717 Parking:A Company That’s Passionate About Parking
By John Van Horn
“It’s all about passion. Pas-
sion for a company, passion for our cus- tomers, passion for
our employees, and passion for parking,” said Jason Accardi, CEO, and his identical twin brother John Accardi, COO, of 717 Parking Enterprises, in talking with Parking Today about their family, their company, and their life. “I’m proud that we are unique. My brother and I
founded this company 21 years ago. Today, it is still privately held,” explains Jason. “We offer an old-fashioned touch, and our cus-
tomers feel it. My brother and I have put our heart and souls into this company.We are growing in 17 states, with over 3,000 employees, and in more than 500 locations. “It’s not just about parking cars, but how you
interact with a particular customer -- hotel guests, hos- pital patients, people who park in our garages and on our lots. Each customer has different and unique needs, and we train our employees to cater to each individual and these needs,” states John. TheAccardi brothers are intimately involved in the
company’s day-to-day activities nationwide, exercising hands-on management techniques. Jason said the compa- ny is growing organically. It is organized; it looks inward for its wisdom. “Our senior management has a long history with us. Some have
717 Parking Enterprises valet attendant, Tang Pham, assists a customer while greeting them with John (L) and Jason Accardi, at the International Plaza where the company provides valet parking and “front door” services.
been here five years, most for more, and many for 20 years. Our father, John Sr., has been an integral part of our growth and success as an organization, serving as Senior Vice President.” 717 Parking is growing, and in the present economy, Jason and
John talked about growth without acquisition. “The people who run this company are service-oriented park-
ing people. We live parking, we love parking. It’s not part of a multi-faceted publicly traded cor- poration.
“When you deal with 717
Parking and its employees, you get a warm, family feeling. When you want to talk to the owners, you can just pick up the phone.” Jason and John also own and operate two sister companies, Hos-
pital Parking Management and Bay-to-Bay Transportation Services. The former provides an array of parking services for businesses in the healthcare industry, while the latter performs transportation services. “We’re not just another service provider,” John said. “We own
and operate our facilities, and we provide staff and consultation services to our clients. Over the past 20 years, we’ve learned a lot through firsthand experience. “We have become a one-stop shop in the parking industry.We are
structured, balanced and mature, yet stillwecontinue to growand learn.” When 717 needed a Sr. Vice President of Operations, they
reached out – internally and promoted within the company. Jeff Kil- coyne came to 717 Parking over 20 years ago as a valet attendant working his way up and has been with the company ever since. Cur- rently, Jeffrey is responsible for nationwide operations and overseeing
14
our team of area and regional managers. His ability to quickly under- stand an operation and put in place what is necessary to ensure guar- anteed success has made Jeffrey a valuable asset to our company. “I believe the most important reason people come to 717 Park-
We live parking, we love parking.
ing, and more importantly stay, is that our company is people orien- tated. I am proud to have been with this company for so long. There is not only evidence of being rewarded for my hard work and dedi- cation but, most importantly, a feeling of reward and success when dealing with satisfied clients and customers,” stated Jeff Kilcoyne. “When a client encounters
an issue, they call us, and we go to the facility,” Jason said. “We’ll do a complete analysis and give themthe information they need to make knowledgeable decisions about the business, including which equip- ment and services would best fit their facility.We are available to our customers 24/7.”
Train, Train, Train The Accardis and their team developed extensive training pro-
grams designed to ensure that employees’ service and performance are top-notch. “The proprietary programs are called Seven One Seven Hospi-
tality Informational Training (717-HIT) and Hospital Parking Man- agement Information Training (HPM-IT). “We implement them because they work,” John said. One of their main points is continual learning. Rather than train- ing people for one day and throwing them onto the front line, the
Continued on Page 18 Parking Today
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