Parking garage
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
Brian Cohen·
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The Inexcusable Reasons Why You Should Avoid Way.com for Airport Parking

Several choices abound when needing to get to the airport to catch a flight, as you can either ask a friend or relative to take you to the airport; use a ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft; or drive to the airport yourself and park your vehicle in a secure place where it will stay until you return from your trip…

The Inexcusable Reasons Why You Should Avoid Way.com for Airport Parking

Departures at South Terminal outside at Atlanta airport
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.

…but regardless of whatever option you decide to use, that option must be as reliable as possible. Enough anomalies lurk and await you — no matter how well you plan your trip — and the last thing about which you need to worry is ensuring that you arrive on time at the airport for your flight.

In terms of options to park your vehicle at or near an airport, you could either pay a fixed price at a facility dedicated to parking vehicles — you can usually procure coupons to reduce the cost per day and save a little money — or you could pay a significant discount through services which contract hotel properties with the sunk cost of excess parking spaces which are otherwise rarely used, which tends to benefit everyone involved: the hotel property can earn a little extra revenue “renting” out an excess parking space to you; a “middleman” company which brokers the arrangement earns revenue as well; and you get to potentially save a significant amount of money on parking your vehicle at or near the airport.

I started using Way.com for parking my car several years ago because the service offered airport parking for as little as $2.99 per day — which can be significantly less expensive than a ride-sharing service or a facility whose business is dedicated to airport parking — and coupons are occasionally offered with which you can save an extra 15 percent on the cost of parking near the airport.

When the service worked and the least expensive option is used, the frequency of the shuttle service of the hotel property which “rents” out the space usually is once every half hour or so. Miss a shuttle bus when it leaves and you will usually have no choice but to wait another 30 minutes for the next departure, which can be a minor annoyance to which one can easily adjust or build in some time…

First Inexcusable Experience

…but the service does not always work. On Friday, June 8, 2018, I booked a reservation for parking at a hotel property near the international airport which serves the greater Atlanta metropolitan area from Sunday, June 17, 2018 through Wednesday, June 20, 2018 for a total of $11.67; and I received a confirmation number for the transaction — meaning that an official contract had been reached — but then, that reservation was inexplicably changed on Thursday, June 14, 2018 to a different parking facility for the same dates for $27.80. I did not order this change — especially at an increase of greater than 138 percent of the original cost of parking which was agreed upon by all parties involved.

Figuring this was some sort of isolated error, I was able to easily create a new reservation for parking on the same dates at the original facility for the same cost; and I sent a request to Way.com via e-mail message that the original reservation which had been changed be canceled immediately, with which they complied as confirmed by Bob at Way.com:

Hi Brian,

Thank you for reaching out to Way!

We appreciate you reaching out to our team regarding your concerns. We’ve processed your refund back to your card on file. You will see your refund reflected on your next credit card statement within 5 to 7 business days.

Please feel free to reply to this email if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Best regards,​

Bob
Customer Success

WAY – Your life, Way Simpler.

I thought the problem was resolved; so when I arrived at the original facility after parking my car with a confirmed reservation, I was told that no parking was available and to go away. No recourse. No apology. No caring about my having to catch a flight.

I had to find somewhere else to park at the last minute — regardless of what was my situation at the moment or how I felt, which was angry, annoyed, and greatly inconvenienced.

“I expect a full refund from this so-called ‘reservation’” is what I wrote to Bob at Way.com on June 18, 2018; and along with the order being canceled, I received the following note via e-mail message:

Hi Brian Cohen,

We are very sorry that your Way reservation has not been honored by the parking company.

When reservations are turned away there could be 1-2 reasons why the location will turn away a customer. The first reason is due to overcapacity and customers extending their reservation while parked at the location already and leaving no room for new customers. The second reason could be due to the facility overbooking their location and causing an overfill of parking spots at their parking facility which could be an inventory matter. Either way, we understand that this is not your fault and apologize for the trouble.

Our parking management team will reach out to this partner to figure out why their location was overbooked and our team was not notified. We understand this is not your fault and will be happy to refund you in full for the discrepancy of your reservation. Please give your account 5-7 business days to fully refund your account at this time. I’ll also, be happy to offer you an additional promotional code to go towards a future booking with us! Please use OurBad for 15% off your next booking on our website or mobile app!

Please understand we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience, and hope to see you again in the near future.

