Car parking has become a lucrative additional revenue stream for hotels, new figures released by JustPark can reveal – with hoteliers having now made over £700,000 from renting out their spare parking spaces through the website.
An increasing number of hotels are opting to advertise their car parks on online parking platforms such as JustPark – making money from space that would otherwise be underused, and opening up their business to a much wider audience that was previously unavailable.
According to JustPark, over 275 hotels have now signed up to the service – which matches drivers looking for parking with available spaces – advertising a total of over 3,000 bookable parking spaces to JustPark’s network of 1 million drivers.
Hotels using the service range from the biggest players in the industry – with JustPark’s business partners including the likes of Hilton, Marriott and Holiday Inn – to hundreds of smaller, independent businesses across the UK and beyond.
The average hotel listed on the website charges £9 per space per day, but this can climb to £40 for locations in high demand. One hotel in central London has earned over £100,000 of additional revenue through JustPark, fully maximising the value of its underused car park.
Advertising parking space on JustPark remains a free service, and hotels are able to set the rates that they wish to receive per space. Drivers book and pay for their space online and hotels receive the funds straight into their account, with JustPark dealing with all payments.
“It’s very helpful for the hotel to have that additional revenue” says Benedita Sousa, Guest Services Manager at Novotel Waterloo. “It would be quite difficult for us to maximise the car park spaces without JustPark.”
The website’s new dynamic pricing algorithm has enabled hotels to increase and optimise car parking revenue even further. Recommending prices based on historic occupancy and search data, the system sets low rates to encourage drivers to park during off-peak and increases rates when spaces are in short supply – meaning more customers and, ultimately, more revenue.
Application of this pricing model has seen average daily revenues increase by up to 100% at hotel car parks using the service – with third party management and full automation meaning no extra work on the part of hotel staff.
“Dynamic pricing adds to our ability as an operator to maximise income” explains Head Concierge at ME London, Ronan Gawronski. “In November 2015, we saw its introduction – with revenue increasing by 100% the following month.”
