Reserved airport parking:

A creative parking product

to enhance revenue and
improve service
Received: 1st April, 2016

ADAM PETRO
is a landside services supervisor for the city and county of Denver, Department of Aviation at Denver International
Airport. He has over five years of experience with airport parking and transportation operations. In 2015,
Adam shared his expertise at the American Association of Airport Executives Parking and Landside Management
conference. His presentation was specific to creative parking products to enhance revenues and improve service.
Prior to coming to Denver International Airport, Adam worked in the field of emergency services for over
20 years with specific experience in operations, administration, emergency plan management and training. He holds
a bachelor’s of science degree in criminal justice administration from Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Abstract
Adam Petro
Airports are continually seeking new and innovative ways to improve customer flow efficiencies while
simultaneously maximising non-airline revenue. A reserved parking programme can facilitate efficient
customer movement beginning with airport arrival through the access point of the airport terminal. When
implementing the reserved parking programme at Denver International Airport (DEN), several factors were
taken into consideration, including customer demographics, physical infrastructural layout and configuration.
Once implemented, the programme at DEN has shown that reserved parking caters to not just the typical
business traveller, but to customers who may not have been thought would take advantage of a reserved
parking product enhancement. Realising the full benefits of a reserved parking programme required a well
thought out design in order to allow for maximum financial and operational flexibility.

Keywords
reserved parking, customer flow efficiency, parking occupancy, business flexibility, configuration

INTRODUCTION advantage of various dining and retail

Adam Petro,
Landside Services Supervisor,
Denver International Airport,
Revenue Management,
Main Terminal, 6th Floor,
8500 Peña Boulevard,
Denver, CO 80249-6340, USA
Tel: +1 303 342 4082
E-mail: adam.petro@flydenver.com
In an era where customer f low and
movement through an airport facility is
becoming ever increasingly important,
the parking element of the customer
experience can be overlooked. Customers
wish to arrive at the airport, park their
vehicle, check in for their f light and
complete the security screening process
in a fast, smooth and stress-free manner.
Recent studies show that customers able
to do this are not only happier with their
experience, but also gain valuable time
inside the terminal and are subsequently
more likely to spend money by taking
offerings.1
As with many airport terminals,
Denver International Airport (DEN) was
experiencing a high volume of parking
customers in close-in parking facilities
during mid-week peak business travel
times. At the time, customer feedback
was indicating an increasing number of
regular customers who were experienc-
ing difficulty in finding a parking space
that would accommodate their travel
needs. In fact, several customers voiced
displeasure at having to drive to a differ-
ent parking facility all together, as their

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Petro
intended parking area was already full.
With this in mind, DEN began explor-
ing various parking options that would
expedite the customer arrival process.
Several were considered and after careful
consideration, it was determined that
a reserved parking programme would
most benefit the needs of air travel
customers.
The reserved parking programme at
DEN was implemented in March 2014,
with reserved parking areas established
and designated within the existing parking
garage structures immediately adjacent to
the terminal building. The programme is
run by DEN’s parking contractor partner,
Standard Parking (SP+), in conjunction
with Click and Park®. Standard Parking
provides day-to-day programme operation
and management, while Click and Park
manages reservations.
In the time since implementation, the
reserved parking programme has proven
to be a successful value added product
enhancement that has afforded business
and operational f lexibility in order to
meet the goals of the airport parking
operation as a whole. To date, designated
reserved parking spaces have more than
doubled overall in order to meet the
demand. Thoughtful development of a
programme such as this required critical
analysis of several aspects of the park-
ing process to include physical design
and configuration, as well as operational
needs.
Reserved parking is often thought of
as a stand-alone parking product. While
various aspects of a reserved parking
programme require specific attention,
such as design, revenue collection, staff-
ing and administration, at DEN, it has
been viewed from a more macroscopic
perspective. While this type of enhance-
ment has typically been utilised only in
a close-in parking facility, for use almost
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exclusively by frequently f lying business
travellers, the customer demographic has
broadened to include customers who
travel on a more infrequent basis.
Several questions were raised about a
reserved parking programme during the
conceptual phase of the project. These
included, ‘What is the cost of imple-
mentation?’, ‘Who is the intended (and
non-intended) audience?’ and ‘How will
this affect the usage of current parking
products?’ Answers to some of these ques-
tions came fairly easily; however, some
proved a bit more difficult to predict. As
discussions continued, there were even
times when the idea of abandoning the
project came into play, simply because
the potential risks seemed to outweigh
the possible benefit or gain. As with any
new programme, there are various risks
associated with potentially high up-front
capital improvement costs, combined
with unknown revenue returns; how-
ever, a reserved parking programme can
take shape in any number of forms.
Depending on the type of operation, the
options available are vast and allow for
increased risk mitigation, future business
f lexibility, as well as maximised return
on investment.
CONCEPTUTAL AND DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS
Perhaps the most common question that
arose during the conceptual stage of pro-
gramme development was the number of
parking spaces that should be designated
as reserved. While there was no ‘magic’
number or formula used to calculate
this quantity, factors taken into con-
sideration included the capacity of the
existing parking facilities within which
the reserved area would be located, as
well as the location of these facilities.
Additionally, perhaps what proved to be

