In my previous work life, I belonged to an organization of domestic and international road warriors. Travel was a major expense, and much time and effort was put into maintaining a highly efficient budget, at times compromising convenience for cost.   

As such, our airport parking of choice often depended on who was offering the best deal. Frequently, this meant parking miles away from the airport. Waiting for the infrequent shuttles to my own lot, I developed a bit of an obsession with WallyPark. At PHL their lot is in a prime location at the entrance of the departures gates. Their shuttles seem to run constantly; sometimes I would see them go by two or three times before mine arrived. It reminded me of the movie Meatballs, where the rival camp arrives with new buses, uniforms and far superior athletes. Clearly, an inferiority complex was taking root.    

In my last year, our company negotiated a deal with WallyPark, and it became our parking lot of choice. I realized my expectations were probably more than any airport parking lot could hope to live up to and tried to temper my excitement. However, I have to share WallyPark was, and continues to be, all I expected and more.   

Upon arrival, you are directed to open spots. This means all new cars park in the same place, the bus picks you all up at once and heads to the airport rather than driving around looking for people. You are given a ticket with your parking spot number which you give the driver on the way home. No more remembering where you parked when it is 4 a.m. and it is your third trip that month. WallyPark gives you a complimentary newspaper on the way in (when you are ready to get on a long flight) and water on the way out (when you are dehydrated from a long flight). But the best thing by far I have found about WallyPark is the staff. The drivers are extremely friendly and likeable even on holidays, during awful weather, late at night and early in the morning. On my most recent trip, the driver gave out snacks because he knew many of us would not get them on board.

Though WallyPark is not a VIP or luxury service, it offers the kind of thoughtful planning and service that makes you feel like it is. When I switched jobs, I feared I would lose my WallyPark privileges. Fortunately, timing was perfect, and WallyPark rolled out its frequent-parker loyalty program, WallyClub, which offers discounts to its members, making their rates competitive with other lots. 

Their locations are Philadelphia (PHL), Newark (EWR), Atlanta (ATL), Denver (DEN), Houston (IAH), San Diego (SAN), Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA). If there is a WallyPark located at your home airport, I highly recommend checking it out!

— Danielle Hudena, executive vice president