Our most successful methods on how to optimize the use of their parking spaces

An important insight in the work of parking management is that even if all spaces are rented, they do not have to be occupied. This means there is scope to top up occupancy rates without affecting availability for tenants. Whether you have empty parking spaces, or have long queues for each location, we have some proven and successful methods that can help you optimize the use of your parking spaces.

See also our webinar.”How to optimize the use of your parking spaces“

‍

Methods for increasing revenue and shortening their queues

As long as you only offer reserved parking, you will never receive more than one revenue per seat. However, as the majority of reserved parking spaces stand empty most of the time, it is an asset that can be put to better use. By converting reserved parking spaces to permit parking, you can, for example, overcoat the surface, offer time-based rights of use and fill vacancies with temporary visitor parking to ensure maximum utilization — without affecting accessibility for tenants.

Then you can work with...

Overcrowding. In general, you can say that an overcrowding of 10 percent is quite manageable, so if you do not already have data on how your existing tenants use your facilities, this is a good starting point. After that, you begin to systematically measure the actual vacancy rate and use that data to screw the overcrowding. The goal is to find a level where the spaces are maximally occupied, without parking customers experiencing a reduced on-site availability.

Time-based right of use. Different tenants need to park at different times of the day, therefore it is smart to offer different parking permits to match these needs. Such as day permits for people who work in the property and need to park during office hours, and evening/weekend permits for residents who instead park when they get home. In this way, you double the usage without affecting the perceived availability. And parking customers are more satisfied because they can pay for what they actually use.

Temporary visitor parking. To get even better track of how your facilities are being used, and also have the opportunity to top up the occupancy rate with visitor parking, ANPR a very good tool. Your cameras feed the parking system with data about your occupancy (by entering and exiting registration numbers) and you use that data to adjust the amount of visitor parking you offer.

“Don't be afraid to ask customers what they think when exploring new products or solutions.”

— Eva Näsholm, Group Manager Parking at Corem

‍

Methods to reduce vacancy rates and get more satisfied customers

Unreserved parking is not only the solution to long queues, it can also do great things for parking spaces with high vacancy rates. This unlocks the possibility to work more flexibly with the parking offer and thus meet several different needs for parking and ancillary services.

Imagine yourself. If you are craving bananas and walk into a store that only sells apples, you will walk away empty-handed. The same goes for your parking spaces. By converting your vacant spaces to unreserved parking zones you can create a range of parking that better matches the actual demand that exists among your potential customers. Do you combine it with well-directed communications and data-driven business decisions You will reduce your vacancy rate while getting more satisfied customers.

‍

Then you can work with...

Packaging. What is the need for parking and ancillary services around your property? As we mentioned earlier, you have potential demand for both day permits and evening and weekend parking, if you look after both your own tenants and surrounding properties. In addition, demand for electric car charging and carpool solutions is increasing, so if there is a shortage of this in your area, you have a potential competitive advantage to pick up.

Pricing. A monthly subscription should have a lower price per day compared to a one-day purchase -- whether it's Netflix or parking. Does your offer look like that today? Otherwise, you should review your pricing. Generally, a reserved space should cost more than a monthly permit for zone parking and visitor parking should be priced higher than contract parking. But you should always start from data when setting your prices, so that you are right in relation to, for example, demand and competition. The same goes for electric car charging.

Automation. How easy is it to get parking with you? If it's too difficult, you might be drawn into trying, and if it takes a long time to get started, it creates unnecessary vacancies in the time from the termination of a parking space until the next tenant is up and running. We recommend that you place your parking spaces on a digital queue page. Here, your parking customers can buy a parking permit themselves and queue. A digital system that automatically matches expressions of interest against vacancies and sends out digital agreements reduces friction and waiting time.

“It is valuable to focus on creating clear and specific place classes. It gives you the opportunity to offer many different options to your parking customers.”

— Nabeel Rihan, Sweden Parking

Customer Club. One customer group that should not be forgotten is the visitors. They are usually anonymous people who may only be with you once in a while, or they come back every week. But it's hard to know without a relationship. If you offer a customer club with benefits (such as a discounted visitor fee or access to attractive parking spaces), you will have the opportunity to build a relationship as soon as they sign up. After that, you have full control and the ability to influence how often they come back. Which also gives you interesting data that helps you adapt the amount of space to your visitor parking.

Communication. Business development in all its glory, but if your potential customers are not aware of your great offers, it's all the same. Therefore, be sure to promote and communicate what you offer in different channels and to multiple audiences. For example, you can:

• Promote discounts and offers via push notifications in your parking app
• Set up allocations in your garages and on nearby bulletin boards
• Make your digital queue page visible on your website and other digital channels
• Send offers by mail to companies in your and nearby properties
• Post and/or put up information sheets in nearby residential buildings
• Inform about your queue page and new offers on your social media
• Use paid advertising via social media, Google or other digital channels

Think about where your potential audiences are — both physically and digitally — and communicate there!

‍

Two prerequisites to be able to optimize utilization

If this is not already clear, we strongly recommend that you convert reserved parking into unreserved spaces, as this is a prerequisite for being able to turn on the offer and optimize the use of your parking assets in a smooth way. In this interview tells our product manager Oskar how electric car charging (or other requested services) can be used as an incentive to get existing tenants to exchange their reserved space for a parking permit.

When you have the technical prerequisites to optimize utilization — how do you know what to screw? This is not possible if you do not have data on how your customers use your facilities. Data is absolutely necessary to make the right decision and achieve an optimal occupancy rate. Here you can read more about how you can use data to develop your parking business.