the most important factor in making this
decision, was determining what could be
realistically managed from both an oper-
ational standpoint as well as a financial
standpoint. For instance, operationally,
how many spaces could be effectively
managed given current as well as antici-
pated future staffing models? Also, from
a financial perspective, how many poten-
tially empty spaces could be tolerated
during non-peak periods? Once these
were established, programme develop-
ment then proceeded to determining the
exact location of the reservation-only
area within the facility.
When establishing the reserved park-
ing area, the location, of course, carried a
very high level of importance. Reserved
parking located in a non-desirable area
that does not improve passenger f low
efficiencies very quickly becomes disad-
vantageous to customers and the airport.
It was determined that ideally, the exact
location should have the following
characteristics:
1. CLOSE: the area needed to be close to
the terminal facility.
2. CONVENIENT: the reserved park-
ing area needed to be as convenient
as possible for customers to access
terminal ticketing areas and security
queues. Also, terminal access needed to
be accomplished via a well identified
route and contain a minimal amount of
vertical movement devices (elevator/
escalator) as possible, in order to reach
the intended destinations within the
terminal.2
3. COVERED: As Denver does experi-
ence adverse weather conditions such
as rain, snow and ice, as a value added
product enhancement, it was necessary
that the reserved parking area be
covered in order to offer the most pro-
tection possible for customer vehicles.
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Reserved airport parking
Once the location was established, two
additional elements of the programme
development had to be determined,
including configuration type and the
staffing levels necessary to effectively
manage the area. The configuration of
the area was vital for planning, devel-
opment and operational purposes. Early
in the process, two configuration types
were considered. The first configuration
option was one that involved the physical
separation of the reserved parking area
from the general parking area, or a ‘hard’
configuration. This physical separation is
attained by means of physical barriers
such as gates and fences. There were
two main advantages associated with this
configuration type. First, it features the
ability to ensure that non-reservation
holders do not access parking spaces that
are intended for the reserved customer.
Secondly, once implemented, it would
not require a high level of ongoing
manpower to manage effectively. Despite
these advantages, however, disadvantages
existed that included higher up-front
costs associated with physical set up of the
area. In addition, a physical barrier would
limit future possibilities for expansion or
reduction of the reserved parking area.
The second configuration option
considered was a ‘soft’ configuration that
consists of no physical barriers. This
configuration relies on strong signage as
well as hands on management and carried
its own associated advantages and disad-
vantages. First, one advantage recognised
was the lower costs associated with initial
establishment and implementation of the
reserved parking area. These lower costs
are realised due to the reduced need for
hardware and software infrastructure
when compared to those necessary with
a hard configuration type. Second, this
configuration also required much less time
in order to design and implement when
131
Petro
compared to the design and installation
of the various infrastructural components
that are required in a hard configura­
tion. Third, the soft configuration allows
for future f lexibility, should the need
arise to either expand or reduce reserved
capacity. The ability to expand or reduce
is important as a programme works
to attain its operational and financial
goals. Ultimately, this configuration was
chosen for the reserved parking pro-
gramme at DEN.
As with any component of air travel,
the demand for reserved parking f luctu-
ates based upon the time of year, special
events and even the day of the week. The
soft configuration has afforded the abil-
ity to expand the reserved parking area
during peak travel times (or as often as
needed and tolerated). Conversely, when
travel demand and volume is low, the
ability to reduce reserved parking capac-
ity has been advantageous as it allows for
spaces that, if not converted to regular
parking spaces, would have sat vacant
and would therefore not take full finan-
cial advantage of existing parking real
estate. In terms of commercial air travel,
this would be the equivalent of an airline
having the ability to convert an economy
seat to a business class seat with relative
ease and as often as necessary when
demand is high for such services, as well
as the ability to convert the seat back to
an economy seat in order to generate
revenue at a lower price point, rather
than take to the skies empty.
The main infrastructural element of
the soft configuration is the signage used
to designate an area as a reserved parking
area. Clear and concise signage is vital
for the purposes of both directional
assistance as well as enforcement. It was
important that customers be able to locate
the designated reserved parking area
without difficulty. In addition, signage
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was utilised to clearly establish the area as
a reserved area only. It was imperative that
such signage include the required legal
language to facilitate efficient enforce-
ment, such as ‘TOW AWAY ZONE’.
The lack of this language would certainly
have a negative impact on enforceability
and undermine the overall intent of the
programme.
After both the location and configura-
tion were determined, the third element
of the programme design then became
staffing levels. As the configuration was
of the soft type, it was necessary to ensure
that hands-on staffing met the demands
needed to provide directional assistance to
traffic, as well as prevent unauthorised
vehicles from parking in the area. DEN’s
parking contractor has utilised existing
field staff in order to accomplish this,
with additional field agents assigned
during peak travel times.
The role of field staff in monitoring
the reserved facility has included not only
elements of enforcement and compliance,
but arguably more important, the role of
customer service. While it may initially
seem as though a reserved parking spot
may be an option that is typically utilised
by an experienced business traveller, quite
the opposite became the case throughout
the various travel seasons. The reserved
parking programme has become quite
popular with the leisure traveller as well
as the business traveller; and these are,
in fact, very different customers with
different needs.
For example, at DEN, perhaps the
most surprising customer to take advan-
tage of reserved parking has been the
infrequent holiday traveller. Holiday
travel periods are racked with aircraft
filled to capacity, there are larger crowds
and long security queues that are often
perceived as endless. Holiday traveller
demographics quite often include a high
 Reserved airport parking

