Overview
In December 2021, AeroParker went live taking parking reservations at Norfolk International Airport. Norfolk Airport (ORF) had not previously offered reservations and wanted to ensure industry best practices were employed to improve the passenger experience and enhance operational efficiencies for their parking employees.
Key Challenges
• Driving awareness and engagement with the new online reservation system, both with customers and the operations team
• An underutilized multistory parking garage.
• An overstretched surface lot favored by parkers due to its location in relation to the roadway into the airport rather than its distance from the terminal.
Implementation
AeroParker integrated with HUB Parking Technology, the airport website, and the Cybersource hosted payment gateway solution to provide a seamless, intuitive, and conversion-focused experience. Passengers were able to use a QR code sent to them after completing their reservation, which could be added to their Apple Wallet for increased convenience. Prior to launch, the AeroParker team traveled to Norfolk to provide on-site training to the Operations staff, providing an overview of the parking reservation process, common exceptions, and detailed sessions on the administration and call center systems.
Pricing, Analysis, and Forecasting
In coordination with the launch, the AeroParker commercial management team developed a new pricing framework and upgrade mechanisms to optimize the product mix and drive the optimum overall occupancy at the highest price per day, To do this, the team put in place new product rules, upgrade offers based on capacity and arrival dates, and implemented dynamic pricing which varied based on lot, stay duration, day of week, seasonality, and occupancy. This resulted in an improved product mix, increased revenue for the airport, and an increase in overall parking transactions per enplaned passenger. Further to the commercial gains, the approach moved the dial from drive-up to pre-book, resulting in a better-informed operation and improved customer service levels.
To support the new program, AeroParker developed a financial forecast that could be used by the airport to set revenue, occupancy, and budgetary expectations. This forecast model, which was developed following analysis of historical parking data and assumptions based on the team’s experience, was also used to track against performance and inform ongoing decisions on pricing and quotas.
Parking Perks Program with Monthly Offers
In a bid to build engagement with the parking customers, AeroParker worked in collaboration with ORF to develop Parking Perks. Parking Perks is Norfolk Airport’s parking loyalty program designed to reward repeat customers with discounts and promotional offers, and it leverages the loyalty and promotion functionality available within the AeroParker reservation platform.
Members earn one point for every dollar spent on reserved parking at Norfolk Airport — points that can be redeemed to save even more on parking. For every 100 points earned, a $5 promo code is rewarded to customers to use on future parking stays.
Customers are automatically enrolled in the Parking Perks program when they sign up for an account, and they can track their current point balance and available offers in their account profile. Parking Perks email blasts with special offers and promotions are sent monthly, maintaining engagement. This is further boosted by a refer-a-friend scheme, encouraging loyal customers to recommend pre-book parking at Norfolk Airport with rewards added to both the referrer and their friend’s accounts when they sign up and complete a booking.
It now pays to park at Norfolk Airport!
