This Time it Really is Different!

Parking Apps are a game changer for property managers. It’s simple. Parking apps are easy and less expensive ways to manage parking. If you offer pay parking, apps simplify many of the tasks that commercial property teams just aren’t trained to do.

There are clear reasons technological disruption is shaking up every business it touches. Think of the advantages of any go-to apps you use such as Netflix, Uber, or Facebook. Now parking owners and managers are positioned to reap the same benefits of mobile apps we see everywhere around us: BETTER-FASTER-CHEAPER!!

Parking Apps Improve ROI

Over my years in the parking and real estate sectors, I have been involved in many projects where it was straightforward that new technology would improve return on investment. This time around, I am certain that apps offer a far more radical opportunity than ever before. At ParkingDesk, I specialize in improving parking revenue and customer experience for property clients. I find that cloud-based parking applications allow landlords, managers, and support staff to easily oversee parking revenues like any other aspect of building operations. With parking apps, managers can immediately retrieve the data to make knowledgeable decisions.

If you run a parking operation the bottom line is that you can make more money with less work. Here are four examples!

Charge for Daily Parking – No Staff or Equipment Required

Daily parkers can pay on their smartphone without the need for parking attendants or equipment. Free or paid parking validations can even be handled directly by your tenants for their visitors. Due to this convenience, there is no need for any check-in with your property team at all.

Track Authorized Parking

Your property team will have real-time data to identify authorized parking and track repeat offenders. Moreover, you can even tag unauthorized parkers on the go with an app like PayTag+.

Automate Monthly Permit Payment

First, set your rules for how many permits are available to which tenants at what prices. Next, tenants and customers sign up and pay for monthly permits online with no administration on your part. Finally, customers fill in the account information and make payment online.

Information at a Click

Turn data into decisions and better manage your team. Cloud-based parking apps allow you to view operational data at your desktop or on the go.

Share access directly with your property team. Your accountant can reconcile bank deposits and leasing representatives can look up parking ratios. Furthermore, you can better manage your service provider by viewing occupancy levels or other performance metrics.

Are We There Yet?

Yes, the parking app market now has enough momentum that tenants and parkers are using these apps elsewhere and demanding them from their own landlords. The public intuitively understands that apps are quick and convenient.

Disruption is still ongoing in the parking industry. Property managers have a lot of app choices. Innovative new companies are offering payment apps targeted directly to consumers that aim to attract customers to your property. A property can just sign up with the app provider and off you go. Since there are a lot of new start-ups, due diligence is required to ensure your enterprise standards for e-commerce and tenant privacy are maintained.

Disruption upsets the apple cart. In the case of parking apps and commercial property owners, it is the cost benefit to property owners that will make it inevitable that the app trend continues. This is in line with the growth of mobile payment throughout the wider economy.

So what is the takeaway for property managers and owners?

• Apps will allow you to monetize or control any size parking area with no equipment required.
• New technology automates the parking transaction so fully as to reduce the reliance on third-party operators.
• Decision makers have immediate cloud access to the financial and traffic data necessary to effectively oversee, audit and provide guidance to property teams.
• Apps are here to stay and mobile pay rates continue to rise in popularity. This is clearly reflected in the higher rate of mobile payment by the millennial generation and younger. Parking apps let your customers pay the way they prefer to.

All of the above points are profit-boosting moves that require no extra cash investment. Whether you want to optimize profits from your parking through efficiencies or introducing new products and services, the bottom line is that apps allow you to make more money with less work.