Will This Work

C

cooperdetail

New member
I do not post on here much i am usually on here just looking at all your great work. I currently have a pretty successful detailing shop. But i have got a opportunity to add a service that i am not sure will take off or not i would like some of your input on the idea. A client of mine has offered me a very large warehouse space to rent near our airport and i came up with the idea of offering people who leave there cars at the airport a service of cleaning there vehicle and storing it for them until they get back in town. I could not justify the warehouse space unless i used more of it then i need currently. Do all think this would take off just curious. Sorry for making this so long.
 
The problem areas will be 1) insurance (definitely need to be licensed and bonded and probably carry umbrella insurance due to increased liability) 2)rent usually rental prices in close proximity to airports are sky high and 3) is there enough demand to meet the two requirements. It sounds like a great idea on paper, but near my house (BWI) I have seen several businesses try and fail to provide vehicle services.
 
well i am already bonded and insured up too 2.5mil and can do more as far as the property it looks to be about 3,000 a month and is 3.5 miles from the airport. It may not work i do not know i have a lot to figure out before i jump into it that's for sure.
 
I think it would depend on the airport. If there’s significant business traveler traffic through yours I’ll bet it would be viable.



Airport valet/parking services do a brisk business at LAX. I used one on my last trip. (I really hate letting other people touch my car, even my daily driver/beater, but I ran out of options. I didn’t let them wash it, only parked.)



The key is excellent customer service. Reading through online reviews seems to indicate that most of the services are total flakes, sharking with low-bid pricing then up-charging once they have you cornered and giving bad service. The few that get a rep for honest, consistently good service seem to do well.



Note: as with taxis and limo services, the airport may charge you for the privilege of operating there (customer pick-up and drop-off).





PC.
 
How many square feet for $3000 per month?



At 3.5 miles from the Airport, you'll probably need to offer some kind of shuttle service.



Can you afford to drop what you're doing and go pick some body up at the airport, then bring them back to your shop? Or, Can you afford to hire someone else to do it?
 
well i figured that would be part of the service picking them up and dropping them off at the airport and you can put that in the price of the service they are wanting on there car. The warehouse is owned by one of my very wealthy clients its 10,000sqr feet. He said he would install a indoor wash bay if i wanted also. this is all still very up in the air i have no idea if i will actually go through with it
 
Wow, indoor wash bay! Like PC said, I hate letting other people touch my car, but indoor parking at the airport would be a big relief (no bird bomb worries). I don't know how big an airport or what the shuttle/dropoff fees would be (remember that it is time critical) and I don't know how many cars you can fit in there while still being able to access them easily for removal, but it would be great if you could get it to work. OTOH is what longdx said, and how few potential clients there really are for Autopian-level detailing services and how many of them are actually leaving their car at the airport (as opposed to limo/taxi/family etc). Good luck with figuring it out.
 
30 cents per square foot is pretty cheap. How does that compare to your current shop space?



I'm currently paying 63 cents per square foot for manufacturing/office space in a VERY rural New England town. You're getting better than half that price in a reasonably high-traffic area (ie, airport).



And the owner is willing to install an indoor wash bay for you? Is he doing this for free?



I'm thinking it sounds too good to be true. But if it's the real deal, you would almost be stupid NOT to do this, even WITHOUT the valet/detail thing.
 
Get in touch with the airport and try to determine the extent that you can advertise there and/or with them. If you could cross market your services with their customers some way and become affiliated with the airport it would be a much easier road as opposed to just being a detailing/storage operation near an airport.
 
MichaelM said:
Get in touch with the airport and try to determine the extent that you can advertise there and/or with them. If you could cross market your services with their customers some way and become affiliated with the airport it would be a much easier road as opposed to just being a detailing/storage operation near an airport.
Click to expand...



yeah this is the next step i am going to try working on
 
Less said:
30 cents per square foot is pretty cheap. How does that compare to your current shop space?



I'm currently paying 63 cents per square foot for manufacturing/office space in a VERY rural New England town. You're getting better than half that price in a reasonably high-traffic area (ie, airport).



And the owner is willing to install an indoor wash bay for you? Is he doing this for free?



I'm thinking it sounds too good to be true. But if it's the real deal, you would almost be stupid NOT to do this, even WITHOUT the valet/detail thing.
Click to expand...



well it is a good price the client that offered it to me is very very wealthy and has been a client of mine for over 5 years and loves my work and is very generous with his money. He knows i have grown out of my current location and just threw this out there as a option for me.
 
Less said:
30 cents per square foot is pretty cheap. How does that compare to your current shop space?



I'm currently paying 63 cents per square foot for manufacturing/office space in a VERY rural New England town. You're getting better than half that price in a reasonably high-traffic area (ie, airport).



And the owner is willing to install an indoor wash bay for you? Is he doing this for free?



I'm thinking it sounds too good to be true. But if it's the real deal, you would almost be stupid NOT to do this, even WITHOUT the valet/detail thing.
Click to expand...



Maybe the landlord doesn't think the prospects of renting are very good for the forseeable future, maybe he just likes the OP (he is a customer, after all), or maybe he figures he'll get free details for himself, friends, and family. The OP wouldn't be the first person to get a sweetheart deal because of who he knows...OTOH, even if the rent is low, perhaps it's not the best location for a detail shop if the airport doesn't generate significant business; many airports are away from population centers.



EDIT: I see the OP beat me to the answers on a lot of this...
 
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