Ultimate Guide: Everything You Need to Run a Successful Parking Operation
Posted: Sep, 14, 2023 9:01AM ET • 21 min read
Parking operations are a catalyst to achieving your bottom line. Revenue generated from parking is imperative to help your organization meet your business goals.
Are you in charge of running your organization’s parking system? If so, you might be asking yourself: How can I maximize parking revenue? How can I ensure parking is available for our visitors, staff, patients, guests, the public, or whoever it may be? And most importantly, how can I prove the parking operation’s worth to executive management?
Parking is one of your most critical investments. This guide will help you:
Ask the right questions
Consider the most important factors
Learn how to run a successful parking operation
Choose the most suitable parking vendor
Parking Equipment
With a myriad of parking equipment on the market, choosing the right fit can be overwhelming. How do you know if the hardware is reliable and of premium quality? How expensive will it be to maintain? Are there any unforeseen costs?
Your parking facilities equipment needs to be functional for your customers and reliable for you. So, where to begin? Choose the most suitable parking equipment for you. For instance, do you require a gated parking solution, or can you get by with multi-space parking meters?
Gated Parking System
Pay-on-Foot parking systems consist of gated equipment that gives drivers only one option if they want to enter your lot — to pay for parking. In addition to the entry and exit gates, the system includes pay stations that can be placed throughout your property (inside or outside) for drivers to purchase parking passes, or pay for parking prior to exiting the parking lot.
Multi-Space Parking Meters
Parking meters, on the other hand, rely on an honour system. When you install multi-space meters, you’re trusting that drivers will pay to park on your property. Pay-and-Display meters require drivers to display a parking receipt as proof of payment on their dashboard. Pay-by-Licence-Plate meters are a little more tech-savvy, requiring drivers to enter their licence plate on the meter’s keyboard, which then enters their vehicle into a cloud-based system with no need to return to the vehicle to display proof of payment. The honour system may result in a loss of parking revenue. However, there are solutions to help combat non-payment, such as regular parking enforcement and Pay-by-Phone parking.
Which solution is best for you?
This will come down to price as well as the volume of traffic passing through your parking lot each day. Multi-space parking meters are a less expensive solution, however they come with the risk of non-payment. Pay-on-Foot solutions are a larger investment upfront, but promise a greater return on investment due to their guaranteed compliance.
Parking Equipment to Enhance Your Parking Facility
EV Charging Stations
In addition to gated parking systems and multi-space meters, Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations are a major asset and revenue generator for property owners. With the steady growth of EV drivers in Canada, EV charging stations are no longer considered a frivolous expense.
It’s time to install EV charging stations in your parking lot. Here are a few reasons why:
Over the past decade, EV purchases have steadily increased and numerous car manufacturers have increased their investment into the future of EVs.
When you install an EV charging station, you’ll become a part of a public, national network that allows EV drivers to locate your parking lot. It’s a great way to put your business on the map while attracting and retaining shoppers, visitors, tenants, and employees.
Certain provinces have recently allowed businesses to charge a user fee to EV drivers, which helps cover the cost of installation and be a source of profit.
Smart EV charging stations provide your business with measurable results using dashboard analytics. This gives your company the ultimate intel. Reports offer detailed information about station utilization and energy use, making it simple to plan for ongoing investment and growth.
Installing an EV charging station can earn your business LEED points with Canada’s Green Building Council – helping you stand out from the competition, improve your infrastructure, meet sustainability goals, and earn incremental revenue.
Parking Guidance Systems
A parking guidance system is a camera-based sensor system that displays real-time parking stall occupancy to drivers using colour-coded lights:
Red signifies that the parking space is occupied
Green signifies that the parking space is available
Blue signifies that the parking space is designated for wheelchair parking
And purple signifies that the parking stall is designated for electric vehicles
It allows your customers to easily and effectively locate available parking in your garage. A parking guidance system displays real-time occupancy of parking stalls and reduces the time spent searching for available parking by 37%.
In addition to helping drivers find an available parking stall, a camera-based parking guidance system can be integrated with a find-my-car kiosk that allows customers to find their vehicle by simply inputting their licence plate.
Parking Revenue
Processing thousands of dollars in parking revenue each day helps to satisfy your bottom line. It also makes your organization responsible for the thousands of transactions per day, and the revenue associated with those transactions. Ensure your supplier protects you from fraud by providing a theft-proof product.
Fraud-Proof Financial Processing
It’s your duty to ensure your supplier abides by bank security credit card processing and cash handling procedures. Factors you’ll want to consider when partnering with a parking equipment supplier are:
Does your supplier abide by bank-standard Level-1 (highest level) Payment Card Industry (PCI) procedures?
What are their cash handling and shrinkage protocols and policies?
Will your supplier directly deposit your parking revenue into your accounts?
Does your supplier undergo regular external audits to ensure they meet financial industry protocols?
