The constantly evolving landscapes of urban cities and the rise in the number of vehicles need advanced car parking management systems. With efficient parking lot management, it becomes easy for car owners to find parking spaces effortlessly. Parking lot systems not only solve parking problems for smart cities but also transform parking experiences through modern technology. It serves as a disruptive parking lot discovery and management tool for commuters, parking lot owners, and other businesses.

How does parking management software work?

The approach of parking slot management software is based on Airbnb’s business model that connects hosts who want to rent out their living space with travelers who are looking for rentals. Similarly, parking lot rental business model connects drivers with parking space owners or businesses who want to rent out their parking lots.

It works this way-

The parking lot rental system allows users to list their unused parking spots for an on-demand rental by giving them a passive way to earn some extra income while facilitating the efficient utilization of parking space. Car owners who are looking for vacant parking slots can discover and reserve free slots ahead of time.

After using the service, they can make payments by cash or online and enjoy other potential perks like a discount on parking charges, advanced booking, premium customer service, and more. If you want to get into the realm of the peer-peer marketplace, Airbnb for car parking is a great idea to launch your parking management solution.

Must-have features in a parking management system (To gain a competitive advantage)

If you plan to create a parking management system, you are entering a highly competitive market led by industry giants. In such a scenario, having a unique idea and some attractive perk to offer, is very important. Take inspiration from the success strategies followed by market leaders to attract and retain users. Here are some tips to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

Navigation and booking

When building parking space management solutions, these are two significant features to include. A smart Airbnb parking system allows users to find parking spaces, reserve, and pay for it. This approach is more efficient and time-saving and offers complete control over the whole process.

A typical parking lot rental system must be able to allow both parking space owners and users to register in the system and list and book parking spots. Your parking solution must have a GPS tracking system that assists users to locate and navigate to parking lots. Integrating real-time navigation feature will help your users to book parking space and reach there.

Cheaper in-app parking rates

This a default discount offered by many leading parking lot solutions. You can offer great discounts or even up to 50% cheaper rate if booked in advanced than on-location.

Compare the cheapest parking

Make sure that the interface of your parking management software allows users to browse and compare parking rates to find out the cheapest option. Prices if laid out on the map, enables users to compare and pick the most affordable option.

Determine the car’s location

This feature works great for forgetful drivers who often forget where they have parked their vehicle. In addition, you can also allow users to take a picture of the parking space without leaving the application and also integrate a map to help users find their cars.

Set a time limit for parking

Allow your users to set a parking time limit and notify them about it. You can also display the remaining minutes and feature an alarm or GPS syncing between a user’s phones.

Incorporate multiple payment gateways

It is always a good idea to enable multiple payment gateways in your parking management software. It would be best if you found merchant account companies (head to https://www.easypaydirect.com/merchant-accounts/high-risk-credit-card-processing/ for an example) that can provide you with credit card processing services for general as well as high-risk merchants, just to be on the safe side. Integrating easy-to-use payment gateways can be important to make your users trust and feel comfortable with your system. Add multiple payment methods to your payment gateway so as to increase user engagement. You can do this by implementing software that can be found on websites like https://merchantalternatives.com/reviews/heartland-payment-systems/ so you can get the payment system you need to function fully online and provide the security required for your customers.

Safety features

Your parking spot management system must offer adequate security to users for their sensitive data like credit card information and other personal information. Hiring someone to ensure that you comply with the NACHA rules (see here) without risking data utility or agility might be a good idea for this issue. This is extremely important to gain the trust of your users, especially when you are starting out.

How to build an Airbnb for car parking?

For any parking system to be fruitful, it must have a combination of basic and advanced features. An Airbnb for parking is not just a single app, but actually made of three systems as follows.

• App for end-users
• App for parking space owners
• Admin panel

Let’s have a look at the basic features of these three systems.

Features for end-users

Register- This is the first thing a user spots in the parking space management system. To use the application, users have to register via an email account or through social networks.

Parking space details

The users must be able to view the details of a parking spot like address, images, parking type, vehicle type that can be parked there, hourly rate, etc.

Book parking spots

Users must be able to schedule bookings by setting both arrival and departure time in the system. the booking system must be user-friendly and seamless to use.

Payment integration

The integration of multiple payment methods makes it easy for users to pay according to their convenience.

Manage parking history

This feature allows users to view and manage their parking history. It must also display parking spaces where they park frequently.

Notifications and alerts

The parking management software must alert users about aspects like price changes, discounts, and when the parking time is about to expire etc.

Ratings and reviews

A feedback feature allows users to rate parking space providers based on the services they provide. This is critical to enhancing the customer experience.

Features of parking space provider’s app

Register and login

Parking space owners must be able to register and get verified by the admin. After registering successfully, they must be able to login to the system.

Create and manage listings

Parking space owners must be able to list their space and manage the booking

Notifications

Parking space providers can receive notifications when a user books or cancels a parking space booking. They also get notifications about user reviews or help requests.

Admin panel

Manage listings and bookings

The admin can manage all the listings and reservations in the system. The admin can also view the location of requests, parking rates, user information, etc.

User management

The admin manages both users and parking space owners and their information listed in the system. The activities of both users are monitored by the admin.

Manage earnings

The admin also manages the earnings received by parking space owners.

Manage parking space

The admin approves parking space listings after verifying it. Admin can also edit, delete, activate or deactivate parking spaces as needed.

Cost to build parking management software

The cost to build parking management software depends on the features and functionalities of the system to a great extent. The total cost varies and depends greatly on the technologies, front end and back end development frameworks. A lot of other factors like the choice of the platform, the size of the development team, advanced features, etc. must also be taken into consideration to calculate the total cost. A rough estimation can be around $50,000- $2, 50,000 or even more.

If you want to look out for affordable solutions, choosing a white label solution can be a great alternative to developing the app from scratch. As peer-peer parking management solutions work based on Airbnb’s business model, choosing a turnkey solution can be an efficient idea to build your own parking space management system in an affordable way without comprising on the quality.

Conclusion

To create your parking management system and find success with it, you must partner with different brands to offer users with abundance choice of parking space and competitive rates. A smart parking solution based on the Airbnb model can take your business to new heights and secure your space in the peer-peer rental marketplace.