inside.


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## grest (Oct 3, 2006)

What do you do when your hotel has only valet parking??
Connie


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## dougp26364 (Oct 3, 2006)

grest said:
			
		

> What do you do when your hotel has only valet parking??
> Connie



Pray?

Since all insurance companies are different, it's best to call your agent to see what you're policy will or will not cover.


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## jehb2 (Oct 3, 2006)

grest said:
			
		

> What do you do when your hotel has only valet parking??
> Connie




Good question.  I never use valet but we just stayed at a hotel in Hawaii that only offered valet.  I understood as the parking lot was really tiny and the drivers did some tricky maneuvers to get the cars into slots.  One guy had to get out of the car half-way parked to let a more experienced valet finish parking.  We were over near Diamond Head and there really wasn't any other parking options.


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## topcop400 (Oct 3, 2006)

grest said:
			
		

> What do you do when your hotel has only valet parking??
> Connie



Right.

I'm thinking San Francisco.  You just can't park a car there.  It's virtually impossible.


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## EAM (Oct 3, 2006)

*Maybe if we stated our opinions?*

I just checked Hertz, Avis, and Alamo - I did not see any place where valet parking attendants were considered authorized drivers.

Perhaps if we started sending polite emails asking them to permit valet parking of their rental cars, they might notice?


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## dougp26364 (Oct 4, 2006)

Hmmmm, other than pray I guess one could just lie and say you were driving the car when it was damaged.


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## Dave M (Oct 4, 2006)

I have had a related issue come up when renting from Hertz.

First, I always (repeat: _always_) insist on getting a claim check when leaving a car with a valet service, even at restaurants that don't normally give them out.

A few years ago, I flew into Tampa, picked up my rental car and drove to the Tampa Marriott Waterside late at night to check in. I left my car with the valet service for the night, getting a claim check. Early the next morning, the phone in my room rang. It was the hotel concierge, advising me that my rental car had been stolen during the night, driven about a mile and then stripped/trashed.

I went down to the lobby and talked briefly with a representative of the valet service, which was a concession and not part of Marriott. They gave me a handwritten note, a business card and cab fare to go back to the Hertz airport location. When I got to the airport, Hertz already knew about the problem and had talked to the valet service.

Hertz cancelled the contract for the stolen car and gave me another car with a new contract. That's the last I heard about it. No further questions from Hertz. No insurance involvement. Nothing. So presumably, the valet service (or its insurance company) resolved everything with Hertz.

Apparently, when I got out of the car the night before and got my claim check, the valet service people were distracted by other matters, such as providing claim checks for other arriving cars. During that time, a thief simply got into my rental car and drove it away before the valet service had a chance to drive it to the parking area and lock it. The other half of the claim check was still in the car when the police found it before dawn, making it easy for them to place a phone call. The valet service said that they had video surveillance, which might assist the police in identifying the thief.

I did get a nice box of chocolates that afternoon from Marriott for my inconvenience. And my Hertz rental charge was lower than I had originally expected because with the new contract starting in the morning, I had the car for one less rental day than planned.  

Bottom line: As long as you have a claim check, it shouldn't matter whether a valet employee is an authorized driver. The valet service is responsible for damage or theft. The problem, if there is minor damage, particularly if you don't notice it before driving the rental car away from the valet area, could be in proving it happened while they had the car!


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## dougp26364 (Oct 4, 2006)

Dave M said:
			
		

> .....Bottom line: As long as you have a claim check, it shouldn't matter whether a valet employee is an authorized driver. The valet service is responsible for damage or theft. The problem, if there is minor damage, particularly if you don't notice it before driving the rental car away from the valet area, could be in proving it happened while they had the car!



In the case of not being able to prove the valet did the damage, then the rental car company would have a tough time proving the same thing. Thus, they could not prove you were not driving the car when the damage was done and there is no contract issue to speak of. 

Not that having a rental car damaged by a valet is a good thing but, with the initial point of this thread being what it is, I guess you could say that's a good thing.


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## grest (Oct 4, 2006)

topcop400 said:
			
		

> Right.
> 
> I'm thinking San Francisco.  You just can't park a car there.  It's virtually impossible.


I'm thinking San Francisco, too, where we'll be staying one night at the Marriott SF Downtown....what to do??
Connie


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## folashade (Oct 5, 2006)

grest said:
			
		

> I'm thinking San Francisco, too, where we'll be staying one night at the Marriott SF Downtown....what to do??
> Connie



I say valet and inspect the car when it is returned to you.


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## spike (Oct 5, 2006)

JimC said:
			
		

> I suspect most reputable garage/valet parking operators have insurance to cover this.  Their carrier is likely to refuse to pay any lost revenue claims, leaving the renter to fight that issue.  In any event you need to establish that the damage occurred while the car was in their possession.  Walk around your car before you leave and if there is damage that was not there when you gave them the car have report filed before you leave.



This may be much ado about nothing. As you say, the garage/valet has insurance. Or should have. If not the restaurant/hotel is libel. I can't evaluate the suggest that they might not pay the lost revenue claim as I'm not an insurace agent or a lawyer. However, I did stay in a Holiday-Inn once where I parked my own car.


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