
3CITY HOTEL RESERVATIONS |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE
we also offer parking there. Under the
Park brand, however, it would become
instantly and immediately obvious that
we cover the different airports.
The first phase will be rolling out the
Park brand over current and future
airports, but we do have ambitious
plans to expand beyond that in the
next two to three years. We want Park
to become the only parking app people
will ever need on their mobile and are
looking at forming partnerships with
such providers as RingGo, MiPermit
and PayByMobile while also developing
our existing relationships with brands
such as NCP.
The endgame is simple: we want to be
the go-to brand for any parking in any
location for any duration.
Challenging loans,
monopolistic airports and
partnership with Google
The first major obstacle we
encountered was funding. We have
had some astronomically expensive
loans in the past – and when you’re
looking at growth capital, the last
thing you need is a significant interest
rate. Growth and increased cashflow
have helped in recent years, but if we
had means of funding ourselves more
efficiently – beyond loans or private
equity – this would have really helped
in the early stages.
The second obstacle is one we still face
today – the parking supply. Many of
the airports themselves are actually
quite monopolistic; I appreciate their
approach, and I appreciate they don’t
have an unlimited supply of parking
stock, but often their attitude towards
intermediaries can be aggressive.
We, of course, relish and appreciate
the opportunity to work with airports
and will continue to do so, but
slightly tighter or clearer regulation
could make the process somewhat
morestreamlined.
Finally, while our work with Google
has been so beneficial, and I can’t
thank our account managers enough;
we are so unbelievably integrated
with their operations. They’re such an
important channel for new businesses,
and it is a cause for potential concern
that they are completely unchallenged
in that online space. It’s certainly
something that start-ups need to
be aware of when entering the
ecommerce marketplace.
Becoming the standard
We would like to see airports open
up and be more willing to trade with
intermediaries rather than being
so protective, and we would like
to continue our work with Google
to further mutual benefit, but our
sights for now are firmly set on one
thing: establishing Park as a brand
and becoming the household name
forparking.
To achieve this, we are dedicated to
continually improving our technology
and driving further efficiencies. Further
airport regulation would of course
be welcome, but our success in this
market so far only serves to inspire
us to continue to grow, develop and
serve the parking needs of Britain –
andbeyond.
We are
dedicated to
continually
improving our
technology
and driving
further
efficiencies
“
“
We want to be the
go-to brand for parking
in any location for any
duration