Parking in ski resort towns can be tricky. And if you leave Denver too late — any time after 6 a.m. on the weekends — there’s a chance you won’t find parking at resorts like Vail, Arapahoe Basin and Winter Park.
Edwards-based startup Spotsurfer, which claims to be the “Airbnb of parking,” aims to help alleviate congestion and parking woes in mountain towns. Its app connects drivers with open parking spaces at businesses and homes near ski resorts.
“People rent out the interior of their houses,” said James Hohenlohe, founder and president of Spotsurfer. “With our app, they rent out their driveway or their extra parking space.”
Here’s how it works. Drivers download the Spotsurfer app, type in their destination and date of rental, select their desired parking spot and reserve the spot in advance. Property owners, including hotels and homeowners, lease their empty parking spaces to Spotsurfer, which lists the spots on its marketplace.
Drivers pay a 2% credit card fee in addition to the daily rate for a parking spot. Property owners and Spotsurfer split the booking fee 50-50, startup CEO Erik Davison said.
“As a Colorado native having worked in many resort towns, I have seen first-hand the growing problem of parking in the summer, winter at events and more,” said Adam Cadenhead, general manager at Sitzmark Lodge in Vail, which partners with Spotsurfer. “The Spotsurfer team has found what I think is an incredible solution.”
Spotsurfer is currently operational in Summit, Eagle and Grand counties, offering about 450 parking spots in Winter Park, Breckenridge, Dillion, Frisco, Vail and other Colorado mountain towns. By April, the startup plans to have at least 1,000 spots listed on the platform, Davison said.
Renting a parking spot through Spotsurfer ranges from $15 to $25 for a location further from the base of the mountain and $50 to $75 for one close to the chairlift. Davison said the average cost to rent a parking spot also varies by county, with Eagle ranging between $30 to $40 and Grand sitting around $25.
The startup is arranging spots in the Keystone area and has its sights set on some near Arapahoe Basin, a ski resort that has agreed to be purchased by Denver-based Alterra Mountain Co.
Hohenlohe founded Spotsurfer in June 2022, a few months after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder. While studying business at CU, he participated in the Leeds School of Business’s mentorship program where he met Davison.
Hohenlohe planned to work in management consulting upon graduation but instead came up with the idea for Spotsurfer. When he shared this vision with Davison, the two of them opted to launch the startup.
Spotsurfer was in beta testing from January 2023 to the start of the 2023-24 ski season. But it doesn’t only plan to alleviate congestion and parking woes in the winter. It also operates in the summer, helping towns during events and peak-visit days.
Since launching to the public, Spotsurfer has moved into a 2,000-square-foot space in Edwards with four offices, a large conference room and a coffee machine. Over the last six months, the startup has also grown its user base to about 350 drivers.
Spotsurfer has not raised venture capital. Hohenlohe and family and friends have put about $750,000 into the startup, Davison said.
Future plans for Spotsurfer include expanding into Utah and California in late 2024 or early 2025. It’s also considering licensing its technology to large commercial companies in metro areas.
Spotsurfer isn’t the only company hoping to alleviate parking issues in Colorado mountain towns. The Colorado Department of Transportation offers a bus — called Snowstang — to regional ski resorts and a year-round express service called Pegasus takes passengers from Union Station to several mountain towns every hour. RTD also takes skiers and boarders to Eldora Mountain, and Epic Mountain offers shuttles. CDOT is looking into options to build a potential passenger rail from Denver to Craig, too.
