John Glenn Columbus International Airport has added a valet auto maintenance and detailing service – which lays the runway for the Columbus startup’s expansion to more cities and states.
Vohnt LLC, which already was pacing ahead of sales goals in its first year, expects “hockey stick” sales growth with the addition of the airport, co-founder and CEO Ethan Dewhurst said. If fewer than 1% of travelers book an oil change or other service, it means millions in revenue.
The startup aims to operate in 10 airports by 2028.
“This is our scale plan," Dewhurst said. "We can really be one of the first unicorns in the car care space, by 2040."
Launched in July 2021, the company hit its goal of 1,000 first-year appointments in 10 months. More than half of customers schedule repeat service, and 18% use it monthly.
Before the airport, Vohnt spread through agreements with parking lot and garage operators, downtown employers, and multifamily and mixed-use developments. It tries to keep those feeders within a short drive of its Franklinton garage. Still, the real estate and marketing expenses are higher.
"As we think about the valet model, we want to make sure we're in as many ‘stocked ponds’ as possible," Dewhurst said. "There’s not a bigger stocked pond than the airport."
Here's how it works: Parkers schedule a service online, such as an oil change or full detail inside-and-out wash, and put their car key in Vohnt's lock box. Valets drive the vehicle to the company's 14,000-square-foot garage in Franklinton, then return it to where it was parked.
Vohnt hired a racing pit crew to design faster processes, so it can handle more than 200 cars in 24 hours.
One Columbus, the regional economic development organization, is a client of Dewhurst’s other business, a media production firm. It made the introduction when the airport was looking to add passenger amenities as travel picked up again in the pandemic.
Other operators wanted to take up space at the airport for their garages, Dewhurst said. Negotiations took about 10 months for the deal. The airport has a "small percentage" of revenue sharing, he said.
Vohnt has a dedicated space in the short-term parking garage. Customers get a code to enter and get a premium spot at a lower rate than the rest of the garage.
An airport also provides a 24/7 flow of customers in contrast to weekdays downtown. The lockbox model means no need for a staffed service desk.
Vohnt is seeking a spot to build or renovate a second garage near the airport, to improve efficiency and reduce mileage on customer cars.
Following a soft launch in the past few weeks, the service will start advertising and add signage by the end of September.
"That garage is going to look like a Vohnt billboard soon," Dewhurst said.
Rev1 Ventures put Vohnt through its six-month course for tech-enabled services. While it has its own software for scheduling and other efficiencies, it is more labor and material intensive than an all-tech business.
The startup has grown to 16 employees and is hiring for the added volume. Co-founders are Kyle Barger, a real estate investor and founder of metals recycling company Champion Trading Group, and Andrew Hulse, senior account manager at marketing firm The Shipyard.
Dewhurst's Champion City Media, founded in 2015, is an eight-figure business, but there’s a limit to how much it can grow, he said. Vohnt represents "legacy over cash."
"How many opportunities do we have in this day and age to disrupt a market?" Dewhurst said. "This one is hard. It’s very hard. As a result, there hasn’t been a lot of people climbing for it.
"How cool is it, to really have an opportunity to change a stagnant industry?"