Criminal-, Theft-, and Weather-Proof Parking Equipment
If your parking equipment is not theft-proof, it’s going to be next to impossible to generate meaningful parking revenue. Factors you’ll want to consider when partnering with a parking equipment supplier are:
Does your supplier have an instant alert and alarm back-end central management system in place?
Do the machines come with or can they be integrated with surveillance cameras?
Does your supplier have an instant alert and alarm back-end central management system in place?
Do the machines come with or can they be integrated with surveillance cameras?
Technology Integrations
There will come a time when you need to integrate your parking software with a third party, or upgrade your payment methods. Save yourself stress by partnering with a parking provider that has research and development capabilities that you can draw upon when you need.
Live Central Monitoring
Remote monitoring and response for your parking facility allows you to enjoy the same peace of mind as you would with on-site parking attendants, but at a fraction of the cost. This solution is a great addition to on-site parking attendants, or a replacement altogether. It’s wise to invest in a parking system that can be integrated with a remote monitoring and response centre. Here’s why:
It stabilizes parking revenue with instant back-end troubleshooting for equipment malfunction or immediate technician dispatch
It reduces traffic build-up, since representatives can respond to parking questions immediately
It operates 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days per year — just like your parking operation should
Multi-lingual representatives
Video surveillance, allowing representatives to know the driver’s location and respond appropriately
A safer atmosphere
Criminal activity reports
Mobile Parking Platform
Mobile parking is the way of the future. If you don’t have it, it’s time to get it. Below are 4 key features your mobile parking app should include;
Scan-to-pay
Parking reservations
Promo codes
Parking permits
A smart integration that will encourage easy customer journeys. Factors and features you need to consider when offering a mobile parking solution:
Is the app free or does it cost money to download?
Can drivers start and extend their parking session on the go?
Will the app send text message alerts when the user’s parking is about to expire?
Can one account have multiple vehicles and payment methods?
Will the app store parking history, receipts, and favourited parking lots
Does the app provide subscriber data security?
Parking Permits
Offering various types of parking permits appeals to differing customer’s needs, allowing them to commit to your parking lot instead of the one across the street.
Your parking operation should sell and offer a variety of parking permit types, such as monthly parking permits, prepaid parking permits, discounted or complimentary permits for special guests. This isn’t just so you can generate parking revenue. It’s so that you can meet the needs of your customers and internal staff.
Factors you need to consider when partnering with a parking provider for parking permits are:
Can they program parking permits to work with their parking equipment?
Can they connect their parking permit software with third-party systems, such as payroll (for staff)?
Subscriber data security
Do their parking permits come with a subscriber account to self-manage payments, usage tracking, etc.?
Parking Validations
Parking validation solutions enable parking facility managers to provide complimentary or discounted parking to specific visitors. In order to validate parking, you need to have smart parking technology.
There are several different types of parking validations. For example, virtual validations are cloud-based registrations monitored by cloud-based parking enforcement technology. When customers arrive at a parking facility, they’re required to submit their licence plate number using their mobile device or a communal tablet to receive discounted or free parking.
There are also promotion validation systems, which provide parking rebates using barcodes or QR code scans. For example, a customer may receive a barcode on a print coupon or digitally via email. When they arrive and/or exit the parking facility, they’re required to scan their code at a pay station to receive discounted parking.
Being able to validate parking gives property managers the flexibility to treat guests with a VIP experience and give them an incentive to return. It also makes fulfilling reporting requirements and financial reconciliations more efficient.
Parking Management Dashboard
If you are looking to dive deep into your parking operations through data analysis, it’s essential to invest in a smart parking system that collects data. From there you’ll want to ask your parking equipment supplier about having access to an analytics dashboard that can generate insights, reports, and, most importantly, predictions. Key analytics you will need access to are:
Revenue generation
Parking space occupancy
Customer types
Permit types
Payment types
Period-over-period comparisons
Get a behind-the-scenes look at your facility.
Data analysis isn’t for everyone, which is why it’s important to have the information displayed in a clear and easy-to-understand dashboard style. Also be sure to narrow your analysis down to key performance indicators so that you don’t become overwhelmed by too much information.
Parking Management
Parking management services are separate to parking equipment. They are necessary for large parking operations, such as hospitals, mixed-use developments, hotels, and organizations looking to offer a premium stress-free parking experience. Services may include: shuttle buses, valet or on-site staff. Although not required for a successful parking operation, parking management services will bring your parking experience to the next level.
Digital Marketing
Your parking provider should work to maximize your online presence and local search visibility for customers looking to pre-plan their parking journey. Ensuring your parking information is available online and appears in top search results is key in today’s digital-driven climate. Not only will this drive traffic to your lot, which will increase parking revenue, it will alleviate parking anxiety from the onset, reducing the number of issues that come across your desk.
Signage
Parking signs are the heart of your parking operation. They ensure drivers arrive at their destination quickly and safely. When investing in signage, it’s worth partnering with a provider that understands your parking operation as well as your regional bylaws. You’ll also want to partner with a provider that provides a variety of signage, like digital space counters, decals for your parking equipment, hang tags, wall-mounted and free-standing signs, and so on.
