{"id":19625,"date":"2021-10-06T02:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T02:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=19625"},"modified":"2021-10-06T02:00:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T02:00:34","slug":"dynamically-adjusting-parking-fees-gives-travelers-options-at-rdu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/north-carolina\/dynamically-adjusting-parking-fees-gives-travelers-options-at-rdu\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Dynamically Adjusting Parking Fees Gives Travelers Options at RDU\u00c2\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By David Freedman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be surprised to learn that\nRaleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), which is owned by four local\ngovernments, receives a total of $50,000 a year in local tax dollars, an amount\nthat has not increased since 1957. RDU is largely self-sustaining, operating on\nrevenue it earns from airline fees, food and beverage sales and parking. In\n2019, parking accounted for the largest share of the airport\u2019s total revenue,\neven though RDU\u2019s rates are lower than those charged by other airports of\nsimilar size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
RDU Parking Deck
Photo by Kim Stevens<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dynamically adjusting parking fees helps\nRDU ensure there are enough spaces in the deck or remote lots while maintaining\noptions for a wide range of travelers. Parking revenue supports RDU\u2019s operating\ncosts and is reinvested in improving parking facilities and roads, maintaining\nrunways and funding other airport infrastructure projects. The airport has spent\n$13.5 million in recent years to resurface lots, replace elevators and moving\nwalkways in the garage and explore technology that will continue to improve RDU\u2019s\nparking experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because RDU relies so heavily on parking\nrevenue, it must balance cost and capacity with the traveler\u2019s desire for ample\nand affordable choices. The airport proactively manages its parking offerings\nby continually reviewing rates, tracking the number of open spaces in parking\nfacilities and offering promotions to ensure that a variety of locations,\nproducts and price ranges are always available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parking revenue dropped significantly with\nthe onset of the pandemic in 2020 along with a dramatic downturn in passenger volume.\nIn the early months of the pandemic, the number of travelers flying through RDU\nplummeted to three percent of 2019 levels. RDU consolidated all public parking\noptions into the terminal deck, reduced parking rates and discontinued its\nshuttle bus service to help manage the airport\u2019s limited resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parking deck began to fill near\ncapacity in the spring of 2021, reaching 81 percent capacity during Easter\nweekend. RDU\u2019s forecast predicted slow yet continuous recovery throughout the\nsummer and, as a result, the impending need to provide additional spaces. RDU responded\nby expanding its parking options, reopening a remote lot and resuming shuttle\nservice. Parking rates were adjusted to match increasing demand levels while\nallowing guests to take advantage of previous rates by booking online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the pandemic, the Authority installed\ntechnology that provides contactless access to RDU parking facilities and\npayment systems. Guests who book parking at least 24 hours in advance using\nRDU\u2019s online booking system<\/a> will get the lowest daily rate and can pass through\nthe entrance gate with a QR code. Exiting is seamless with license plate\nrecognition, which automatically opens the gate. There are credit card scanners\nat every entry and exit lane that allow guests to pay with mobile apps, as well\nas pay-on-foot kiosks located near both terminals that allow guests to pay with\ntheir smart phones and watches. RDU also recently eliminated cash payments at\nits parking facilities as part of the industry trend toward touchless\ntechnology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Terminal 2 at RDU<\/em>
Photo by Kim Stevens.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By late summer, RDU\u2019s passenger\ntraffic had recovered to about 70 percent of 2019 levels and the terminal deck was\nregularly nearing capacity. As more travelers return to flying, RDU\u2019s parking department\ncontinues to monitor parking trends and evaluate all options for providing and maintaining\nample parking options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic highlighted the need for RDU\nto diversity its revenue streams, yet parking will likely remain one of the\nlargest sources of non-aeronautical airport revenue. RDU serves one of the\nfastest growing markets in the country and must continue to grow responsibly to\nmeet regional air service demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RDU is expected to begin construction\non nearly $2 billion in infrastructure projects like expanded parking\nfacilities, roadway reconstruction and a new runway by 2030. Dynamic parking\nrates, online promotions and the introduction of new technologies will help the\nairport generate revenue, manage parking capacity and provide guests with parking\noptions that match their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Freedman is Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer\nat RDU<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Freedman You might be surprised to learn that Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), which is owned by four local governments, receives a total of $50,000 a year in local tax dollars, an amount that has not increased since 1957. RDU is largely self-sustaining, operating on revenue it earns from airline fees, food and beverage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-carolina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201024_082357-edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19629,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19625\/revisions\/19629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}