I heard this from a family member as a way to save a few bucks on airport parking, they told me to call a hotel near the airport and ask if I could park there and pay them, the perks are you get to ride the shuttle to the airport and you save money in parking, normally I park at the airport but lately I have not been wanting too because the state the airport is in (KY) charges sales tax on your parking fee this was enacted a few years ago, I feel as long as I pick a safe hotel to park at I will not have issues with my car getting broken into or anything else like that, what does everyone else think, or would I be better off just having family dropping me off at the airport and forgetting about parking?
This is exactly what I did years ago as a commuting airline employee. It was cheaper than airport long term parking. The hotel would give you a parking tag for your mirror. You would use the shuttle to get to the airport. They would ask you to park towards the back of the lot. Good deal while it lasted.
I was lucky. In the Atlanta area they had a Rapid Transit location near my office. I could either park at the transit center for free or at the nearby office and get a ride to the train, then take the train to the airport for a couple dollars. The Rapid Transit (MARTA) dumped you inside the terminal. This worked well for me because I would take 2 two week trips a year and paid next to nothing to park and ride to and from the airport.
Until COVID, in my home town in the islands, I could park at the airport near the external rental car lot for free and walk a couple thousand feet to the terminal. I only had carryons. During COVID and since, the rental car companys have kinda closed off that workaround.
I use 3rd-party parking lots. Main question is whether the shuttle will take you and pick you up whenever you are ready, or whether you have to wait. Some hotel shuttles only run on the half-hour, for example.
I have used airport hotel parking and 3rd party parking lots. Both have worked. As @cdtz wrote, the frequency and reliability of the shuttle service is an important consideration
We have airportparknfly and airportparkingreservations for the airports by me, I’ve been utilizing that for at least a few years. You can either book parking or parking and hotel. The latter is useful for when your plane returns late at night and you don’t want to drive home right away or if you’re leaving on your trip early in the morning. Airport shuttle as well, though the frequency varies by hotel. However, they charge sales taxes and an assortment of fees on either, and the hotel + parking rate has gone up significantly in the last year to a point where it’s no longer a bargain. As a result, the last time I chose the parking only option. That option is still significantly less than parking at the airport itself.