Luxe Valet
p/luxe-valet
On-demand valet parking (pre-launch)
Eric Willis
Luxe Valet — Luxe is an on-demand valet parking and car services app
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Replies
Ryan Hoover
I have friends that were in the beta that have spoken very highly Luxe. @rsarver, @Jason, and I chatted about it in last week's This Week in Startups roundtable. At first it sounds very much like a first world problem, and it is, but in reality Luxe can be cheaper than a parking garage in some areas of SF. They also offer to wash your car and you can imagine them expanding to other value-add services over time (grocery pickup, perhaps).
Dwight Churchill
@rrhoover @rsarver @Jason Have you seen Spotlight Parking? They are launching in Boston in a couple of weeks. http://www.spotlight-parking.com/
Lyle McKeany
@rrhoover @rsarver @Jason I used it yesterday because my friend @snajmi is the head of product there. Awesome experience. I dropped it off with the valet by the building I work at in Soma, then later in the day I walked across town to the financial district and the valet drove my car to me in the evening on that side of town. And it got a much needed bath at no extra charge!
fil
Glad to see you enjoyed it, @lylemckeany! One of our unique features is cross-town returns across all of SF. You can drop your car off in SOMA and get it returned anywhere in our service zone!
Ryan Sarver
@rrhoover @rsarver @Jason one other interesting insight the teams has heard from female users is that they love being able to just park right at their location instead of walking alone through parking garages. I've also had them drop my car off at home (in SF) once when I've had a few drinks after work with friends instead of considering driving home.
Eric Willis
@rsarver @rrhoover @rsarver @Jason That's a great use case (avoiding potentially dangerous parking situations) and surely worth the fee. This is an awesome service and I would definitely use it.
Jack Smith
It seems like an exceptionally competitive space, with seemingly 10+ teams all thinking of the same idea at pretty much the same time. Zirx is the highest funded company in the space, with about ~$1m more in funding than Luxe. It will now be about an execution play really to see who becomes most dominant I would imagine, as from a consumer's perspective, it's hard to differentiate Luxe vs Zirx vs Vatler vs Valet Anywhere. competitors: http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/18... https://angel.co/snap-valet http://www.valetanywhere.com/ https://angel.co/valet-boss https://angel.co/spotlight-parking http://caarbon.com/ https://angel.co/smartvalet https://angel.co/locomobi http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/05...
Danny Espinoza
@_jacksmith Luxe is a *much* better brand IMO, easy to remember, fun to say. Sometimes that's the edge you need in a highly competitive space.
Jack Smith
@dannyjespinoza why do you think Luxe is much easier to remember than Zirx?
Danny Espinoza
@_jacksmith because it's a real word http://dictionary.reference.com/... -- that alone makes it much easier to remember if overheard (increases conversion of word-of-mouth growth)
Jack Smith
@dannyjespinoza @_jacksmith ok. domain probably makes a slight difference though: www.luxevalet.com vs www.zirx.com
Ryan Jones
Love the concept but what happens when there's a (valet driver) supply shortage when you need your car returned? Even if it's rare, not being able to access your car is high consequence. One of these companies needs to crack this for airport parking.
fil
@ryanajon1 We know that not being able to get your car when you want it is a huge blocker, so we pay close attention to the return experience. During peak times, we deploy dedicated valets that only serve return requests.
fil
Hey guys - Phil from Luxe here. Happy to answer any questions that you may have about the company, product, or experience. Luxe has been operating in SF under a closed beta in May, and we're super excited to announce the App Store launch today. In order to control demand, we launched with a wait list feature. However, use the invitation code 'PRODUCTHUNT' to bypass it and get early access. Can't wait to see you guys on the curb!
Julian Counihan
I wish the valet could pick up my car for free and drive for Uber while I'm not using it. I also wish I had a car.
Joe Lau
@NYCounihan Oh snaps, awesome idea!
Eric Willis
"Luxe parks for you, so you don’t have to. For $5 an hour - and maximum of $15 per day - you can own a parking spot in your pocket. Luxe is a new service in San Francisco that sends valets to you, wherever you need to park. It’s fast, stress-free, reliable, and affordable."
Miron Vranjes
Love this concept! However it seems very similar to Zirx--how do you plan to differentiate? Also what are your service hours? I really like the idea of getting the car washed while it's parked, saves a bunch of time!
Mark Sandeno
@mironv I would also add that Zirx never charges less than $15 even if you use the service for an hour (from what the Zirx people in our building are telling me - they're stationed here for their Seattle launch). I totally understand why they do that but Luxe has a leg up IMO for the following use case: I want to cover my client's parking fees for an hour long meeting so my choices are to pay for validation in our garage (of which I have to buy $60 of validation tickets at a time) or I can have Zirx handle it. I don't mind paying $15 to buff my client out - but I'd rather pay less to Luxe for the same privilege. Of course, the same logic goes for anytime I have a meeting across town and don't want to Uber, Car2Go, or drive around looking for a spot.
Alexander Horré
When a product comes along and you can't use it because you don't drive. This might force me to get my license. That's when you got a good product. Desire.
Nitin Alabur
One of those ideas I had just started thinking about over the last few weeks :) Huge market out there. Hoping to see this in the DC area!
fil
@nitinalabur Thanks for your support. We are expanding rapidly - might see you soon! :)
Eric Willis
@philsometypaway @nitinalabur Really need this tomorrow. Gonna be hell finding a parking spot tomorrow morning for the place I need to go.