Conferences, We’re Back Baby.

A follow-up to: I Never Thought I’d Say This, But I F*cking Miss Parking Conferences.

Humans of the parking industry, how I’ve missed you! I’m typing this up as I sit through my second flight in less than 72 hours. Yup, I’m on my way to Vancouver for the Canadian Parking Association’s annual conference and tradeshow after a quick 3 days at home that followed 3 days in Las Vegas for the National Parking Association’s show. Exhausted? Yes. Motivated, rejuvenated, and on a bit of an extrovert’s high? Yes yes YES!

I wrote an open letter 18 months ago when the world as we knew it had drastically changed — everything had come to a halt, and suddenly virtual was the new reality. At that time, I couldn’t help but reflect on an aspect of the parking world that I didn’t realize was such a pivotal part of our industry: in-person conferences. 

The truth is, I look forward to them every year. Seeing old friends, making awesome connections, and enjoying good food & drink while on the job? What can I say? Work hard, play hard for the win!

And coming back from Vegas from NPA’s Expo I can finally say… They’re back, baby! (And so are we!)

While there’s no denying that shows this year are different — masks and hand sanitizer and social distancing (oh, my!) — the sense of excitement you feel as you walk the tradeshow floor is like nothing else. Zoom meetings can’t compare. People were just ready to be back together. I know I was. There’s just something special about all being in the same room - an energy that follows you wherever you go. 

These past 18 months have shown us how strong and resilient our industry is. We’ve been as hard-hit as anyone in this pandemic, but walking the tradeshow floor and seeing the innovation, the thought leadership, the collaboration, it was intoxicating - and this is before the drinks! ;).

To the folks that made sure these conferences happened: I think I speak on behalf of the entire industry when I say, we can’t thank you enough for bringing in-person conferences back to life — and bringing them back safely. 

And to everyone else - I don’t know what winter or who-knows-what will bring around the corner. But I do know that, as long as it’s safe to be together, we’ll be there. The world has changed, but we haven’t. We are still people people. And I look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

What happened in Vegas shouldn’t stay in Vegas. Let’s keep the momentum going. Let’s get out. Let’s get together. Our Honk team is fired up and ready to go. Conferences, we’re back baby!

--- Kacey Siskind, SVP HONK

[#NPA2021 Panel VIDEO] Rethinking Contactless Payments: It’s Time to Skip the App Store

We spoke to a full house in Las Vegas at the 2021 NPA Convention & Expo on a topic that relates to every single one of us: Contactless Convenience. The session was moderated by HONK’s Founder & CEO, Michael Back, and the panelists included tech, public & private thought leaders:

Kacey Siskind – Senior Vice President, HONK
Ryan Hawken – Secure Parking USA, Manager Partner
Kevin Wood – Port Jefferson NY, Parking & Mobility Administrator

We invite you to watch the recorded session and take in some insights from the panelists!

Seemingly overnight in 2020, contactless payments went from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have. According to Mastercard, 75% of consumers prefer using contactless over other forms of payment.  But not every customer wants to download yet another app.  So how should parking operators respond?

Take a deep dive into the technology trends and the tools being developed to deliver drivers touch-free, convenient ways to pay for parking in this information-packed program.  

The recorded program examines:

• Trends and makes forecasts in consumer payment behavior

• Key steps in a holistic, contactless payments strategy to drives customer satisfaction and adoption

• Cost difference between traditional hardware and contactless infrastructure

The session also examines the ‘bonus’ side effect that new contactless payments has on the bottom line in providing a decreased reliance on hardware, saving owners and operators time and money.

Liked what was discussed? Want to learn more about the technology that delivers contactless, convenient ways to pay for parking?

Taking the grudge out of parking purchases

Consumers have come to expect easy, touchless payment options in every aspect of their life - from the gas station to their local coffee shop, nobody touches a POS device and even fewer people use cash. Why should parking be any different? If anything, parking should be the one area where quick, easy, and safe contactless payments are the norm. Imagine...

