Local

Shoreline man says he nearly missed flight when parking reservation wasn’t honored

SEATAC, Wash. — A Shoreline man says he nearly missed his flight on Thanksgiving Day when it turned out this airport parking lot was full even though he had a reservation.

Kevin Henry said he put down a deposit to park at the SeaTac Crest Motor Inn and the paperwork to prove it. He made the reservation through CheapAirportParking.org.

But he says even having the paperwork didn’t help.

“So, here’s my Cheap Airport Parking letter that I got and I printed out so that I would have it on hand,” said Henry, “just in case there was any confusion.”

But there was plenty of confusion when Henry arrived at the SeaTac Crest Motor Inn. It was Thanksgiving morning and he had a plane to catch.

“So, I approach this woman behind the desk, and I’m about to say something and she’s, ‘There’s no parking. There’s no parking,’” remembered Henry. “And I went, ‘I have a reservation.’ And she said ‘that doesn’t matter because you went through a third party.’”

That third party was CheapAirportParking.org. Henry had already put down a $22 deposit. But now he didn’t have a parking space.

“So, I’m driving up and down International Boulevard 20 minutes, a half hour,” said Henry. “Everything is ‘we’re filled. We’re filled.’”

There are plenty of angry customers online from across the country. 

“We just had a very negative experience with Gold Park Orlando that we reserved through Cheap Airport Parking,” wrote one. “This place is pure scam... and the customer service there is super disrespectful,” said another. And this, “Run, don’t walk from this company. I’ve been fighting for a $200 refund to my credit card for 4 months. They overbook and don’t give you your money back.”

Two men approached KIRO 7 at the SeaTac Crest Motor Inn. They wouldn’t do an interview but blamed Cheap Airport Parking for taking a deposit for a space that didn’t exist.

“I jump in the car,” said Henry, “and I got lucky.”

Henry says he managed to find a space at another paid parking lot.

“But we’ve got Christmas coming up,” he said. “And a lot of people are going to want to park their cars, right? So, is the same thing going to happen to a lot of people?”

KIRO 7 reached out to CheapAirportParking. They say they work with more than 300 parking lots across the country and they rely on those parking lots to be truthful with them.

They do say they pay refunds but that may not help if you have a flight to catch and no place to park.