John Paul, CEO and founder of Venue Next.
When CEO and founder of Venue Next John Paul saw what ParkHub was doing with real-time dashboard technology to combat the often-synonymous relationship between headaches and parking, he saw great potential for a winning partnership.
“We sought them out as we learned about what they were doing in parking,” said Paul. The two entities now operate at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, where the results have been impressive enough to give founding member and chief marketing officer for ParkHub Jarrod Fresquez much to be thankful for.
“It’s been great,” Fresquez said. “They have a very strong integration and development team, just like we do on our end. Really it’s just getting people who are smarter than I am to work together in order to get the backend of the dashboards to talk to each other. It’s been great; I love their team.”
The team certainly brings a lot to love for the consumer as well. Fresquez said that every venue they operate in offers real-time dashboards to integrate every aspect of the business. By seeing what parking spaces are open and increasing the efficiency of payment and ticketing, Fresquez said that they have decreased the time it takes to enter a parking lot from 24-28 seconds to 3-5 seconds. During the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, Fresquezs said they were averaging one car parked every 2 seconds.
Paul gave an example where ParkHub’s up-to-the-minute surveillance can utilize no-shows to games. By finding these open spaces, operators can direct fans to them, or even look at data about the average number of spots that are open two hours before a game.
“With our platform,” Paul said, “we can have people get a notification saying another hundred spots are available in Red Lot 1, would you like to buy one right now? And we’ll offer it for sale, we’ll give them directions on how to get there, and then the ParkHub system will validate them as they come in.”
The team works with a staff of between 60-65 cashiers in the field during premium events. Each one is equipped with a handheld unit that can process any monetary transactions, regardless of whether it is cash or card, while also being able to scan prepaid passes. The data from points of sale, which has been condensed to data packets smaller than text message for further efficiency, are then sent to an operator who can see what is happening and where.
Fresquez said that one of the best features of their service is independence from any DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) or wireless internet. By using LTE technology, Fresquez said that a situation in which other internet-access services go down will still allow them to operate. When it can be difficult to get Wi-Fi in a home, the bet on LTE technology seemed safe in parking lots that can stretch to up to a mile from the venue itself.
With such a common struggle seeing palpable improvement, Paul shared that enthusiasm for their service is in no short supply.
“No customer has ever said to me, ‘I am not interested in what you’re doing,’” Paul said. He went on to say that he bet every person who thinks of going to a venue thinks about where they are going to park first. “The more we can do to make that a pleasant experience, the more the entire night at the venue is pleasant, and the more likely you’ll come back and do it again.”
The challenge that remains is in increasing awareness of the app (which even marks where the user parked and is seated in the stadium for easy finding during and after the event). Paul said that there are currently 30% of attendees at a given 49ers game using their app, which he regards as a high number.
Even so, his team has used some creative means of widening usage. The team-branded app will challenge individuals who use the app to battle against the crowd in a trivia game broadcast on the scoreboard during breaks in the game. Paul also shared that they conducted a lightshow three times during a hockey game at Levi’s Stadium, during which every user held up their phones as they flashed colors across their screens. The lightshow was a great success, with 50% of customers using the app.
Rollout to more facilities is in the works as well. Fresquez said that the next two to three weeks would see more announcements coming out about more venues that would be adopting the efficiency and speed they boast at their current locations.
Paul said that as the expansion gains momentum, services like his that put more and more distance between pain and parking will become an expected part of going out to events.
“I think together we’ll make parking a more enjoyable experience when you go to a venue,” said Paul.
Interviewed for this story: John Paul, (650) 207-7211; Jerrod Fresquez, (877) 417-7768 x22