I arrived at 9pm, exhausted from the day and ready to check in and relax. However, the valet parking was blocked off and there was nowhere to pull in.
After circling the hotel 3 or 4 times, someone finally came out to tell me that there was no parking available for the hotel. I was told that there was a parking garage a couple blocks away, and I could "probably" park there. I asked whether my car would still be there in the morning, and they were about "80 percent sure" that it would.
With it being late, I took the chance and parked a few blocks away.
When it came time to check out the next day, I carried my bags back the few blocks and prayed my car would still be there. When I got to the parking garage, the lobby to the garage was locked. Apparently the doors required a key fob, which I did not have. So I had to walk up the parking garage ramp holding my bags.
Fortunately my car was still there. And it ultimately cost me $30 to park in that garage for the night.
But, if you are a hotel that does not have enough parking for your guests, you should definitely have other options and be more than "80% sure" that people are allowed to park there. Or, better yet, work out a deal to allow the hotel to use the garage, and have the valets run the cars back and forth instead of requiring your guests to carry their bags back and forth and walk up parking garage ramps.