Best,

Bob
Customer Success

Okay, I thought to myself. Things happen. I can overlook this as a one-time anomaly…

…until I attempted to use the promotion code when booking a reservation to park at the airport in September of 2018 — but the promotion code had expired.

I sent a message to Way.com; and I received the following response on Monday, September 10, 2018 at 1:06 in the afternoon Eastern Daylight Time:

Hi Brian,

Thanks for reaching out to Way!

We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences at this time. Our team will be happy to provide you with the 5% promotion code in Waybucks that you can use toward any future purchases with Way. If you have any additional questions or concerns please reply to this email.

Our team has successfully applied your Waybucks to your account, if you would like to learn more please reply “learn more”.

Best,

Shyann B
Customer Success

Wait — a code for a discount of 15 percent off of parking near the airport did not work; so I received a code for a discount of five percent off of the cost of parking instead?

I requested a cancelation of my reservation for parking at the airport, which was honored by Way.com on Tuesday, September 18, 2018:

Hi Brian,

Thank you for reaching out to Way!

We appreciate you reaching out to our team regarding your concerns. We’ve processed your refund in the amount of {$37.17} back to your card on file. You will see your refund reflected on your next credit card statement within 5 to 7 business days.

Please feel free to reply to this email if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Best regards,​

Anisha
Customer Success

These experiences left me with a bad taste in my mouth; so I had used the aforementioned variety of other services to get from where I am based to the airport and back again — such as using a ride-sharing service or parking at a more traditional facility which is dedicated to that service.

Second Inexcusable Experience

Airplane taking off at sunset
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

I must be a glutton for punishment, as I decided to use the service provided by Way.com one more time and give the company another chance. I booked a reservation to park at a hotel property near the airport for a total cost of $19.95 for the week, which included a discount plus all taxes and fees. That worked out to $2.85 per day, which is a great deal…

…if things had worked as planned — which did not happen.

I arrived at the hotel property so early in the morning that the sun had yet to rise and parked the vehicle. I then walked up to the front entrance of the hotel property, where I was bizarrely met with a locked door.

A man inside — presumably an employee of the hotel property — came to the door and opened it. I asked him where I should park my vehicle; where to catch the shuttle for the airport; and what time that shuttle was leaving.

I was told that transportation will not be provided to me to the airport that morning. “We don’t have a shuttle to the airport,” the man replied. Reasons included that the driver was not on the premises at the time; and that the vehicle which is used as a shuttle had experienced mechanical issues. He pointed off to the inoperable vehicle somewhere in the darkness of that morning.

“So how am I going to get to the airport?” I asked. “I have a flight to catch.”

“I can call you a taxi cab to take you to the airport,” he replied.

“Will I have to pay for that?” I asked.

“Probably,” he replied.

Now exasperated and not wanting to place my trust with someone who already flagrantly betrayed it, I scrambled to find a facility which had parking spaces left, as the holiday season was still ramping up for travel — and I thankfully found a place in time so that I could catch my flight. The cost for parking my vehicle that week became $66.50 instead of $19.95 — which is an increase of greater than 233 percent more than I expected to pay with what I thought was another official contract.

See also

Upon returning from my trip, I sent an e-mail message to Way.com on Friday, December 18, 2020 at 9:58 in the morning Eastern Standard Time, stating that I originally reserved parking at the hotel property from Friday, December 11, 2020 through Friday, December 18, 2020 for $19.95 with a confirmation number; I paid for my reservation in advance; and I related the aforementioned experience. I stated that “We had a contract. Your agent did not honor it. That is not my fault.” Contacting Way.com for a resolution at that moment would have certainly caused me to miss my flight. I was charged $66.50 by the different facility to park my vehicle.

Meanwhile, I noticed that the original charge for parking is still applied to my card statement and has not been refunded — nor have I received any word from Way.com pertaining to this failure of service.

I related my first experience in 2018 to Way.com and explained that once again, my confirmed reservation was not honored — but I decided to give Way.com another opportunity. I wrote that “The official slogan of Way.com is Your life, Way Simpler. Here is a way you can make my life, way simpler for those aforementioned inconveniences: please refund the $19.95 I paid you for my original agreed-upon contract and pay for the cost of $66.50 to park my vehicle for this week that your agent did not honor. Note that I am not asking for any more than the cost of parking at a different facility, which was not my fault. Considering my experience, I believe that is more than fair.”

The response I received on Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 6:24 in the morning Eastern Standard Time was as follows:

Hi,

Greetings of the day!!!