Parking Enforcement
Today, parking enforcement services are usually cloud-based and can be integrated with payment and validation options beyond parking meters. Examples include mobile parking payment apps, as well as visitor validation tablets in your lobby or communal space. Each of these measures ensures maximum revenue collection.
In addition to controlling the paid parking aspect of your operation, parking enforcement services are the eyes and ears required to ensure that parking is available for your staff and customers, as well as your tenants and their visitors.
Parking enforcement is an essential add-on service for parking meter operations. Not only will it ensure that unauthorized vehicles parked on your property are issued a violation, it will also turn each and every one of your parking stalls into revenue generators. Enforcement services ensure that parking is available for your visitors and the likelihood of repeat violators is greatly diminished.
Construction and Maintenance
An integral part of a successful parking operation is property maintenance. Maintenance throughout all four seasons will mitigate risk on your property. Stabilize your parking revenue by ensuring all parking spaces are available and easily accessible.
Welcome your customers with a positive first impression while giving them a pleasant parking experience. Property maintenance activities you need to consider to make your parking experiences problem-free are:
Asphalt and concrete infrastructure
Line painting
Snow removal and de-icing services
Landscaping
Cleaning and waste removal
Give yourself the chance to work on your day-to-day tasks with no parking lot-related hiccups by keeping on top of your parking facility maintenance.
Create a Safe and Reliable Parking Operation
A safe parking facility is beneficial not only for your visitors but for your organization as well. It will ensure your daily operations are running smoothly, all while helping to mitigate potential liabilities from taking place on your property.
Whether you are a property owner or a facility manager, ensuring your parking facility is safe should be your top priority. Below are four parking facility necessities that will protect you and your visitors.
Safety and wayfinding signage that guides customers in the right direction
Ample lighting for driving and pedestrian areas
Ongoing concrete and facility infrastructure maintenance
Touchless solutions that reduce physical touchpoints
In addition to ensuring the parking solutions you offer meet safe parking standards, we encourage you to follow safe parking practices that will help keep yourself, other drivers, and pedestrians safe. Below are several parking safety tips that should be followed:
Put your car in park before interacting with devices at entry and/or exit lanes
Do not tailgate
Obey traffic signs
Maintain the speed limit
Do not walk in lane ways
Be aware of your surroundings
Lock your vehicle and keep your valuables out of sight
Sanitize your hands before and after interacting with the machines
Use the main building entrance, avoid rear or secluded exits
Park near the parking attendant, if there is one, or near the stairs or a well-lit exit in an underground lot
Choosing the Right Parking Vendor
Choosing a vendor for parking equipment, management — or both — is a long process that can be overwhelming. How do you know which company you can rely on to help you achieve your bottom line? Are there unforeseen or hidden costs? Whose equipment is the most reliable? Whose team will always come through?
Step 1: Get References
You’ll want to be at par with or surpass organizations in your space. Factors you need to consider are:
What parking vendors are industry leaders? What are organizations similar to yours using? What are your competitors using?
How do these organizations like their products and services? Give them a call.
Step 2: Request a Facility Tour
You’ll want to ensure the parking vendor you partner with has the capacity to operate at the level you need them to. Factors you need to consider are:
Does your supplier have a substantial amount of stock for a rainy day?
Do they have the capacity to build and maintain the product in-house for fast turnaround?
Are they dependent on or slowed down by third parties?
Step 3: Analyze the Cost
The lowest bidder isn’t always the winner. Beware of hidden or unforeseen costs. Factors you need to consider are:
Ongoing maintenance and technical support
Warranties and parts-exchange programs
Billing and reports
Maximize your return on investment. Reduce your stress. Partner with a vendor that relies on in-house resources and expertise. Partnering with a parking vendor that provides a turnkey and full-service parking solution approach means they can set costs and timelines, respond immediately, and innovate solutions to meet your exact needs. Choose one provider for your entire parking solution – you’ll count your lucky stars later.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Luigi Lato
Chief Operating Officer
As Chief Operating Officer at Precise ParkLink, Luigi provides executive support for Precise ParkLink clients during the implementation phase and throughout the life of the contract, acting as Precise ParkLink’s clients’ project champion. He has a degree in telecommunications technology from Ryerson University as well as further accreditations from York University in project management and executive leadership. Before joining Precise ParkLink in 2000, Luigi worked at the Toronto East General Hospital (now the Michael Garron Hospital), rising to the role of Director of Information Technology. Today, he leverages his expertise and experience to make Precise ParkLink the technology-first company that has grown to be a leader in the Canadian parking market. Luigi’s responsibilities today include guiding investments in research and development to create innovative solutions for clients, managing client relationships at the highest level, and leveraging his analytical and numbers-oriented problem-solving skills to support partner organizations in their endeavours.
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