How to become a valet attendant

What you need before you apply

• A valid driver license. Employers check it. A suspended, expired or restricted license ends the application.
• A driving record their insurance will accept. Their car insurance decides who's allowed to drive guest cars, so they check your record. Operators pull a motor vehicle report before they hire. Recent at fault accidents, a DUI or a run of moving violations are the usual reasons someone gets turned down.
• Old enough for their insurance. The minimum age on a valet application comes from the company's car insurance, not from the driving age. That is why two companies on the same street ask for different ages. Ask before you rule yourself out.
• Manual transmission. It has its own section below, because it is the most common thing that stops an otherwise good applicant.
• The physical side. Standing, walking and running for most of a shift, outdoors, in the weather the season brings, often through ramps and stairwells.
• Dress and punctuality. Valet is a uniformed job at the front door of somebody else's business. Show up on time and looking sharp. They'll assume that is how you would show up for a shift.

Some states and cities license valet companies, their attendants or the curb space they use. The rules differ from place to place, so check your own state and city. Ask each employer which permits they hold and which you need to carry.

Learn manual transmission

Employers ask about manual on the application and often test you in the interview. It is the most common thing we see stop an otherwise good applicant. The reason is simple. If you have to wave off a stick shift at a busy curb, the line backs up, and the guest whose car cannot be moved remembers it.

You do not need to be great at it. You need to pull away on the flat without stalling, reverse into a space, hold the car on a slope, and get through a parking ramp slowly. That is a weekend in a borrowed car with somebody patient next to you, or a couple of hours with an instructor who rents a manual. Practice in a garage if you can find one, because hill starts on a ramp are where most new drivers stall.

Once you can do it, say so on the application. It puts you ahead of a stack of people who look the same on paper.

Where the jobs are

There are two routes, and applying to both is normal.

National operators. Big parking companies staff hotels, hospitals and venues across many states, and they hire all year. The jobs hub lists the national employers we checked, each with its own careers link, so you apply on the company's own board rather than on a site that reposts old listings.

Local operators. Most valet work in the United States is done by regional and city companies with a handful of accounts each. Browse general valet operators or start from the directory home page, pick your state, then work through the companies that serve your city. Most list a phone number and a careers or contact link on their own site. A short call asking whether they are taking applications is faster than any form.

How to apply, step by step

1. Build a short list of employers

   Start with the national operators on the jobs hub, then add the local companies working the hotels, restaurants and hospitals near you. Local operators hire fewer people but answer faster. A job down the road beats a long commute for the same hourly rate.

2. Apply on the careers page the employer runs

   Go to the company's own careers page or job board instead of a site that reposts jobs, where the listing may be old. That is why the employer profiles here link to each company's own application page.

3. Put the right things on the application

   Lead with your license, how long you have had it, whether you can drive manual, and your availability for evenings, weekends and holidays. If you have done any work with customers, say so. Valet is a hospitality job with a driving requirement, not a driving job with a hospitality requirement.

4. Expect a driving record check

   Most operators pull your motor vehicle report before they hire, because their car insurance decides who's allowed to drive guest cars. If your record has a recent incident on it, ask what their cutoff is rather than assuming it rules you out everywhere.

5. Interview and driving assessment

   Interviews are short and practical: your availability, how you will get to the site, what you would do when a guest's car is taking too long. Many finish with a driving test in the lot, often in a manual car. Dress the way the job is dressed, and get there early.

6. The first shift

   Training is on site and fast. You will learn the ticket and key system first, then the parking pattern for that account, then the retrieval routine at peak. Ask where the keys live, who signs off on damage reports, and how fast cars are meant to come back. Those three answers cover most of what goes wrong in week one.

After the first job

Valet is a start, not a ceiling. The proof is what these employers list on their own careers pages. LAZ Parking lists valet captain next to attendant, plus bell, door, front desk and shuttle roles. Towne Park lists greeter, traffic controller and shuttle driver beside valet attendant across its hotel accounts.

The usual path is attendant, then lead or captain on a site, then running a shift or an account. The sideways moves are just as real, because most valet work sits inside hotels, hospitals and venues. Bell and door staff, front desk, shuttle driving and event teams all hire from the curb. If the hotel knows you are reliable at the front door, you are not a stranger inside.

Where you start shapes which of those doors opens. The settings comparison covers how hotels, restaurants, hospitals, stadiums and events differ on schedule and pace.