On behalf of Way.com, I’m sorry for the experience that you had with our parking lot. This issue has been noted and we thank you for bringing this to our notice.

I would request you to kindly share the receipt or a bank statement from the lot you ended up parking at and we will initiate the refund request for the lot you initially booked at.

We apologize again for the inconvenience caused and if there is anything else please do not hesitate to contact us

Thanks and best regards

Aditya

I am not sure why a “the receipt or a bank statement from the lot you ended up parking at” was requested — other than for the possibility of Way.com covering my parking cost at the other facility as I requested — but I complied by sending a copy of my receipt for $66.50 via e-mail message — along with thanking Aditya for the assistance; that I awaited the fulfillment of my refund request; and asking if anything else was needed from me.

The request for my refund “had been initiated and the same should be reflected in your card within 5-7 business days”, which did occur on December 26, 2020. I wrote a reply to Aditya that I indeed receive the refund to which I was entitled; but I also asked if I will “be reimbursed in part or in whole for the $66.50 by way.com which I was forced to pay out due to the mishap which occurred on December 11, 2020 as compensation when I was suddenly inconvenienced at no fault of my own”.

The following is the response which I received on Sunday, December 27, 2020 at 5:13 in the morning Eastern Standard Time:

Hi,

Greetings from Way.com

We understand the situation and have already credited the amount that you have paid with us. Our system does not allow us to refund more than the amount a customer has paid with us. Furthermore please understand that Way is an online market place and does not work in these places directly and any information we have is provided by the parking lot itself. Way cannot be held responsible for services, not rendered. I would request you to please check our terms and conditions for more information regarding the same

If there is anything else we can help you with, please do not hesitate to contact us

Thanks and best regards

Aditya

That was when I knew that Way.com would not go above and beyond to resolve this experience to my satisfaction. Other than the refund — to which I was entitled regardless of the policies of Way.com — nothing was done in terms of customer service recovery. This time around, I did not even receive a discount towards parking in the future.

Summary

After experiencing the unacceptably unreliable service by Way.com more than once, I absolutely do not recommend using Way.com for airport parking and will never use Way.com ever again. Avoid Way.com at all costs, as the company cannot ensure or guarantee that the contracts with which they — or their agents, with whom they vehemently need to be significantly more selective and reliable — enter with you will be honored.

Instead, use a more reliable company to ensure that you have one fewer thing about which to be concerned with regards to going to the airport and returning from it once the trip has concluded.

I did not let the representatives at Way.com know that I have a weblog at BoardingArea because I do not want to receive special service or consideration — I never do that with anyone, in fact — nor do I want to unnecessarily influence anyone to stray beyond normal operating procedures. I want you to know what to expect as a result of my bad experiences so that you do not have to experience bad service yourself.

Avoid using Way.com at all costs. I cannot repeat this enough…

All photographs ©2015 and ©2016 by Brian Cohen.

Related

25 Comments

  1. I feel your pain and will never use Way.com again. I used them for O’Hare parking in 2016. Only to arrive at the enclosed parking garage to discover that the company was no longer in business. I had to scramble to find new parking before my international flight. I contacted Way.com the same day to explain that the facility I booked through then was permanently closed. I had to convince them that I was due a refund. It took 2 years to actually get the refund. 2 years of emailing them and talking to countless people. I, finally, got a result and my refund after filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I learned my lesson the hard way!

    Reply

    1. You have just proven that no matter how bad an experience one may have, Robin, someone else has gone through worse.

      What a horrible ordeal through which you had to endure. That was truly inexcusable and unacceptable; and I am so sorry to learn that you were forced to deal with that…

      Reply

    1. I like your comments more and more, Gene.

      That was classic — but would that mean that I would technically become a “one-percenter”?

      Reply

  3. TBF you were asking for a bit much in your last experience.

    Fair is the benefit of the agreement, you were entitled to parking for the original amount. You were not entitled to get free parking which is what you asked for.

    Reply

    1. If the parking had been cancelled by the site or their agent a week in advance when plenty of time existed to find other options, a simple refund would have been acceptable. When one shows up before dawn for a pending flight and learns at that time that the contract is not being honored and the client is then forced to find alternative parking on a tight time schedule solely at the fault of the Way.com partner – now true reparations are owed. Full compensation of the alternative parking is the very least they could do. Even additional monetary compensation for the chaos caused would not be out of line at that point.

