Online booking platforms.

We're all more or less familiar with online travel and hotel comparison websites. These sites list the various offers available on a given date. You can target offers according to a wide range of criteria.

The same applies to car parks near airports and stations. Numerous online booking platforms have appeared at the same time as car parks near airports. You can now search and book on these comparison sites for all the car parks available in France and abroad. We're going to try and explain the advantages and disadvantages for you, the customer, but also for the car park operator. Perhaps this will give you a better understanding and help you plan your trips more easily.

What is a booking platform?

It's a question we've all asked ourselves when we go on holiday: who's going to take us to the airport? So we set off in search of a solution, with the help of our faithful friend the Internet!

When you type private parking near the airport on a search engine, you'll soon see that the first results displayed don't correspond to a particular car park, but to online booking platforms.

If you click on one of the links provided, you will be taken to a page that is virtually the same for all the platforms. The home page asks you for your preferred parking dates and the city or airport of departure. A list of partner car parks ready to welcome you will then be displayed. You can refine your selection criteria: covered car park, shuttle bus, night-time service, shuttle bus journey time, etc.

Once you've made your choice, all you have to do is fill in the mandatory details, such as dates, number of passengers and type of vehicle. You pay for your booking online and an e-mail confirmation is sent to you shortly afterwards. This is your ticket to the big day. If you look carefully, you'll find the car park's direct contact details on this booking form: telephone number, address and a brief description of the drop-off procedure. If the car park has an automatic barrier, you will also receive the access code.

All you have to do is turn up on the day to take advantage of the service.

It is not uncommon for customers not to realise that they have just placed an order on a comparison site until they arrive. They then look for the sign on the platform instead of the car park. This creates stress for the traveller and wastes time.

 The website on which you pay is not the car park provider. Be sure to check your details on the booking form before setting off.

To ensure that your stay runs smoothly, it is essential to make a clear distinction between the platform and the car park.

Benefits for the customer:

The main advantage for the customer is the time saved.

 All you have to do is enter your chosen date and you'll have access to all the available car parks near the airport you want. You'll find all the essential information and, above all, the most competitive rates.

Customer reviews are also available at a glance. They are often a great help in finalising your choice of service provider. These online comparison sites are there to make your life easier, so you might as well make the most of them!

Why do car parks feature on comparison services?

The only advantage, and not the least, for the car park operator is visibility!

In fact, these platforms are well referenced on the Internet, which means that they can make themselves known quickly without having to spend too much on communication. The vast majority of customers who have booked on a car park comparison site place their next order directly on the car park's website. Even after gaining a high profile or visibility, car parks remain partners of these sites. Of course, there will always be new customers to conquer, and the various players will find their own advantages while respecting the challenges of customer relations. For others, these platforms are their only commercial showcase.

The limits of the service provider's actions

To fully understand the limits of the car park, I need to explain how a partnership works.

When a car park wishes to join the list of car park retailers, it signs a partnership contract and undertakes to make a certain number of spaces available. A commission rate is applied to each space rented by the platform. At the beginning of the following month, the service provider pays the total amount of rentals minus the commission to the operator. The car park may have several partnerships at the same time. For example, it is not uncommon for the operator to allocate its available spaces to several service providers and keep part of its fleet for direct sale on its website.

 By booking on this type of site, you accept their General Terms and Conditions of Sale and the operator cannot intervene. Requests for changes or cancellations cannot be handled directly by the car park. This sometimes leads to dissatisfaction on the part of the customer, who finds it hard to understand why the car park does not intervene. But you have now understood that this is not due to ill will.

The main disadvantage for car parks is the cost of the partnership. The prices offered must not be too high, so there is a shortfall for each reservation made on the platforms. You need to achieve a high occupancy rate to make a real profit. Lack of understanding on the part of customers booking on a platform can sometimes lead to conflicts that the operator needs to defuse. A customer who wants a refund, a duplicate invoice or a cancellation must go through the platform. We have to be educational in order to explain the limits of our actions to customers, while guiding them to the right contact.

Click with peace of mind....

As you can see, there is no right or wrong way to book a car park. The most important thing is to understand how the different booking platforms work, to avoid unpleasant surprises or misunderstandings. These platforms will certainly enable you to discover brands like ours all over France. Many of our customers have taken the plunge thanks to online comparators. They now go through our site directly to guarantee them a local customer service. Today, we have an even greater duty to be attentive to all our customers' needs. The economic and health crisis has turned our daily lives upside down. We have to deal with unprecedented situations, and our priority is to satisfy our customers, no matter how they book.