Future Trends in Airport Parking: What Travelers Expect

When it comes to airport parking, it hasn’t been able to evolve much in the last 40 years.
Yes, there have been some major changes, such as digital payment applications and online booking systems. We have some parking facilities that have upgraded their lighting and security arrangements. Some of them have electric vehicle charging stations too.

However, the core experience is pretty much the same. You drive around looking for a reliable parking spot. Once you find it, you park your car in it. Then you head towards the shuttle point, which will take you to the terminal, or you simply walk to the terminal yourself. The whole process is in reverse when you come back from your trip.
It’s still time-consuming and inefficient. And many travelers are done accepting it. 

The upcoming trends in the airport parking industry are not just about incremental improvements. They are now focused on reimagining the whole fundamental framework of how a parking facility should operate.

What Travellers Today Actually Want

As someone who is in the airport parking business, I have asked a dozen travelers about what frustrates them the most when it comes to airport parking. Here are some of their concerns:

• Travelers want to know if there are available spaces before they arrive at the parking lot.
• Travelers no longer want to waste time searching for reliable parking spaces. 
• Many are concerned for their car’s safety. And yet they don't pay a premium.
• They want the whole parking experience super duper easy and smooth.
• They don’t want to remember where they parked after coming back from the trip. 

These demands are not unreasonable. They’re awesome expectations. 
And the good part is that the technology is finally catching up with it. 

Autonomous Valet System

This is pretty much new, and they’re working on it heavily. 
It is probably the single biggest shift in the parking industry. 

Here’s how the whole concept works: 

You drive to a drop-off zone and then step out of your car. You unload the luggage, and then magic happens. Your car communicates with the parking system. The vehicle drives itself to the spot it has been assigned to by the system.

There’s no circling, no bunting for spaces, and no human intervention. 
Upon your return, you request the application for bringing your car back. The vehicle drives itself back to the zone. You simply then loaded your luggage and headed home. 

Autonomous parking systems like these can park cars closer to each other because now there is no need for space for humans to open their doors. This will not only be effective for travelers but will also increase the capacity of the parking facility. And increased capacity could translate to lower rates. 

Availability Real-Time

I want you to imagine this:

You’re driving to the airport, and you look at your smartphone, which shows a live map of all the parking spaces available at the lot. It’s showing real-time data across all garages and lots. There are sections that are color-coded, and they indicate which areas have open spaces. 

The parking system is aware of your arrival time. It then predicts how many spaces will be available on your arrival. Then it recommends you the optimal spot that’s based on your terminal, budget, and your flight time. 
You select the one you find the most suitable. Then the system reserves those spots for you. When you arrive, the signs guide you directly to your parking spot. 

There are no more hoping spaces will be open.
This technology has already been implemented, but in specific facilities only. 

Dynamic Pricing That Actually Helps You

The parking prices today are most of the time static. These prices have minimal changes, most of them regardless of the demand, except for maybe Christmas and Thanksgiving.
When it comes to future parking, dynamic pricing will be used, similar to airline and hotel pricing. And let me tell you why it’s good for travellers. 

The prices fluctuate depending on the actual demand. When you’re flying out on a Tuesday at 2 PM and the airport is less crowded, the price is less for parking. On the other hand, flying out on a 6 PM Friday will get you higher prices. 

But there’s a major difference in the pricing strategy being used currently. And it’s transparency and booking. 
You’ll be able to see prices weeks and months ahead. That way, you will lock in rates whenever you book your flight. The system will send you a notification if the rates drop. 
The parking rates are best for early bookers, while those who book at the last get higher prices. This is exactly how the flight pricing system works, too. 

Electrical Vehicle Integration

Within 15 years, it is estimated that half the cars will be electric, something the airport parking business needs to adapt to. 

• There will be universal charging stations. This means not charging spots tucked in corners.
• Smart charging management. This means systems that will charge your car during off-peak electricity hours. 
• There will be applications for battery level monitoring to keep an eye on your parked car while you’re away. 

This is not just speculation for the future of parking. Major airports have already started pivoting towards it. The shift has started and is coming fast.

A Subscription-Based Model 

This is an upcoming trend in the parking industry. You pay a fixed flat fee with unlimited parking. This is gold for frequent travellers because the math is simple and convenient. 
For the parking facilities, the subscription model creates a predictable revenue stream, which could help in parking operations and infrastructure improvement. 

These are the changes that will transform the business wholly in just a few years. Many of them have already been tested. 

The practical impact?

Travelers will save time and money. Not only this, they will be stress free from the fact that they can monitor their car and can trust the facility. 
These innovations are not revolutionary but evolutionary. They’re setting the new standards in the parking industry similar to the hotel and airline industries.