Different leisure facilities, different parking challenges

A well-organised car park contributes to the accessibility and overall visitor experience of a leisure facility. However, managing parking spaces is not always straightforward. Some locations struggle with unauthorised parking, while others spend considerable time registering visitors and managing access permissions manually.

At marinas, parking spaces need to remain available for berth holders and their guests. Campsites must accommodate changing arrival and departure dates, particularly during busy holiday periods. Bowling centres want to prevent their parking spaces from being occupied by drivers who are not visiting the venue.

With Park-R, access permissions can be managed centrally, while vehicles are automatically recognised at entry and exit points. Depending on the requirements of the location, the platform can be expanded with additional features such as occupancy monitoring, paid parking and integrations with reservation systems.

1. Marinas: keeping parking spaces available for berth holders

A marina has a dedicated car park for berth holders, employees and visitors. During sunny weekends and holiday periods, parking demand can increase significantly. When drivers who are not visiting the marina also use the car park, fewer spaces remain available for authorised users.

With Park-R, berth holders can automatically access the car park using their registered number plates. Through the Park-R App, they can manage their vehicle registrations and, when permitted, arrange parking access for visitors. This reduces the need for harbour staff to operate barriers or grant access manually.

With the optional Parking Occupancy module, the marina can also monitor how many vehicles are on site and apply restrictions to the number of vehicles allowed to park simultaneously.

This gives marina operators greater control over parking capacity and helps keep spaces available for the people they are intended for.

2. Campsites and holiday parks: automatic access throughout a guest's stay

At campsites and holiday parks, guests arrive and depart throughout the week. New visitors check in, others leave, and returning guests regularly access the site. During busy changeover days, registering number plates and managing access permissions can take up valuable reception time.

With Park-R, guests can receive automatic vehicle access based on their registered number plate and authorised stay dates. By integrating Park-R with a compatible booking system, such as Tommy Booking, reservation information can be used to create and manage access permissions.

When guests arrive, the ANPR camera recognises their registered number plate and opens the barrier automatically, provided their access permissions are valid. Separate access rules can also be configured for seasonal guests, employees and suppliers.

This reduces manual administration at reception and allows guests to enter and leave the site more conveniently.

3. Bowling centres: keeping parking spaces available for customers

A bowling centre has its own car park but is located in an area where other drivers are also looking for parking. As a result, customers may struggle to find a space while some parking bays are occupied by people who are not visiting the venue.

With Park-R, access to the car park can be controlled using ANPR cameras and an automatic barrier. Depending on the preferred operating procedure, visitors can be registered in advance or staff can authorise parking access during their visit.

It is also possible to introduce a parking policy that allows visitors to park free of charge for a specified period. If they stay longer, parking charges can be applied through the optional Payments module.

This allows bowling centres to manage their available parking spaces more effectively for their own customers, without requiring employees to operate the barrier manually throughout the day.