No one cares about parking until they can't do it. Residents don't typically comment on a seamless parking experience in online reviews, but troublesome situations compel them to share their negative experiences, which often spiral into any negativity they can find. Ultimately, this can lead to a decrease in resident satisfaction and a decrease in community reputation scores. However, there is a way to solve parking issues easily, despite current perception — putting control in the residents' hands (gasp!) using innovative solutions can transform parking from a headache to stress-free.

The Problems and Their Impact on Residents

Parking may seem like a minor aspect of community living, but it has a significant impact on the overall resident experience. Residents may struggle to find available parking spaces, leading to wasted time and increased stress. As cities remove parking minimums from their regulations and developers reduce parking ratios in multifamily communities, the stressors can increase. Community teams are already facing challenges in managing parking allocations, enforcing parking policies and addressing resident complaints.

The lack of a reliable and seamless parking solution can quickly become a source of frustration, leading to a decrease in resident satisfaction and increased negative reviews. As reputation falls, prospects will be deterred from exploring the community for their next home.

To avoid these issues from spiraling, owners need to implement automated parking solutions that will reverse the issues and make life easier for residents and teams. For communities that aren't experiencing numerous problems, it's a good time to put preventative measures in place before reputation and revenue take a hit. Management of properties isn't just about knowing what your residents need now, it's also about anticipation and preparation for future needs.

The Solution to Parking Shortcomings

By automating various parking processes, the need for manual intervention is reduced, decreasing the frustrations of both onsite teams and residents. Residents can use a mobile app to find available parking spaces when they need them, giving residents a choice to reserve before parking becomes an issue.

Parking automation platforms provide real-time information on parking availability, which means residents and their guests no longer need to waste time searching for a spot. They can easily reserve and park without any of the hassles or risk of being towed for improper parking. Residents can use it if they want to, and skip it if they don't. This convenience and efficiency improve the overall resident experience, and community managers can effectively reduce the number of negative reviews related to parking.

Better Reputation, Retention and Leads

When residents no longer blame the community for their parking struggles, what follows is higher levels of satisfaction and positive reviews that don't mention parking at all (remember— no news is good news when it comes to parking). When residents no longer face parking challenges, they are more likely to focus on the positive aspects of community living overall and share their positive experiences instead.

Onsite teams don't have time to manage parking. An automated solution carries very little, if any, oversight and functions well in the background of daily business. Community managers gain better visibility and control over the community's parking situation when parking is automated. They can enforce parking policies more effectively and address resident concerns promptly. Overall, parking automation improves the quality of life for residents and enhances the operational efficiency of community management, which contributes significantly to net operating income.

By putting control in the hands of residents and streamlining the process, it transforms parking and the attitude everyone has toward it. The overall sentiment at a property can improve drastically as frustrations fall by the wayside and tensions between neighbors can dissipate. There is no longer friction over battling for spaces and fewer cars will be towed for improper parking. When you hear from your residents about parking, this usually means that things are not going well. When it comes to this particular amenity, no friction means no problems.