Four Benefits of Automated Parking Addition

How much time do you spend on queuing and adding parking? An addition process can look a little different. In this blog post, we go through Three Ways to Automate Appointment on, as well as the greatest opportunities this presents for those of you who own or manage parking. We also give you some tips on how to choose which level of automation is best suited for your particular business.

How is the addition of parking done?

In the case of digitized parking management, the addition flow looks like this:

1. You display your offer on a digital shopping page (we'll tell you more about this here)
2. Your customer reports interest in or purchases a digital parking permit/reserved space (here you can see a movie showing the buying journey of the customer)
3. The customer gets access to their contract and can start parking (this is done seamlessly with step 2)

What happens when the customer gets access to their new car park? There are three different addition processes (four, if you count the manual one):

1. Automatic addition from queue (0 min)

• The system automatically sends a contract proposal by email to the next person on the turn when a seat becomes vacant
• The customer signs the contract digitally
• The customer downloads your self-branded smartphone app and gets access to their parking directly

2. Automatic filling by direct purchase of a parking permit or reserved seat (0 min)

• The system automatically sends a contract proposal to the customer at the time of purchase
• The customer downloads your self-branded smartphone app and gets access to their parking directly

3. Expression of interest with automatic matching (5 min)

• The system matches the expression of interest against the vacancy
• The system automatically sends a notification in the event of a match
• Administrators review the match and send contract proposals digitally in a few clicks
• The customer receives the contract by email and accepts digitally
• The customer downloads your self-branded smartphone app and gets access to their parking directly

4. Manual handling (approx. 60-100 min + several days lead time) (NB — not via Park46)

• Administrators match expressions of interest against vacancies
• The agent prepares a contract proposal that is sent to the customer
• The customer signs and sends back the contract
• Administrators register the agreement, acknowledge key, prepare invoicing etc...

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Automated Appointment Reduces Administration

As we have previously written Here in the Knowledge Base is it not uncommon that without a digital parking system, it takes about 60-100 minutes of effective working time for a caseworker to manually fill a parking space (and then we count off all waiting time, such as contracts to be sent back and forth by post)

When using a digital parking system This processing time can be reduced by between 85 and 100 percent.

This means completely new opportunities for you as a property owner. An appointment process that used to be difficult and resource-intensive can now be made simple and efficient, as the system takes care of the administration.

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Automation increases customer satisfaction

It is also not uncommon for customers to find it difficult and time-consuming to apply for parking. Where to turn? How do I know my place in the queue? When will the agreement come? How long do I need to wait for my garage key?

This uncertainty and the long wait times that often result from manual parking management lead to frustration on the part of many parking customers. When you automate the reservation, your customers get full visibility into what is happening with their queue and direct access to the car park as soon as there is a spot or parking permit available.

In other words: if your main challenge is to make your parking customers feel satisfied, a digital system support is a great opportunity. When customers are offered a quick and easy way to get their own parking - without waiting time - then customer satisfaction will increase.

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How dare you automate?

A common question we get is whether one really dares to automate the entire addition to 100%. The short answer is that it is entirely up to you - here are three examples of how to think:

1. For example, if you work with large volumes of parking permits that should be available to anyone, it may be beneficial to let the system handles the entire filling process automatically. It minimizes your administration, while making it faster for your customers to access their parking. With full automation, you maximize both occupancy and customer experience — win-win.
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2. If you have a smaller parking space and/or specific requirements that need to be met in order for someone to park, you can also try full automation. Then you set automatic checks in the system. For example, a specific authorization code should be required for a purchase to go through. Alternatively, you can activate a link to the SPAR register, which means that the person's registered address is automatically matched against your criteria before a purchase can go through. Full automation increases profitability, while you have full control over who will be able to park with you.
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3. If you have a complex parking business with many special cases (which cannot be solved according to example 2), you can choose to offer only expressions of interest and then take care of the addition semi-manually. Also in this process, many steps are automated. For example, the system manages the queue order, matching between expressions of interest and vacancies, and sends a notification when there is a match — All you have to do is press a button..

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Summary — what do you gain by automating the appointment process?

In short, the four main advantages of automating the addition are:

• Time saved for the administrator
• Faster buying experience for the customer
• Reduced cost of filling
• Increased occupancy

By digitizing parking management, you can reduce your administrative costs, while improving the parking experience for your customers. In addition, the faster rate of addition contributes to an increased occupancy rate.