News & Updates

In the Age of Smart Amenities, Don’t Forget Parking

While many trends focus on in-home technology, parking is also a smart amenity that benefits you and your residents

Simplicity and convenience are key when it comes to serving modern residents. People often look for a community that offers amenities that simplify daily life. If you want to increase renewal rates, attract new residents, and generate revenue, incorporating technology add-ons and amenities is the key, according to a 2018 Entrata survey.

You can add instant appeal by implementing amenities such as package lockers, online resident portals, keyless entry, smart thermostats, and smart parking solutions.

Common Condo Parking Isses

Many communities have trouble managing their parking lots or getting people to follow their parking rules. We often talk to communities about issues like these:

  • Renters having to search for parking
  • Guest cars staying too long
  • Difficulty getting parking passes for guests
  • Difficulty detecting parking rule violations
  • Inability to enforce the parking rules
  • Clunky parking payment systems
  • Lack of revenue for community maintenance

A smart parking system can help you smooth out all those issues. We’ll show you how.

Smart Parking as an Amenity

While many trends focus on in-home technology, parking is also a smart amenity that can benefit you and your residents.

According to NMHC’s 2017 Renter’s Preferences Report, having secure resident and visitor parking helps set communities apart. A parking management system is a worthwhile value-add amenity for your community if you’re looking to gain a market advantage.

With a reliable smart parking solution, you can take control of the parking in your community and generate extra revenue.

Adding Value with Parking

Offering premium reserved spaces gives residents the opportunity to ensure they have a specific place to park every day. Humans are creatures of habit and comfort. Most are willing to pay for that comfort as well. A recent NAA study found that renters in Austin, Texas were willing to pay a premium of up to $18 a month for reserved parking.

J Turner Research reported in their 2016 Next Gen Apartment Survey that renters don’t want to search for parking every day, preferring to pay for designated spaces and avoid the hassle. Not surprisingly, the older the renter, the more they’re willing to pay for a dedicated space. By implementing premier reserved parking, you create revenue potential for your community.

Guest parking can be an ancillary income opportunity. You might offer your residents 72 hours of complimentary guest parking a week. If they want to have guests past that 72-hour limit, you can offer self-service paid parking. You can also charge for overnight guest parking.

Let's say you have 10 guest spaces, with a fee of $3 per vehicle per night. If each space is full every night, that's $23 a night (after service fees) and means a potential monthly profit of almost $700. Of course, you can choose what to charge based on your rules and location. With paid guest parking alone, you may even cover the costs of your smart parking management solution.

Neither residents nor guests want to go through the trouble of obtaining a guest pass through the management office. A software-based parking platform like Parking Boss allows people to conveniently take care of their parking needs with a smartphone or internet-enabled device.

A parking management solution like Parking Boss can boost your community’s smart technology amenities while taking control of a common pain point for you and your residents.

Implementing smart home amenities in your community is vital to keep up with market trends. Not only are they attractive to renters, but these amenities can also add value by saving time and generating revenue.

6 Advantages of a Smart Parking System

Here are just a few benefits of using a smart parking system.

  • More security for residents’ cars: A smart parking system makes it easy to assign parking spots and make sure non-assigned people don’t use them.
  • Less hassle for guests: No one has to go to the trouble of going to management for a guest parking pass. They can buy a pass straight from their phones.
  • Automatic violation detection: Your smart parking system will automatically detect when the wrong car is parked in a space.
  • Easier parking enforcement: With automatic detection for violations, your enforcement team can consistently spot violations and quickly deal with them.
  • Extra income opportunities: Smart parking systems usually make it easy to charge guests and/or residents for parking, giving you an extra source of income.
  • Built-in payment system: The payment system is built into the smart parking app, so you don’t have to install parking meters or have people visit management to pay.