Have you ever pulled into a parking lot, at perhaps a medium-sized airport and wondered why there were just two parking charge options: A nearby lot with a very expensive daily rate, or a distant and much larger exterior lot for a lower single daily rate? Your line of thought may have logically led you to questions such as: Who sets the prices? On what criteria?
In reality, pricing of airport parking is more complicated than just pegging it to the convenient proximity of the terminal.
Airports, even medium-sized ones, often have thousands of parking spaces under active management, which can present significant operational complexities.The demand for these spaces can fluctuate considerably from the impact of a number of variables like time of the year, time of day, length of trip, pre-booking options, alternatives to airport parking lots (off-site lots, rideshare or drop-off service, for example), and of course, the price.
Today, airport non-aeronautical revenue managers face increasing pressure to optimize revenue from parking operations in ways that enhance the overall customer experience. This is a key reason why leading airports worldwide are reviewing the legacy manner in which they manage their massive parking inventories and are actively searching for modern automation and data-driven solutions rather than just relying on slower decision-making using manual spreadsheet analytics.
Their approach has roots in core principles of revenue management, which are widely used across the transportation and hospitality industries. It raises the ability to utilize advanced analysis of historical and real-time data to arrive at the right price, for the right customer, at the right time.
One company, GrayMatter, is addressing the emerging necessity with an advanced and extensive Car Park Revenue Management Solution (CPRM), branded as SmartLot. This highly automated, data-adept solution, aims to assist parking lot operators at airports, as well as at malls and independent lots, to do just that.
SmartLot leverages revenue management practices, using data mining, forecasting, machine-learning and real-time data, to better forecast occupancy, demand, pricing and potential revenue.
In light of a growing global need for such a car parking revenue management solution, Hospitio is partnering with GrayMatter to help airports examine the true potential of their parking operations. The aim is to deliver the optimum car parking solution to customers, taking into consideration the many variables that influence it. Together with a low cost of implementation (typically 20 weeks), and ownership from an airport perspective, airport managers and business analysts who use SmartLot can gain the benefits of a user-friendly business rules engine and dashboard that efficiently adapts business processes to find, analyze and execute operations in the most optimum manner possible.
If you would like to learn more about the effectiveness of this car parking revenue management solution, contact us at inquiries@hospitio.com or visit https://www.graymatter.co.in/smartlot/