No downloading app
No signing up for an account
No loading a mobile wallet with a minimum amount
No waiting in line
No using a high-touch payment kiosk that thousands of people have already touched
No fiddling with change
No pulling out a credit card from your wallet, or digging inside your purse

(You’re not dreaming! This is real!)

This is where scan-to-park comes in.

We’ve removed the last obstacles and excuses drivers might have for not wanting to go through the motions of paying for parking. No credit card? We take debit! Running late? Payments take under 15 seconds! Here’s the kicker:  Because QR codes are everywhere these days - users are already extremely familiar with this not so new technology. The transition to scan-to-pay doesn’t require any consumer education whatsoever.

So how exactly does scan-to-park work? Here’s what it looks like for un-begrudging parkers:

1. Driver opens their phone’s camera and scans the QR code located in the parking lot

2. The driver is taken to a mobile guest checkout page with both rate and location pre-populated

3. Driver selects their rate and adds their license plate

4. After selecting their payment option of choice (Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Interac Debit, or any major credit card), Driver taps “Click to pay”

5. Driver receives their receipt via email, and is given the option to receive a notification 15 minutes before their session expires (with the ability to add more time)

We would never go an entire post without patting ourselves on the back! HONK’s scan-to-park solution integrates with Apple App Clips to give customers that beloved native iOS experience... without downloading an app or signing up. Super seamless and simple, right? 

So simple, in fact, that we were featured at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2021 — as the gold international standard for what an App Clip should be. Our users love our design and user flow so much that they regularly go to social media to exclaim their love and adoration. Getting people excited about paying for parking? Grudge be gone!

Getting people excited about paying for parking? Now that speaks for itself!

And there you have it: The easiest, quickest, safest option for drivers to pay for parking — in a way that sucks a whole lot less! (Plus, it’s a lot more pleasant for parking operators too… but we’ll leave that for another blog post.)

An Ode to Myself on My Birthday (HonkTAP)

Happy birthday to me — I’m two years old!

What a ride it’s been
So much has changed since I debuted my shiny new self 
I remember it clearly:
It was at the International Parking & Mobility Institute’s Conference 
in Anaheim California back in 2019.

I shocked the world with my revolutionary payment application:
An easy solution without any mobile application
A first-of-its-kind express guest checkout
All the functionalities of a pay station — with none of the capital cost or maintenance
The look and feel of a mobile app — with no need to download, install, or sign up

(You can’t say I lack confidence.)

Oh, how I’ve grown and evolved these past 24 months
From the design of my very first signs (#tbt),
To the seamless integration into iOS (hello, App Clips!)
My patent-pending payment solution has nicely evolved into the beauty she is today

(Nobody said I was humble either.)

And boy oh boy, I came to be a whole year before the world as we once knew it changed forever
Before consumers realized they would even need me — like, really need me
When the pandemic hit in March of 2020 
The payments landscape would feel the repercussions first hand:
Safety. Cleanliness. Touch-Free 
Once nice-to-have, now need-to-have
And I, HonkTAP — as the next generation of contactless payments — was the answer
The solution, the “pivot” the world of parking (and beyond) would need for their operation to survive
… and eventually thrive.

Because parking operators and lot owners suddenly had to offer their customers a safe & clean way to pay
One that was barrier free
And I came to the rescue!
Quick and easy to install, plus no learning curve for customers,
I was a foolproof solution.

Friction. Now the stuff of fiction.

I launched in 60+ cities in North America
To help operators offer contactless ways to pay
And to give customers a simple and safe solution

I relish in the memory of my Apple App Clips feature in World Developer Week (I’m famous!),
To giving small towns a new source of income in a time when their budgets were tight,
To providing colleges and universities a safe way for students and staff to pay for campus parking
Operators of all shapes and sizes came to me, trusted me, depended on me 

(You can’t blame me for having a big head.)

All this to say:
I can’t wait for what’s coming next
I’m only just getting started

For now, I'll bask in my 2 year anniversary...
Of being me:
HonkTAP — your friendly neighborhood parking payments solution
(Now where’s my cake?!)

