RezPort offers Industry’s Best Parking Reservation Solution. So much more than reservations, RezPort is the whole parking management package, including yield management.
Part 3: Yield Management
Airports are looking to increase non-aeronautical revenue streams, including airport parking. As seen in Part 1 of this series, an airport website with an online parking reservation platform will turn “lookers into bookers” and transform the site into a revenue generation tool with a simple reservation. But did you know that an online parking reservation system also empowers you with digital marketing capability both before and after the sale? Here’s how:
First, Snag the Sale
Yield management is a popular buzzword for Airports, especially as it relates to airport parking. And with Airports looking to increase non-aeronautical revenue streams, parking cannot be overlooked as the #1 or #2 source of airport revenue.
What exactly is yield management and how can it increase parking revenue? Yield management is selling the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. Airlines, hotels and car rental have been using yield management for decades to increase profits and better manage inventory, and now this same strategy is available to optimize airport parking revenue through a parking reservation system.
With a fully comprehensive parking reservation system, all needed tools are available to manage revenue: customer data, robust reporting, dynamic pricing functions, and inventory allocation features. Yield management is made up of three elements working together to drive revenue:
1. Demand Forecasting
Using historical customer data collected through a reservation system and its robust reporting, you can conduct analytics to find past trends and events for demand forecasting. This predictive function will help your parking operation make well-informed and strategic pricing, staffing, and inventory forecasting decisions.
2. Dynamic Pricing
Known as dynamic pricing – active or flexible pricing – this type of pricing strategy allows for pricing adjustments based upon several factors:
- Inventory – the number of parking spaces available and how those are allocated at different price tiers
- Customer historical data – number of stays, length of stays, type of products purchased
- Customer demand level – highest and lowest demand levels specific to available inventory
- Price Setting – optimum price the customer is willing to pay
- Distribution channels/Variable pricing structure – different rates offered on unique channels such as drive-up, web, email offers, Facebook, promotions
- Environmental factors – knowing how time of day, day of week, holidays and seasonality impact sales
- Market data – knowing the competition and competitor pricing
3.Inventory Allocation
In parking, inventory allocation is assigning spaces to specific price tiers, based upon demand forecast and dynamic pricing structure. Just like an airline or hotel uses inventory allocation for seats and hotel rooms, an airport can assign sets of parking spaces to specific price tiers from low to high. As the low spaces sell out, then the pricing moves to the next tier, then the next tier, until the highest price is reached closer to reservation date.
Without question, airport parking is critical to an airport’s business growth. In order to compete with off-airport parking, build customer loyalty data and better manage airport parking operations, the importance of a a parking reservation system must be recognized as the best way to improve the parking process, attract more customers, and essentially, increase revenue.
For airports looking to maximize revenue from airport parking, there is no better solution than RezPort’s white-label, real-time parking reservation system. RezPort is the only proven, fully comprehensive US-based parking reservation system.
For more information visit RezPort or contact us:
Email: info@rezport.com
Phone: 612.314.7572
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Why Your Airport Needs a Parking Reservation System: Part 1