volume of customers who do not travel
frequently and may become easily over-
whelmed with even the thought of the
f lying experience as we know it today.
It was unknown at the time the pro-
gramme was established, just how popular
a reserved parking programme would be
for the holiday traveller at DEN. Would
the customer pay the additional reser-
vation fee, even though the reserved
parking spaces were located within the
parking garage structure, which is typi-
cally wide open during the holidays from
an availability standpoint? The data sug-
gest that not only was a reserved parking
space attractive to the holiday traveller,
it was indeed at a premium. During the
week of the Thanksgiving holiday in
2014 (Table 1), the reserved parking area
averaged an astonishing 153% occupancy
rate (overfilled), while regular garage
parking averaged a 60% occupancy rate.
It was because of the f lexibility afforded
by a soft configuration that the area
was quickly expanded to meet holiday
customer demands. For the same holiday
week in 2015 (Table 2), garage parking
averaged a 68% occupancy rate, while
reserved parking averaged an 84% occu-
pancy rate. The reserved parking areas
were expanded in the spring of 2015 to
over twice their original space alloca-
tion, although the occupancy rate may
be comparatively lower, the total number
of reservations for Thanksgiving were
more than double the previous year. It
became quickly obvious that reserved
parking was a product enhancement that
holiday travellers preferred in order to
reduce their anxiety and to ensure that at
least one portion of their trip went
smoothly.
With such high occupancies during
the holiday periods, the reserved park-
ing programme must be able to adapt
(and at times adapt relatively quickly),
in order to meet the respective needs
of this demographic. Upon arrival at the
airport, these customers typically require
additional assistance with such things as
locating their desired ticket counter, the
closest security screening area or even
the nearest restroom. Field personnel
overseeing compliance in a reserved
parking area are also able to assist
non-seasoned travellers with such issues
culminating in an improved experience
for the customer as well as leaving them
with a positive impression of the airport
parking operation.

Table 1  Thanksgiving holiday occupancy comparisons: Thanksgiving 2014 holiday period

24th November, 2014–30th November, 2014
Day of week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Reserved parking occupancy 75% 117% 171% 184% 199% 192% 136%
Garage parking occupancy 40% 42% 47% 68% 81% 79% 62%

Table 2  Thanksgiving 2015 holiday period

23rd November, 2015–29th November, 2015
Day of week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Reserved parking occupancy 54% 79% 98% 101% 101% 88% 64%
Garage parking occupancy 48% 60% 51% 80% 85% 82% 67%
Note: Designated reserved parking space capacity increased in spring 2015 resulting in lower occupancy rates when compared with
previous year.

