When traveling on a budget, learning to save money at every stage of a trip is essential.
Finding cheap flights and avoiding baggage fees may get the lion's share of attention, but what about airport parking. Can you save money there, too?
In short, the answer is yes, thanks to GlobalAirportParking.com. In this article, I'll show you how their service can help.
We'll use St. Louis airport parking as an example; however, keep in mind that the same service is provided at all major US airports, plus Toronto and Montreal.
How to Use Global Airport Parking
Global Airport Parking has partnered with hotels near airports to allow travelers to safely park their cars in their lots.
Travelers can then use the hotels' free airport shuttle services to travel to/from the airport. No hotel reservation is required.
To walk you through the steps, let's pretend I'm living in St. Louis, Missouri, which is serviced by St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL).
Step 1 – The search
First, I need to head over to Global Airport Parking's Lambert airport parking page and enter the dates I want to drop off and pick up my car.
After I hit the “search” button, the page refreshes the results (as shown in the screenshot below).
Step 2 – Choosing a parking lot.
As you can see, my search terms for a weekend trip are listed at the top.
Below them, the parking options are displayed in descending order from the least expensive average daily rate to the most costly.
Each listing features a description with necessary details such as the hotel airport shuttle schedule and frequency.
A map is also shown to get a quick visual of how far the parking lot is from the airport.
Most importantly, every parking option includes user ratings and reviews so you can make an informed decision.
According to reviews, it may be worth paying an extra dollar a day more for parking at a hotel whose airport shuttle is more reliable.
In this example, the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel has a 4.56 out of 5-star rating through over 4,800 user reviews.
It also happens to offer the cheapest rate at just $4.99 per day.
By comparison, the cheapest daily rate at Lambert International Airport is $7 a day.
That $2.01 per day difference may not seem like a lot on a three-day trip as it's only $6, but if I were going on vacation for two weeks, the long-term savings would be substantial ($28).
Step 3 – Making a reservation.
Happy with the excellent rating and low price of $4.99 per day of the first hotel listed, my next step would be to click on the price button to make a reservation.
A pop-up box appears and with the dates of my trip. Here, I need to enter the approximate time I plan to drop off and pick up my car and then hit the “Continue” button.
Step 4 – Checkout
The checkout screen is nicely organized. The right side features a summary of all the park and fly details, including a line-by-line breakdown of what I'm paying, including any taxes and fees and Global Rewards I'm earning.
There's also a field to enter a discount code, should I have a coupon, and the opportunity to round my total up to the nearest dollar, with the difference being donated to one of several charitable organizations, Global Airport Parking supports.
To complete the reservation, on the left side of the checkout screen, I enter your email address, phone number, billing info, and additional details, including whether there will be any other passengers and my destination airport.
For $2.99 extra, there's an opportunity to get trip protection. And there's a checkbox offering the chance to receive exclusive discounts from Global.
Once I've decided on those options, I have to click the checkbox agreeing to their terms and hit the “Submit Reservation” button to finalize the purchase.
Step 5 – Receive airport parking details by email.
Details of my reservation are then sent via email, including a confirmation number, directions, and the phone number of the hotel where I'll be parking.
Step 6 – On the day of departure.
The only thing left for me to do is present my confirmation number to the hotel front desk staff on the day of my departure, and I'll be able to enjoy the free roundtrip hotel airport shuttle service.
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There you have it, a nifty new way to save money when flying out of St. Louis Airport or any major US airport and those in Montreal and Toronto.
Global Airport Parking is a family-owned business that values customer service.
Their phone number is on display in the top right corner of their website, and they're also accessible through their site by a chatbox.
With a TrustPilot score of 4.7 out of 5 through 28,000 customer reviews, you can feel confident using their services.
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This story is brought to you in partnership with Global Airport Parking.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
