For commercial real estate owners, parking is often a point of contention. It has the potential to be a powerful revenue generator. But wringing profits from a parking lot requires ongoing financial investment, time investment and effort – assets that many CRE owners possess in short supply.
This is true across the board for commercial properties, whether office buildings, hotel/hospitality properties, retail properties, or special-purpose premises like arenas and private parks. Parking often assumes a subordinate revenue-generating role to the primary business while commanding an inordinate amount of attention and resources.
What is a CRE owner to do? In this article, let’s make a case for outsourced parking management services. Here are a few benefits of outsourcing your parking management to experts
Parking Isn’t Straightforward – And the Experts Understand That
First, let’s dispel the misconception that parking is easy or straightforward.
Parking is supposed to be easy for the end-user. A user should be able to find the lot, find a spot, pay for a spot, and leave – all with relative ease. But the management strategies and technology that go into facilitating that frictionless experience are anything but straightforward.
Running a smooth, successful parking business requires specialized knowledge, a unique subset of skills, and access to modern parking technology. Outsourced parking experts understand that.
Focus on Your Core Business
One of the main benefits of outsourcing parking management is that it allows you to concentrate on your core business.
Your core business is comprised of the products/services, functions and capabilities that yield the largest return on your investment. For a hotel, that’s hospitality. For an arena, ticket sales, etc. Unless you own a dedicated parking facility that does nothing else, parking is an ancillary source of value.
It doesn’t make sense, therefore, to divert undue resources and core competencies toward it if you can outsource instead.
Embrace Modern, Tech-Forward, Value-Adding Parking Solutions
When you outsource management to a renowned parking management company, you don’t just get an account manager; you also get modernhardware and softwarethat attracts customers, adds value, and provides you with financial insights.
Take REEF, for example, one of the largest parking management companies in North America: Their services come with a suite of technological offerings, like a mobile app, cloud-based PARCS, LPRs (license plate recognition) and a remote monitoring command center.
These offerings aren’t simply bells and whistles. They help increase your lot’s net operating income in the short term, and help you stay ahead of the competition in the long term.
Earn Passive Income
Lastly, let’s cover an obvious benefit of outsourcing parking management – you earn income without devoting time and energy toward the operation. Outsourcing allows you to transform your parking real estate into a passive income generator without surrendering power entirely. With remote monitoring capabilities, you can still keep an eye on your assets, while ceding the daily operational aspects of the business to experts. It’s the best of both worlds.
Parking shouldn’t have to be a point of contention for CRE owners and investors. If you want to boost your lot’s net operating income, leverage modern technology, focus on your core business, and take the effort out of earning money from parking, outsourcing is the way to go.