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Petro
THE RESERVATION PROCESS
There are two methods by which a cus-
tomer may make a parking reservation
at DEN, via telephone or the internet.
In today’s market place, an increasing
number of customers look for self-service
options in order to obtain the products
and services they desire.3 While this
option continues to gain in popularity,
especially as customer demographics shift
towards younger travellers, it was also
important to have an alternative method
by which customers can access this
product enhancement. Telephone reser-
vation systems offer a more personalised
experience, and in some cases, may be
the only option for customers who might
not have access to technology, or who are
hesitant to use it.
Denver International Airport offers
both internet-based and telephone-based
options for customers who wish to reserve
a parking space, through its parking
contractor and partners Standard Park-
ing (SP+) and Click and Park. Required
information at the time of reservation
includes customer name, address, phone
and e-mail. In addition to the customer’s
information, the required vehicle infor-
mation includes vehicle make, model,
colour and licence plate information.
Finally, payment information is required,
as payment for the reservation portion of
parking is due at the time of reservation.
This advance payment does not include
the daily parking fee for the facility in
which the reserved parking spaces reside.
The regular daily fee is paid at the time
of exit.
After making their reservation, the
customer and vehicle information is
added to a daily manifest. This document
displays who should and who should not
be parked in the reserved area at any given
time. It is this daily manifest that aids
compliance and enforcement personnel in
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the determination of whether a citation
should or should not be issued and also
assists other field personnel as they
manage the lot on a daily basis. For
example, if something were to occur to
a customer’s vehicle, with the contact
information provided, the parking oper-
ator has the ability to reach the customer
and provide the proper notification. The
net result again, is a positive customer
experience.
EFFECTS ON OTHER PARKING
OFFERINGS
One particular question that arose early
in the development process was the
question about the effects a reserved
parking programme would have on
existing parking products. Would it
draw customer volume away from higher
level value added products such as valet
parking? Or, would it attract customers
who would otherwise park in a regular
parking area to pay the additional fee
to ensure that they have a space wait-
ing for them when they arrive at the
airport? Finally, would reserved parking
spaces be utilised by those customers
who arrive late at the airport and choose
a reserved space at the last moment
simply because the surrounding areas
are full?
The reserved parking programme at
DEN has been found to have had little,
if any, impact on the volume of custom-
ers who take advantage of valet parking
and associated services. Data show that
while monthly average reservation totals
have more than tripled since programme
inception, customer volume for valet
parking has actually increased by 8 per
cent. Statistics such as these have allayed
the initial concerns that valet parking
customers would ‘trade down’ in favour
of a reserved parking space.

Table 3  Peak business travel day average occupancy comparisons
1st January, 2016–29th February, 2016
Day of week
Reserved parking occupancy
Garage parking occupancy
Additionally, data indicate that cus-
tomers who reserve a parking space also
are not regular garage parking customers
who decide to reserve a spot at the last
minute due to no availability in the garage
parking areas. In fact, there have been
many instances at DEN when the reserved
parking area has been filled to capacity
while the surrounding garage has not.
This typically occurs towards the middle
of the week when business travel peaks
(Tuesday through Thursday) (Table 3).
Indeed, for the first two months of 2016,
reserved parking at DEN was at an 86 per
cent average occupancy rate during
peak business travel days, while garage
parking (again, located immediately
adjacent to and surrounding the reserved
parking areas), was at a 79 per cent
average occupancy rate. Such data suggest
that the customer’s decision of whether
to reserve a parking space was not based
on existing availability of general garage
parking.
CONCLUSION
Airports today are faced with multiple
challenges as they seek to improve cus-
tomer f low efficiencies. The ability to
move air travellers smoothly and quickly
enables airports to maximise the time
air travellers spend inside the airport
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Reserved airport parking
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
79% 95% 85%
74% 85% 79%
where they are statistically more likely
to spend money on dining and shopping
opportunities.
A programme concept that was well
thought out and developed was imper-
ative in order to maximise operational
and financial opportunities for future
growth, while also maximising the value
of all parking product offerings at DEN.
A combination of location, configuration
and customer service has facilitated
greater passenger f low efficiencies while
simultaneously improving non-airline
revenue. This has resulted in a programme
that allows for the continuing advance-
ment of customer service initiatives as
well as overall strategic airport objectives.
References
(1) J. D. Power (2015) ‘Improved airport
experience drives increased traveler spending’,
available at: http://www.jdpower.com/
press-releases/2015-north-america-airport-
satisfaction-study (accessed 13th March, 2016).
(2) Transportation Research Board, Federal
Aviation Administration (2009) Airport
Cooperative Research Program. Guidebook
For Evaluating Airport Parking Strategies and
Supporting Technologies. National Academy
of Sciences, Washington DC, p. 1, 43–44.
(3) Leigh Fisher (2012) FOCUS. Leigh Fisher,
San Francisco, p. 2, available at: http://
www.leighfisher.com/discover-whats-new/
publications/focus-role-airport-experience-
changing-global-economy (accessed
17th March, 2016).
135