Read more - Interpark

Cover story
INTERPARK:
A premier parking experience
Although Valet Parking in South Africa is still in its infancy in many respects, the latest services, such as
Valet Parking on offer from Interpark, show that we can keep up with the best of what our American and
European counterparts have to offer.
P
arking Africa met with Kate Wolfaardt, Managing
Director of Interpark, to look at what they can
offer clients and how this can impact a landlord’s
parking revenue stream.
Interpark currently runs three Valet Parking contracts. The
first is with Cape Town International Airport under their
Katanga Executive Parking brand; the Gateway Theatre of
Shopping in Umhlanga, KZN, which is an Interpark service
and the Sandton Intercontinental Hotel, which is part of
Interpark’s parking management contract with the hotel
and is offered free of charge to all its clients.
The three contracts all have a different business plan
and own unique set of challenges. Valet Parking is only a
small part of what Interpark can offer clients in this
niche category which, judging by current trends, is set to
change the way we think of select parking in South Africa.
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Cape Town International Airport
This commercial operation is concessioned by ACSA and
runs under the Katanga Executive Parking brand. It is
primarily aimed at VIP customers and frequent flyers who
want to experience a stress-free parking experience at the
airport. To optimise on convenience, the client can drop
off their vehicle as close as possible to a departure point
where a Katanga customer services agent will take
charge of the vehicle. The vehicle is checked for valuables,
dents and scratches and a disclaimer is signed. It is also
given an executive wash before collection.
Says Wolfaardt, “There is a liability in having a customer’s
vehicle in our possession, so this is an important part of
checking the car into the valet service. In order to further
safeguard the vehicle, we rely heavily on technology,
whereby, we can scan the licence disc as well as the
driver’s licence which gives us all the information should
Parking Africa
April 2013
Cover story
we potentially need it. We also take photographs of the
car both internally and externally, as well as the odometer.
Because we then have the vehicle date and time locked,
we know the exact status of the vehicle when it is
dropped off.
“The vehicle is then either left in one of the parking bays
in our valet garage, or may be parked off-site in a secure
undercover parking area on the airport premises.”
Katanga Executive Parking offers a call centre for
telephone bookings, as well as a website. Ad hoc
bookings are also on the increase with clients who have
experienced Valet Parking on previous occasions.
Continues Wolfaardt, “At our busiest, we have handled
over 400 vehicles per day at Cape Town International
Airport. There is a good demand for the product and it
is only at a nominal extra to the cost of public parking.
“There is an enormous benefit to the airport as it
optimises the utilisation of its casual parking bays.
Because some of the vehicles are parked off-site, it
opens up space for more vehicles and more revenue.
There is currently 104 drop off and arrival bays, as well as
201 off-site parking bays. Sixteen wash bays are provided
at this location with 20 drying off bays.
“Valet Parking is also very much in line with ACSA’s
philosophy of having the right kind of product for the right
parker. This has broadened the parking product portfolio
to its customers. As an additional service, there are
several add-ons that a client can utilise such as car
servicing, dent and scratch repair, etc.”
According to Abdul Khan, General Manager of Katanga
Executive Parking at CTIA, “we pride ourselves on a
professional approach to the science of parking”. He says,
“Katanga Executive Parking has a shared human
resources department that ensures the following
prerequisites for meeting our stringent employment and
employee retention requirements.”
These include that drivers must be 25 years or older;
have a minimum of three years’ proven driving
experience; be clear of a criminal record; have a matric or
equivalent qualification (although in some case age
exemption is appropriate). Continuous training and
development and a strict adherence to its code of
conduct forms the backbone of this operation.
to page 8
Parking Africa
April 2013
7
Cover Story
at a later stage. In the process we create a premium
brand with higher revenue. This is particularly applicable
for mammoth shopping centres where the entry and exit
of vehicles is complicated and problematic.
The Sandton Intercontinental Hotel
This VIP service is run free of charge through the hotel
and is available to all paying customers. This is a
simplified solution to a common problem for all hotels
which have a lot of parker traffic.
An hotel guest drives their vehicle to the Porte d’ Cachet
and not into the basement parking. After booking the
keys and the client signing the disclaimer, the vehicle is
“INTERPARK: A premier parking experience” from page 7
Katanga Executive Parking offices open at 04:00
every day and stays open until the last flight clears
from the airport. Confirms Khan, “Our management,
driving and call centre team remains onsite until the
last person leaves, including all flight delays. All our
customer vehicles are under constant CCTV surveillance,
accessible in real time to senior management from
anywhere in the world via the internet and recorded
in a safe location. We are fully entrenched in the
technological age and have developed our exclusive Valet
Parking software to manage the business efficiently and
in doing so creating a smooth operational flow.”
Gateway Theatre of Shopping
Situated at the fountain circle at Gateway Theatre of
Shopping in Umhlanga, KZN, the Interpark Valet Parking
has been operational for the past two years. According to
Lucas Zondi, Interpark’s Contract Manager at Gateway,
“the main purpose is to offer customers a VIP service
when they visit Gateway, coupled to an extremely
competitive price and no time limit of the visit”.
He continues, “Interpark took over Valet Parking at
Gateway in March 2011 from a previous operator and
rebranded as Interpark Valet Parking. We took over
all the existing staff in order to minimise any potential
downtime and to ensure the smooth running of
the operation.”
Continues Wolfaardt, “We wanted to add value onto our
existing parking management contract with Old Mutual.
Interpark has been running the car park ay Gateway
since it opened over 12 years ago, so we see Valet
Parking as an add-on service to the Gateway customers.
There are a number of reasons why this makes good
business sense. It definitely adds revenue to the
landlord, while offering a simple parking solution to
parkers. For out of town visitors to the centre, parking
can become very complicated. There is definitely an
incentive for shopping centres to create a concierge type
of space such as the Fountain Circle at Gateway where
customers can drive in, drop off their vehicle and collect
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taken to the hotel parking area by Interpark drivers. This
is not only much more convenient for the parker, as a
number of hotels have difficult entrance and exit points,
but also secures the vehicle, eases operation and
management of the basement with limited parking bays,
as well as limits pedestrian access to the parking area.
Says Wolfaardt, “Where an hotel has difficult entries and
exits and difficult tandem parking bays, it makes a lot of
sense to offer this service. Most hotels can add services
such as a car wash onto these services too.
“In the case of the Sandton Intercontinental Hotel,
clients do not pay for Valet Parking. However, hotels can
easily charge for it as a billable service as it ensures a
more pleasurable stay for their clients.”
The aim of any Valet Parking service is to offer a
seamless parking experience for parkers and to
generate additional revenue for the landlord. The
question to ask then remains: Are you really optimising
your parking lot to its fullest extent and could you be
generating more revenue by introducing Valet Parking to
your product portfolio? b
If not, give Derek Morris, General Manager
Business Development a call at Interpark
on 011 879 0200 to see how he can assist you.
Parking Africa
April 2013