Spot Hero

Market position

The company describes itself as the digital parking leader and the largest place to buy and sell parking in North America, and cites its app as the top downloaded app for off-street parking in North America. Its iOS app has a 4.9 rating from about 411,000 ratings and has ranked #6 in the App Store Navigation category.

Prepaid, guaranteed reservations with a money-back parking guarantee, flexible modification or cancellation up to the reservation start time, advance-booking savings of up to 50% versus drive-up rates, broad off-street inventory across garages, lots and valets, in-car booking via CarPlay, and business/commuter features such as expense integrations and pre-tax commuter benefit support.

Technology

Web and mobile applications for search, booking, payment and digital parking passes, with in-app reservation management. Integrations include Apple CarPlay for in-vehicle booking, expense-system receipt routing to Concur, Expensify, Certify and Chrome River, commuter benefit card payments, and a developer platform exposing parking booking to fleets, connected cars and mobility services.

Go-to-market

SpotHero acquires drivers through its website and top-ranked mobile apps, promotional and first-reservation discount codes distributed through its site footer and coupon channels, and student discounts. It builds supply through direct relationships with parking operators, airports, property managers and event partners, and distributes booking capability through integrations such as Apple CarPlay and its developer platform for mobility partners.

Urban and commuting drivers booking parking for work, airports, hotels and travel, sporting events and concerts, and monthly commuter parking, including employees using pre-tax commuter benefits and business travelers expensing parking. On the supply side, parking garage and lot operators, airport parking operators, property managers, event partners and individuals renting out private spaces. Mobility companies, fleets and connected-car providers use its developer platform.

Geography

United States and Canada. The company cites more than 400 cities across the U.S. and Canada, with app coverage listed for markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Miami, New Orleans, Newark, Oakland, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. Its Canadian presence was expanded through the Rover Parking acquisition, with the Rover team remaining in Toronto. Headquarters are in Chicago.

History

The business began in Chicago focused on game-day parking near Wrigley Field, then pivoted to work with downtown parking garages after demand collapsed at the end of baseball season, giving it year-round inventory and demand. Management described the hardest part of the shift as building relationships with traditional parking operators. The company went through the Excelerate Labs accelerator (later TechStars Chicago), which its co-founder called the most critical thing the business had done, and won a City of Chicago apps contest. It expanded from Chicago to Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., and by 2014 listed seven operating cities: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Newark, New York City and Washington, D.C. In October 2020 SpotHero closed its acquisition of Toronto-based Rover Parking to expand in Canada. The company has built out a Chicago headquarters of approximately 21,032 square feet.

Risks & controversies

Customer reviews describe friction in the booking flow, including vehicle-size restrictions requiring re-entry of vehicle details, account creation and email verification problems, truncated garage names on reservation screens, and at least one dispute in which a parking facility contested a paid reservation, requiring escalation through customer support.