Bahrain Confidential meets Omar Salah Al-Khan, Managing Partner of ParkPoint Parking Solutions, to discuss his latest innovations in parking technology. parking technology.
This young entrepreneur introduced the first valet parking to the island a decade ago. Now he’s set to introduce the first mobile parking app to the country.
So what does ParkPoint offer? Put simply; Aside from being the first valet parking company in Bahrain to provide 5-star service, they provide parking management as well. ParkPoint provides its valet parking services to a number of locations on the island such as Bahrain City Centre, Seef Mall, Adliya’s Block 338, as well as numerous hotels and restaurants. ParkPoint also provides parking management to a number of parking lots.
By the end of 2017 all the company’s operations will be fully automated, integrating and cataloguing parking locations through a centralized system. “In the future”, Al-Khan says, “all parking transactions will be smart, and we want to be ahead of the game”.
Inspired by a desire to revolutionize parking technology, Al-Khan launched ParkPass, a membership scheme to provide both convenience and savings to its members.
ParkPass is not just limited to valet parking. The membership scheme also works for paid parking locations and managed paid parking lots (whether operated by ParkPoint or another service provider).
Frictionless Experience
ParkPass Members save money when they pay for tickets using points and can redeem their points for services from City Centre, Seef mall, and Adliya block 338. The company is currently adding more valet parking and parking locations to Parkpass. Al-Khan says “The cash transaction is currently the most inconvenient part of valet parking, which normally takes place at the customer’s departure time, so we wanted to eliminate that”.
Parkpass offers a frictionless parking experience, with all the convenience of valet parking without the hassle of cash or card transactions afterwards. It offers members more convenience and more savings. Customers enjoy discounted rates depending on their tier of membership–Blue, Silver, or Gold, with Gold being the tier with maximum discount.
The Parking Mobile App
Parkpass Parking Mobile App will be launched in the first quarter of 2018. It will enable members to navigate and pay for their parking, while saving money through using the service. The app will be available for paid, valet, and free parking; so the benefit of finding a parking spot will not be limited to those who want to pay for parking.
Al-khan adds, “We want the app to be useful to everyone, and we want every driver to download our app”
Al-Khan looks forward to revolutionary, hassle-free parking experiences for his App users; “Uber changed the way people look for transport, Expedia changed the way people travel, and Talabat changed the way people order food; I want to change the way people park, look for parking, as well as pay for it.”
He elaborates “You will often see cars parked at the front of a shop, blocking the road. They may not even be aware that there’s a perfectly good car park available at the rear. The app will allow all users, whether they are ParkPass members or not, to access information about available parking areas – that’s got to be a good thing in terms of easing traffic congestion and solving parking issues.”
Al-Khan is now in discussions with several banks interested in making ParkPass available to their card holders. He is also optimistic that card companies, airlines, real estate developers, car dealers, telecoms and other corporations will find it beneficial for their own staff and as part of future customer packages and benefits.
“We want to revolutionize the parking industry, we want to change the behavior of people looking for parking”, he tells us, adding that there is an exciting innovation coming with the mobile app that he is going to announce soon.
ParkPass Membership is free for individuals. To join, simply sign-up online at www.park-pass.com, email info@park-pass.com, call +973 3888 8231, 66779955 or speak to any ParkPoint valet attendant.
Members receive a ParkPass barcode sticker, which can be placed either on the vehicle’s windshield or inside the driver’s door panel, and a membership card which can be scanned by valet attendants to buy or redeem points – 10 pints = 1 dinar.
For more information:
Parkpoint Parking Solutions
www.park-pass.com
www.park-point.com
info@park-pass.com