February Parking Professional Spotlight

Valet to Visionary: Tim Maloney’s Journey Through Parking and Tech 

As early as his first year in college, Tim Maloney was looking for opportunity. He had been working as a valet since he was 17 and was ready for more responsibility.   

So, he went to his boss and said, “Hey, I’d like to learn more!” He volunteered to help with leadership support and administrative tasks for free, 10 hours a week. This was in addition to his full-time schedule as a valet. Not long after he started training and supporting the leadership team, he was promoted to operations manager and given a portfolio of locations to oversee.  

Working over 40 hours a week and going to school full-time was HARD, but he remembers really enjoying it.  “I felt like I was excelling,” Tim says, “and I thought I could make a career out of this.” So, he did.  

Getting Off the Ground in the Parking World 

Tim began working for Signature Parking in Santa Barbara, focusing on operations.  He developed skills in logistics, scheduling, and operational strategy, earning respect through hands-on leadership. He remembers a lot of his “Parking 101” work being “trial and error.” There was no “school” for parking – learning was by experience. At 21, Tim was promoted to General Manager of the entire Bay Area region and decided to leave school. He figured, “How do I pass this up? I can always go back to school.”  He didn’t, but it worked for him because he “worked hard, hustled, and met the right people.”  

He focused on building trust with clients, earning their confidence and ultimately their partnership. After about 5 years, he began participating in various industry organizations and networking events, which is when he met Clyde Wilson, founder of TPN. They shared similar visions for the future of parking and began collaborating. Tim believes that his advancement into leadership had a lot to do with relationships like this one. 

See. Learn. Do.  

Tim expanded into Executive Management, learning how to run an operational and business development organization. This opened the door for his recruitment by Propark Mobility to launch and lead its West Coast operations. Here, he learned business development, national sales leadership, and customer relationship management.  Clyde Wilson, founder of TPN, recalls thinking then that Tim was a great marketer, a “go-getter who knows the business,” and a “great person to have on your side.”  

Tim reported to John Schmid, owner of ProPark, who mentored Tim in marketing, people skills, and long-range vision. Jumping into Mergers & Acquisitions, Tim finished out his time at ProPark leading their National Sales Team. ProPark is a huge innovator in technology and reservations. Excited about this tech, Tim believed he could make the greatest impact on the parking industry through it, which positioned him to pursue a career at SpotHero.

Accelerating in the Industry 

Everything changed when Tim joined SpotHero, a start-up tech company backed by major VC investors. Proactively, he called Mark Lawrence and said, “Look, I want to come on board. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”  He brought his operational experience to help develop their product. He built and led the sales organization at SpotHero, helping the company scale to over 8,000 locations during his time there.   

Tim’s skill set expanded through sales training and tech innovation, positioning SpotHero as a leader in digital parking solutions.  Not only that, but he made lifelong friends here. Together, they were so focused and friendly and built a community at Spot Hero. 

His next role took him into consulting, supporting the parking data platform, INRIX. After setting up their strategy and vision for growth within their space, he was recruited by FLASH to come on as their VP of Enterprise Solutions where he worked with national parking partners to roll out FLASH’s entire suite of products across their portfolios.  

Tim credits working with operators at this scale as the experience that really taught him to sell differently, talk to operators differently, and look at the industry differently. After 2 years in that position, Tim was tapped to help launch and grow FLASH’s EV Charging division, further expanding his experience in parking and mobility. 

In 2024, Tim launched his consulting firm, Tim Maloney Advisory, providing various services to parking operators and technology companies including product road mapping, GTM strategies, M&A and technology advising, and more. 

Looking Ahead 

In the spring of 2025 Tim began working with Reservations Lab as their fractional CRO before taking on a full-time role as an executive and board member. Reservations Lab is a platform that connects operators to travelers to fill parking spaces and optimize yield per stall. They do this by selling parking on a dozen different reservation platforms, along with offering ancillary products like hotel rooms, lounge access, vehicle coverage, and more.  

Further continuing his growth in this space, Tim is now working closely with major Online Travel Agents to bring additional travel ancillaries to parkers, resulting in an increase in revenue per stall for parking operators. Forging powerful partnerships and unlocking new opportunities is where Tim continues to excel. 

Mentors 

Mentorship is one of the key factors in Tim’s success. He has sought opportunities to meet with and learn from industry veterans and new entries alike. Growing up, Tim learned the art of negotiation and how to deal with many kinds of people from his dad, a sports agent. He went with him to NFL and college games and listened to conversations from the corner of the room as his Dad negotiated multimillion-dollar contracts and brought in new players to his agency. Next, Michael Holmstrom of Signature Parking gave Tim his first opportunity in parking. Michael is also great at sales and great with people and shared his knowledge with Tim. They are still friends after 25 years and continue to support one another. John Schmid, the founder of Propark, was instrumental in developing Tim into the executive leader he is today. John also made a major impact on Tim’s personal life, guiding him through the challenges of being a new husband, new father, and how to navigate his career post Propark. Tim credits Mark Lawrence, Founder & CEO of SpotHero, for taking his leadership abilities to the next level. In addition to these individuals, Tim credits several other longstanding parking professionals for teaching him the history of the industry, their vision for the future, and how to continue growing as a leader and as a human.  

Words of Advice 

Tim says one key to being successful in parking is working a network – expose yourself to as many people as possible in the industry and never hesitate to reach out to people, even if you are a “nobody” calling a “somebody.” You never know who will take the time to talk to you. Be active in your industry’s organization and get connected to LinkedIn – the parking industry loves LinkedIn. Soak up knowledge from other people and industry resources.  

'Family and Motivation 

Tim’s biggest motivation comes from outside work: his kids and those close to him. His son is excelling at UC Santa Barbara in Pre-Med, and his daughter is finishing up her senior year of high school. She’s planning to get into marketing and is already lining up internships in the parking industry. She, along with her brother, grew up in the SpotHero office, after all. “I’m so proud of them” he beams. 

For Tim, the best part of his job is working with good people. He is so thankful for all the lifelong friendships he has made through his years in parking. “My success in parking has been really built on relationships, lifting each other up, and trust.”  

Congratulations, Tim, on your new job with Reservations Lab and we look forward to what you all will bring to the parking industry.