      Reply

  4. Oh dear, if this is as good as it gets, the sooner China-Virus issue is solved we can get back to matters that help. Really Brian? Are you this desperate for content that you would allow such drivel on your site.

    Reply

  5. Way are the pits. Changed T&C weeks after a transaction to get out of offering me refund when I had to cancel. Had to run a chargeback to get my money.

    Reply

    1. You should not have had to go through that effort to get the money which is rightfully yours, Tom — but I am glad to learn that you succeeded in the end.

      Reply

  6. @robbo How is this drivel? Seems like useful info to me. I, too, have had poor experiences with Way.com and will not use them again. I really don’t understand why you feel a travel-related blog posting a travel-related article advising people of experiences with a travel-related product is not appropriate. Perhaps you just enjoy trolling.

    Reply

  7. In the D.C. area, I’ve used SpotHero / Panda Parking several times [to save money on parking] without any problems. They haven’t necessarily saved me a ton of money, but they show do all the available parking locations surrounding your target address (at different locations/prices) to choose/select from.

    Reply

  8. I used way.com for frequent travels and they always have the best rates. Rest of all other website charges pretty hefty. Once I did got moved from my original booking to another location. But that’s understandable since parking lots are completely unorganized industry.

    Reply

  9. I had the same experience! I got to the parking lot and was turned away without any notice, no apology or refund. I had to find last minute parking that cost me three times what I could have gotten in advance, and I had to reach out to them to get a refund, they wouldn’t even refund me the extra cost I incurred because they are sleazy liars and don’t honor their reservations.

    Reply

  10. Without reading reviews I was in hurry and bought parking from way.com. I lost money and they are big scammers. no refund and Please don’t buy from these guys

    Reply

  11. Just reporting that Way.com is still up to the same shenanigans. I don’t
    know – but suspect that they are intentionally doing this B.S. My case was
    similar – booked parking at a lot in S.F., when I got to lot they said “NO WAY”.
    So I paid for parking using a credit card (same lot). I requested refund from
    way.com … multiple emails later I have a ‘credit’ of Waybucks … but they
    are keeping my money. I won’t use them again – not even to use the Waybucks.

    Stay away from this scamming company!

    Reply

    1. That is actually worse than my situations, Jim Betz.

      Thank you for sharing your experience, which you should not have endured.

      Reply

  12. About 20min, right after I booked with Way.com, I wanted to cancel due to the trip plan had changed. First, its website said,the refund would go to Way buck account, instead of back to my credit card. So I decided to call their provided number, nobody pick up the phone… for a long while, the machine kicked in allowing me to leave a messages… this company is very unprofessional, I think i made a mistake…and I will spread the words about this company based on my own experience.

    Reply

  13. Hey Brian. I own a parking facility Near Newark Liberty Airport. I can not begin to tell you the issues we have as a parking operater, trying to get paid by WAY. As I type this, I am waiting for $24,000.00+ due me since January for spots they sold in our lot that they had NO authorization to sell. What were my options? turn people away? As you said in you article, this is a stressful time for most customers and last thing they need is to be out looking for somewhere else to park. So, I took them all in and planned on working it out with WAY.

    After multiple promises and lies, I am expecting (hoping) to have $12,00.00 of my money tomorrow. We’ll see.

    I am in contact with most of my competitors here. Almost all have the same or similar stories. Most will never use them again.. I know I will not

    Reply

    1. I am so sorry to learn of your interactions — or lack thereof — with Way.com, Mike Moreland.

      I hope that you are fully compensated…

      …speaking of which: did you ever receive your payment of $12,000.00?

      Reply

  15. This was therapeutic to read. Way is the absolute worst and I wish I read this article before booking. They didn’t even have a working contract with the parking lot I used and falsely advertised a 24/7 shuttle service. Also had the audacity to blame the parking lot. Thankfully got a refund but didn’t do anything to make up for the added expenses or stress. Hate ’em and wish them the worst.

    Reply

    1. I wish I had read it too. On my return, the shuttle driver never answered his phone and I had to take a taxi to the parking lot for $20. I contacted Way and they said not our problem – the shuttle is a courtesy in addition to the parking and they take no responsibility.

      What a useless service. Never again.

      Reply
  16. Pingback: Way.Com Reviews – Raiz Of Success

  17. Just an FYI, I tried cancelling through the app and was only offered credit in form of “Way Bucks”… I called instead to talk to a live person and they were able to refund the money back to my credit card. Now just waiting the 7-10 days to confirm it goes through.

    Reply

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