Parking Mobile Apps: A Traveler's Best Friend

Mobile Parking Apps make Travel EASY!

If you're a frequent traveler or taking a family vacation or city vacation, you know how frustrating it can be to find parking. You circle the block for hours, only to end up paying an arm and a leg for a spot. But there's a better way: parking mobile apps.

Case in point, I just returned from a family vacation to Michigan that included staying one night in a downtown Chicago hotel.  To make our Chicago short stayover convenient for everyone I had fully intended to "bow to fate" and pay the extreme nightly price of $90 for hotel valet parking for our 4-star hotel just off Michigan Avenue and then return our rental car at the airport the next day before flying home. 

However, the best laid plans don't always work. The hotel was very crowded when we arrived and a parking valet or bellman was nowhere to be found.  I helped my family with their luggage into the lobby and they waited to check-in while I continued to wait for a bellman or parking valet.  While waiting, I opened my mobile parking app and quickly located a highly rated secure garage parking only 100 yards away for only $46 for 24 hours of self-parking (half the cost of the hotel valet price).  I purchased the overnight parking on the mobile app, received instructions and a code to open the parking gate and joined my family back at the hotel within 10 minutes.  Getting the car back from the secure garage and loading up the car with luggage from the hotel was easy. 

Read on for more information on mobile parking apps and our recommendations:    

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Mobile Parking Apps are Easy!

Parking mobile apps use GPS technology to help you find parking spaces near your destination making for EASY City and Family vacations.

​They can also tell you the current rates, so you can compare prices and ratings to find your best deal.  And some apps even let you reserve a spot in advance, so you don't have to worry about circling the block or not finding a space over events, concerts or holidays.

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• Other reasons Mobile Parking Apps make "Travel Easy" are:  
• - Stored auto and payment information makes for very easy, fast and efficient one click parking Vs finding a meter that may or may not work.
• - Parking app stores a record of your payments and parking for easy bookkeeping and when returning to same location.
• - Provides ratings, directions and instructions for city parking garages which is very helpful to quickly find, safe, secure and convenient parking.
• - Warns you when your metered parking is about to expire and allows to add more time from the mobile app

 
Here are a few of the best parking mobile apps:

SpotHero Parking App

​SpotHero is one of the most popular parking apps and my "Goto" for garage parking. It has over 3 million parking spaces in over 300 cities. You can reserve a spot in advance, and you'll often get a discount on the regular rate.

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Parkmobile App

ParkMobile is go to App when street parking. It's available in over 300 cities in the United States and Canada. You can use ParkMobile to pay for street parking, or you can use it to find and reserve parking spaces in garages and lots.

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Pay by Phone App

​Paybyphone: This is a backup app we use when the street or meter parking does not take the other apps.  This app offers parking in 1200 cities across North America and Europe including universities and colleges.   

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Here are some tips for using parking mobile apps:
 

• -Download the app before you leave home. This will save you time when you're trying to find parking.
• -Enter your destination before you start looking for parking. This will help the app find the closest parking spots.
• -Compare prices before you reserve a spot. Some apps offer discounts if you reserve a spot in advance.
• -Be aware of the app's terms and conditions. Some apps charge a fee for reserving a spot.

Parking mobile apps are a great way to find parking, save money, and avoid stress. So next time you're traveling, don't forget to download one of these apps for "EASY TRAVELING".