Just in time for the busy tourism season, Scottsdale has created an innovative, low-cost solution that will help travelers journey throughout the city with ease.
Scottsdale has partnered with ride-share companies Uber, Lyft, and SuperShuttle/ExecuCar to offer discounted rates to visiting travelers during a trial program. Starting this month, these ride-share companies will promote a Scottsdale-specific discount code to their customers. When visitors pay for their ride-share vehicles, they will use the provided code to reduce their fares on eligible trips between a Scottsdale hotel and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and trips within Scottsdale’s borders.
Transportation is one of the most important factors meeting planners evaluate when considering sites for destination events, conventions and conferences. According to consumer research, travelers believe Scottsdale provides fewer tourist transportation options than competitive destinations including Palm Springs, Austin, San Diego, Las Vegas, Miami, Santa Fe, San Antonio and Phoenix.
Scottsdale launched the trial program in response to perceptions concerning Scottsdale’s lack of transportation options, as well as to gain data regarding visitor needs and to consider long-term solutions.
“Visitors want to move easily throughout our community. With this new program, Scottsdale is rolling out the red carpet for them,” said Experience Scottsdale President & CEO Rachel Sacco. “Our hope is that when visitors return home, they look back fondly on their Scottsdale visit – including how easy it was to get to Scottsdale and explore the community.”
Scottsdale Transportation Director Paul Basha believes that a targeted ride share program offers a better use of tax dollars than other transportation options.
“The city investigated several options, such as scheduled trolley service and rental car shuttles, for providing direct connection between Scottsdale hotels and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport,” said Basha. “However, these generalized service concepts were dismissed as too expensive. A service focused specifically on visitors and tourist destinations using hotel bed tax revenue made the most sense economically.”
The program provides convenient, quick, and direct travel between Sky Harbor and Scottsdale. And by promoting point-to-point ride-share services, the program has the potential to alleviate parking issues in downtown Scottsdale and at major Scottsdale events.
In December, the Scottsdale City Council approved the use of visitor-generated bed-tax dollars from the Tourism Development Fund to reimburse Uber, Lyft, and SuperShuttle/ExecuCar for the program. Visitors can access the discount code via promotions from the participating ride-share companies beginning Jan. 25, 2018. The code will deduct up to $10 for users with a non-metropolitan Phoenix address for a maximum of two eligible trips. Eligible trips include travel to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and a Scottsdale hotel, or between two locations within Scottsdale’s borders, such as from a Scottsdale hotel to a Scottsdale restaurant or store.
