Airport Business - 13

PARKING
revenue. If the parking spot isn't sold
that day, it cannot be sold again.
Despite this price sensitivity, most
airports still use static price tiers or
a one-size-fits-all approach to their
parking pricing, leaving considerable
revenue on the table. To be fair,
many airports have recognized the
shortcomings of this business practice
but lack the resources, guidance and
technology to kickstart the necessary
shift. We all know change is hard, but
it's also essential to our survival, and
I believe it was Albert Einstein who
once said, "in the middle of difficulty
lies opportunity."

Join the Disruption
The way consumers shop, book and
pay has rapidly evolved. Consumers
have grown to expect to be able to
shop for products online or in the palm
of their hand. And we take for granted
that in other industries reservations can
be made in advance. You wouldn't, for
instance, arrive at the airport without
a ticket or travel to a destination with
your f ingers crossed that you could
find a place to sleep once you got there.

Most people wouldn't even consider it
and yet we don't always give travelers
the opportunity to guarantee a parking
spot at their preferred terminal parking
facility or give them the opportunity
to get a better price by booking early.
Pre-booking parking systems are
being increasingly adopted in airports
worldwide. Reservation systems not
only give busy travelers peace of mind
but also provide data airports can use
to understand and stimulate demand.
Trailblazing airports around the
globe now use their parking data
and predictive analytics to grow
non-aeronautical revenue by being
able to determine product and price
availability based on the arrival and
duration of stay of travelers. These
trendsetters embrace the disruption in
technology and mobility by applying
demand-based, dynamic pricing to
pre-booked parking with significant,
year-over-year revenue growth.

we see across industries consumers accept
pricing that shifts based on supply and
demand. The ever-changing price of
airline tickets, hotel rooms and even
surge pricing in the Uber app have
created a landscape in which consumers
expect pricing to vary and are willing
to pay for premium products based on
convenience and value.
But this doesn't mean swinging a
bat blindfolded, wildly attacking the
parking prize, like with my piñata.
Airport parking pricing strategies
should include a data-derived rate
spectrum with a minimum f loor and
a maximum ceiling. That ceiling is
typically your published drive-up rate,
with discounted rates used as a means to
optimize occupancy and revenues across
multiple lots and to stimulate demand.
And there's no fear of cannibalizing
drive-up business with the use of a good
revenue optimization tool to manage
these data-driven strategies.

Overcome Misplaced
Fears

Enact a Cultural Shift

Some may worry f luctuating price points
may deter potential parking business but

Revenue management is a business
culture, not just a pricing technique.
In order to be effective, it has to be

IDeaS Enables Raleigh-Durham International Airport to
Transform Its Parking Business
With passenger numbers exceeding
12.8 million in 2018, Raleigh-Durham
International Airport (RDU) is the
primary anchor for the popular
Research Triangle destination of
North Carolina. As the next step in
its Parking Transformation Program,
the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority
has partnered with IDeaS Revenue
Solutions, the global leader in revenue
management, to create a better
parking experience and optimize space
utilization.
The partnership aims to enhance
RDU guests' parking experience and
returns from the airport's 18,830
parking spaces - the largest source
of revenue for the airport. IDeaS Car
Park Revenue Management System
(RMS) is a cloud-based forecasting and
pricing solution that uses advanced
SAS analytics, artificial intelligence
and deep machine-learning to deliver
optimal demand-based, dynamic

pricing decisions fueled by a 365-day
future view of parking demand.
Focus on passenger experience -
RDU aims to further transform its
customers' parking experience by
changing the dialogue around parking
to one of added value, ease and
economy. IDeaS Car Park RMS is a
complement to the ParkRDU parking
reservation system it soft-launched
in mid-2018 and will enable RDU to
sell the right product, to the right
customer, at the right price, at the
right time.
Airport parking in a sharing economy
- It's no secret one of the biggest
challenges facing airport parking -
including at RDU - is competition.
To effectively compete, RDU aims to
address the experience, convenience
and value of parking over other modes
of transportation. It is seeking to be
competitively affordable for ParkRDU
consumers.

A partner they can trust - Mindful of
potential pitfalls when implementing
new technology, RDU identified IDeaS
Revenue Solutions as the right business
partner because of its 30 years of
revenue management experience -
including an extensive list of airport
parking clients - its industry-leading
analytics and robust dynamic pricing
tools, and its integrations with RDU's
other parking suppliers.
Michael Landguth, president and CEO
of Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority,
said,"IDeaS has the technology
and expertise necessary to help us
make informed decisions, shaping
more effective marketing strategies,
sales programs and overall airport
parking revenue management. We
are fortunate to have a renowned
data-analytics partner right here in the
Research Triangle."

MAY 2019 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 13
http://www.AVIATIONPROS.COM
Airport Business

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Airport Business
