Between soft leasing demand and tightening margins, commercial property owners need to get creative if they want to improve ROI and ensure the long-term value of their assets. And in 2025, many are finding the strategic growth lever they need by reevaluating their parking strategy.
Once considered utilitarian space for work, errands, or a night out on the town, parking is now being reimagined as a valuable amenity that provides property owners with an increase in cash flow when leveraged correctly. Owners are even getting creative with finding multiple uses for their parking facilities—think pickleball courts and outdoor rooftop gyms, among other uses.
But that isn't the only emerging pattern shifting commercial real estate strategies when it comes to parking. Parking is ever evolving, and it’s more important than ever to create positive experiences for visitors. Let’s look closer at the five trends that will shape the future of parking today and tomorrow.
1. The Hybrid Parking Model
App-based payment models and fully frictionless or gateless systems became popular during the pandemic. Although it provided a better parking experience with minimal capital investment, it also resulted in significant revenue loss due to lower voluntary compliance rates and a lack of enforcement.
While traditional parking arrangements are well behind us, most property owners are taking a blended approach. They’re retrofitting older systems—gates, posts, ticket machines—with License Plate Recognition (LPR) and cashless options to deliver an experience better aligned with current expectations.
This blend of old and new ultimately enables owners to achieve efficiency and speed while restoring the revenue protection that physical controls provide. It also facilitates an easier pathway to modernization, helping operators get more out of their current investment without having to start from scratch.
2. Monetizing Parking Data With AI
The adoption of property technology over the years, such as EV charging stations, IoT sensors, and automated parking management systems, has given owners a wealth of data that helps them operate more efficiently. AI now makes it easier to implement this information effectively.
Owners are utilizing AI to gain a deeper understanding of the cap rate and demand metrics of their assets. Data points, such as occupancy trends and peak usage, for example, enable owners to adjust pricing rates and policies based on demand or offer package tier-based pricing with value-added perks tailored to tenant profiles and usage.
These same data points are also being leveraged to identify revenue-generating opportunities, such as opening parking to public use during off-peak hours via an app, in the case of Class A office towers, or offering overflow parking spaces to retailers in the case of residential properties.
3. Service as a Differentiator
Whether it's Class A office buildings, mixed-use developments, or surface lots, return foot traffic is driven by the parking experience. Ensuring a great one is determined by how owners treat parkers, clients and employees alike.
If the people representing you—the ones in the booths or managing the lanes—are unhappy, it creates a negative experience that can have a ripple effect, resulting in diminishing returns. Owners are circumventing this by leveraging data and AI to alleviate staff stress, improve productivity, and enhance the quality of service.
For instance, property owners are aligning staff with projected demand based on high-traffic days or major events with AI and prior data. They're also using technology to enhance tenant/customer communications and safety, such as using garage sensors to alert a parker that their trunk has been left open.
4. Customization as a Revenue Multiplier
In the past, taking a one-size-fits-all approach to a property's parking strategy was enough. Not anymore. Office, healthcare, mixed-use, entertainment, etc., all need a tailored approach to parking. The parking experience plays a significant role, of course, but so does the facility's function and operational use.
Healthcare properties, for example, need to provide parking based on patient needs, such as closer reserved parking for emergency cases and open spaces for regular check-ups and appointments. In retail, you need designated spaces for curbside pickup and rideshare drop-off, among others.
Forward-thinking property owners have taken notice and are using customization to differentiate their assets and improve tenant retention. Some strategies include offering discounted rates to loyal customers/tenants, installing EV charging stations, utilizing smart package lockers, and creating curated zones such as designated areas for food delivery drop-offs.
5. Financial and Operational Transparency
Frictionless and gateless systems are not only paving the way for a hybrid parking model but also for a more seamless and efficient experience. It has also led to greater scrutiny from commercial real estate owners seeking opportunities to strengthen their margins after a poor experience with them or with less experienced operators.
Now, owners expect detailed financial reporting and real-time visibility into where the gaps lie. They want to know who is parking at their properties, how long they stay, and why. They also want better insights into who's paying and who isn't, so they can pivot their strategy as needed.
Rather than relying on reporting based on capital-light technology, parking real estate operators are investing in parking services that offer open-book financials, standardized facility manuals and operational standards, and onsite visits to active properties as proof that standards are ensured and maintained.
The Future of Parking? Integrated, Seamless, Effortless.
Predicting exactly where parking will go in the next 5-10 years can be difficult. Yet technological innovation is inevitable. One possible future sees greater integration with in-car systems, such as Bluetooth-based or toll-tag-enabled payment solutions that enable drivers to enter, pay, and exit without needing a phone or card.
Ultimately, the industry will eventually converge around one or two dominant models of frictionless and secure technology. For now, agility and flexibility will remain crucial.
