Parking not included for Marriott guests

Charles C. LaBenz Arizona Daily Wildcat Valet attendant Casey Donoyan, a UA history junior, gives a claim ticket to Louise Thomas before he parks her car in the Main Gate Garage. Free parking is not included in the room prices of the new Marriott University Park hotel in the Main Gate Center.

Annabelle Guzman, reservations agent for the Marriott, said guests can expect to pay between $100 and $160 a night to stay in the hotel, depending on demand. She said the cost increases during the hotel's busier seasons.

Chad Miller, assistant bell captain for the Marriott, said parking rates for non-guests are $1.25 per hour for those who park their own cars and $3 for valet parking up to four hours.

The rates for guests are $5 per day for self-parking and $7 per day for valet parking, he said.

Most guests will pay at most $2 per day in tips to the parking attendant, Miller said.

"Actually we've had very few complaints, most of our clientele are business travelers," Miller said of the parking charges. "Parking and Transportation charges us. They dictate what the charge is going to be. Unfortunately, we have no control over that as pect."

Miller said that if it was up to him, he would not charge Marriott guests for parking, but the Marriott has to pay to use the University of Arizona's Main Gate Garage.

"We still have to pay for that parking garage debt service, anybody who parks has to pay. We can't treat them (hotel guests) different than we treat UA employees and students," said Marlis Davis, director of Parking and Transportation Services.

The Main Gate Garage brought in $217,000 in revenues its first year, compared to the $600,000 it costs annually to pay the debt service.

Davis said Marriott knew from the beginning that its parking would be in the Main Gate Garage, and that guests would be charged to park there. She said the arrangement has not made it more difficult for UA students to obtain a Main Gate permit.

"We have visitor portions in all three of our garages," Davis said.

The Embassy Suites on Broadway, 5335 E. Broadway Blvd., the Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 E. Speedway Blvd., and the Holiday Inn City Center, 181 W. Broadway Blvd., do not charge for parking.

Laura Tank, front desk shift leader for Embassy Suites, said all parking is uncovered and valet parking is not offered at the hotel.

Amy Garrett, desk clerk for the Plaza Hotel said, "The way it works is we have free parking, there is enough parking to accommodate everybody and there is also underground parking."

Phil Vavricka, front desk clerk for the Holiday Inn, said free parking is available to guests in a covered parking structure near the hotel. He said the Holiday Inn charges $3 per day or $40 per month for non-guests who want to park in the structure.

Most downtown parking costs from $1 to $4 to park in a garage, or $1 to $2 for surface parking, said Karen Miller, parking coordinator for the city of Tucson.

She said although rates may vary, it is never more than $4 to park in the downtown area.

While downtown parking is slightly more expensive in the Phoenix area, other hotels around the city and near Arizona State University offer free parking.

The Courtyard by Marriott in Phoenix is about 11/2 miles from Sky Harbor International Airport and parking is free for all guests, said Trina Diaz, front desk clerk at the hotel.

The Twin Palms Hotel in Tempe offers free, uncovered parking to all hotel patrons, said Shelly Dalton, assistant to the general manager of the hotel. Twin Palms is right across the street from ASU's main campus.

Dalton said the cost of building parking structures makes it necessary to charge for parking.

"It costs many tens of thousands of dollars to build those structures," she said.

The Crown Plaza is in the center of downtown Phoenix. Comparable to the Marriott University Park, guests pay $8 for overnight valet or self parking, with day parking ranging from $3 for a half hour to $7 for more than three hours, said Leonard Chavez, man ger for professional parking services for the hotel.

"With most major downtown areas they charge for parking. Ours is relatively cheap compared to California. It costs $15 per day for parking in the Oakland Marriott, and $17 overnight," Chavez said.

He said he hears few complaints about the charges, because most guests expect to be charged for parking downtown.