The Parking Genius
Insider News for Parking Pros
March 2022
The more you know, the more you grow!
Learn more here…to manage your parking business more effectively and increase your profits
Know what your Space Genius Software can do for you
Genius News
We continue improving our product so you can improve your bottom line. These latest exciting upgrades were developed with you in mind.
Genius Tips
Introducing: the newly improved Activity Report! This report has robust functionality for daily, weekly, or even monthly reporting.
Genius Spotlight
Get to know Jackie Muto, Space Genius Web Developer/Graphic Designer, ray of sunshine, and so much more!
Industry Trends
Parking trends continue to evolve in the face of new global events overshadowing COVID concerns. Will your parking business be affected?
Parking Industry Trends
Commentary
In the blink of an eye, our sole focus shifted for the first time in two years on to something that is not COVID related. The invasion of a sovereign nation sent a chill down the backs of the entire western world. As we wait to see what happens, we consider the impact of this war on our lives, our parking industry and on the global economy.
The USA was already suffering from a supply/demand imbalance that has driven up prices in almost every category. As a result, inflation was running at 7.5%. A big factor in this is energy, and it is directly impacted by this war. Oil and natural gas prices have surged, and that means auto petrol and energy (heating/cooling) price increases.
Despite this new series of events, we don’t see the ongoing conflict slowing the opening up of the USA into a post-COVID era. Airline flights are full of leisure travelers, people are going to ball games, and more and more are going back to work onsite. As a result, we expect to see 2019 parking levels by end-of-March. Of course, things can change again in an instant. Here’s hoping the desire to put the pandemic behind us will drive us back to something like normal. Fingers crossed!
What the Experts Are Saying
The pundits are busy, offering plenty of projections and predictions for the parking industry and for the world at large. Click on the links below to learn more and make wise decisions for your business:
Five ways the Russian invasion of Ukraine could impact the US economy
Smart parking market to reach $8.52 billion by 2027
Parking operators should be thinking about how they are utilizing these latest parking trends
The market size of the Parking Lots & Garages industry is expected to increase 3.4% in 2022
Space Genius News
New Developments Improve Your Tools for Success
We are always improving our product so you can improve your bottom line. These latest exciting enhancements were developed with you in mind.
Just released are these three major developments, giving you more tools to manage your parking business:
Activity Report
New additional enhancements to the Activity Report give you even greater control over your data. Now you can:
- Fine tune exactly the data you want to see
- Filter out the data you don’t need
- Sort and order it in a way that best serves you
Cancellation Fees
You now can apply non-refundable fees to reservations for end user cancellations. The fees can either be set up:
- As a fee that the user sees in the receipt line items or,
- Subtracted from the final refund total of a cancellation
With COVID and many of the uncertainties for travel and leisure these days, it is critical to manage revenue through cancellations as well as bookings.
Email Confirmations
Complete customization is now here for email confirmations sent to your booking customers. These customizations include:
- Adding your branding
- Ordering the content in the order that makes sense for your customers
- Providing coupons for future bookings
- Including other additional marketing materials
For assistance or more information, contact support@smartluis.com.
Genius Tips
Capture and Use Your Data to Drive Profits
Introducing: the newly improved Activity Report! This report has robust functionality for daily, weekly, or even monthly reporting.
In addition to its prior capabilities, now the Activity Report has several filtering options. Once the report is run, it will open a grid in a separate window. There are 28 columns to choose from and once your filters are in place, the system will remember your choices and will save them in place for the next time you log in.
Some of the status options include canceled reservations and check-in/check-out dates and times. This report can be run for tickets or reservations and once opened, can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.
Check out this robust Activity Report and discover its value in capturing and using your data.
For assistance or more information, contact support@smartluis.com.
Genius Spotlight
Long-time employee, Jackie Muto, is a ray of sunshine at Space Genius. Count yourself lucky if Jackie built your website in her role as Web Developer/Graphic Designer. In addition to her creativity, stellar work, and eye for design, Jackie is a friend to all and ever ready to lend a helping hand.
Learn more about Jackie in the Q&A below:
When did you start with Space Genius and what steps led you here?
In late winter of 2015, what began as an internship as a graduation requirement grew into a job before it was through!
If you could quickly and easily learn any new skill, what would it be?
I would love to be fluent in a second language. I would most likely choose Spanish as my daughter and son-in-law plan to bring their baby boy up bilingual once he arrives!
What energizes and drains you when you’re at work?
The aspect of my job that I love the most and find very energizing is designing and building new, modern websites for our customers. I also find that the relationships that I have built with clients and the interactions that we share provide me with positive vibes!
Where are you from?
I was born in Syracuse, NY
What’s your process for turning a bad day into a good one?
I am a firm believer that happiness is a decision so after a particularly bad day, I remind myself of all the blessings that I have and choose to focus on them instead and it works every time!
Describe one of your favorite work memories.
We have a really great team and work very well together. I also enjoy when we occasionally have an opportunity to socialize outside of work.
Tell me a fact that most people don’t know about you.
I know the words to lots of old school hip-hop songs. LOL
Share the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you.
Be your own best advocate. It has served me well many times over in my life.
What did you want to be when you were younger?
As a HUGE animal lover, when I was a kid, I thought that I would love to be a veterinarian.
Share three words that your close friends would use to describe you.
Loyal, Fun, Optimistic
What activities do you participate in over the weekend?
My husband Tony and I have a large family (5 grown kids and 8 grandchildren) so there is always something going on. We own an RV and love to take it out and explore our beautiful state!
We really enjoy listening to live music at local venues or music festivals so when we have the opportunity, we head out to experience it.
What’s one thing that has made you smile recently?
My husband Tony makes me smile (and laugh) every single day.
What animal do you believe most closely matches your personality and why?
I would have to say I am most like a dog because I am very social, loyal and can be silly at times. I am also fiercely protective over those that I love
Your favorite type of music.
I love all kinds of music genres, but if I had to pick just one it would be Classic Rock from the 70’s.
We’ve enjoyed getting to know Jackie better and hope you have, too. Reach out to her for any of your website questions.