---
type: concept
tags: [parking, domain, business, capacity, manned]
sources: []
updated: 2026-06-15
status: open
---

# Valet / Over-Capacity Mode

"Full" is **not** necessarily a hard stop. If the operator opts in, a lot at nominal capacity can
still accept cars via **valet**: the customer hands over the keys and leaves, and the operator
stacks/double-parks the vehicle beyond the marked space count. (User direction, 2026-06-15.)

## "Full" is a soft, operator-configurable policy

The [[capacity-occupancy]] FULL gate is therefore a **policy knob**, not a physical absolute:

- **Refuse** — hard stop at nominal capacity (the default/strict behaviour).
- **Valet over-capacity** — accept beyond capacity into operator custody.

The choice is the operator's, per site (and possibly per time/condition).

## Valet is a manned-mode feature with a different session shape

Valet only exists when there's an operator (cf. [[shift]] — manned-only). It adds a **custody**
dimension the normal [[parking-session]] doesn't have:

- The **operator takes custody** of the car — identity is a **claim/valet ticket**, and the
  operator (not the driver) is accountable for the vehicle between handover and return.
- New facts to record (as signed [[append-only-event-chain]] events when built): **key handover**,
  where/when parked, and **return** to the customer. The operator's accountability ties into the
  [[shift]] Z-report and [[reconciliation]] (a valet car with no return record is an anomaly).
- Payment still flows through the normal [[tariff]] (duration-based) unless a separate valet fee
  applies.

## Status — deferred

Captured now so the [[capacity-occupancy]] design treats "full" as soft and the entry flow leaves a
clean seam. **Not** built into the current transient entry flow (decision 2026-06-15). Full design —
the valet session/custody model, the claim ticket, the over-capacity accept path — is future work.

## Open

- Valet session/custody data model (claim ticket, parked location, return event).
- Whether a distinct valet fee/tariff applies, or normal duration pricing.
- Operator UI for handover/return; how it ties to the [[shift]] accountability record.