Say Goodbye to Parking Scratch Cards & Hello to Flexible, Contactless, Digital Parking Passes

Scratch cards should stick to their lane — i.e., the world of lotto tickets — and back out of parking for good. See, they’ve reached their prime; they’ve peaked and they’re now on their way to extinction. And good riddance! Thanks to the digitization of, well, pretty much everything nowadays, coupled with the need to create flexible products and services that are touch-free and safe — we can finally give parking scratch cards the boot!

As a final salute to the era of parking scratch cards, we’re sharing the main reasons why we need not shed a tear now that they’ve been tossed to the curb (but not literally — let’s not litter, folks!).

If we had to describe the late, not-so-great parking scratch cards in only 6 words, they would be...

1. Costly —

   Printing is expensive. Both the cost of printing itself as well as the cost associated with time spent coordinating their design and printing. 

2. Cumbersome —

   There are just SO many moving pieces. The need to liaise with multiple parties — design, print, and parking — it’s exhausting just thinking about it.

3. Inflexible —

   Once the cards are printed, it’s a done deal. There’s no wiggle room for changes. And if there’s one thing the last 14 months has taught us, it’s that change is inevitable — we need processes that allow us to run with the punches.

4. Friction —

   Paying for parking should be easy and painless. And that ain’t scratch cards — they require prospective customers to take too many complicated steps: (1) arrange and pick up the physical card in person or coordinate by mail; (2) find a coin laying around to scratch off a session; (3) calculate how much money’s been lost when they are inevitably misplaced or possibly stolen.

5. Eco-UNfriendly —

   They use trees and they eventually end up in the garbage. ‘Nuff said.

6. Data-less —

   With no reporting or insight on usage, there is no way to track or analyze how and when parkers are using their scratch cards to pay for parking.

Enter the new kid on the block: A digital parking pass that was born out of change and disruption. When the pandemic hit back in March 2020, the HONK team knew that one of the repercussions would be a void in monthly parking so we created HonkPASS — a cross between daily and monthly parking, and the perfect alternative to Mr. scratch card. HonkPASS is a prepaid package of electronic parking credits that can be redeemed for parking at a single location or within a group of locations during a specified period (e.g., 10 days in a calendar month).  Gone are the days of manual, inefficient scratch cards. Hello, digital convenience! 

Now if we had to describe this new technology in only 4 words, they would be…

1. Flexible —

   You, the operator, have full reign when configuring rates and availability from the backoffice, whenever and wherever you want. And there’s seriously no limit on how many different parking passes you can create. With digital, you’re back in the driver’s seat! 

2. Insight —

   Thanks to good ol’ technology, you get real-time access on redemption and usage of all parking credits. You’ve got the data to truly understand how, when, and where each of your customers is using their credits — which helps in the creation of future smart parking rates and programs.

3. Contactless —

   Give your customers the safest, cleanest, easiest way to pay for parking: touch-free! And the sheer convenience of it drives uptake and compliance.

4. Profit —

   An ideal mix of daily and monthly parking options, THIS is a contactless payment solution that will attract more customers (which translates into more money for you). Plus, collect funds up front, and save on individual credit card processing fees. How’s that for a guaranteed revenue generator?

Want in on the fun? If you are a college or university getting ready for Fall ‘21, or if you’re on the office parking management team, HONK’s digital parking pass is the solution for you!

Want to learn more about the parking payments solution of the future?

Skip The App Store, Ditch the Meter & Pay With Guest Checkout: NYSPTA Webinar Recap

HONK’s Senior Vice President, Kacey Siskind, hosted a webinar with our friends at the New York State Parking & Transportation Association (NYSPTA), where they dove into the beast that is contactless payments and discussed the importance of going beyond the app and offering  guest checkout.

There’s a lot to navigate in the payment waters, but this webinar featured everything there is to know about the topic. Kacey walked attendees through the latest payment trends, consumer demands, and how implementing app-free contactless payments increases compliance and customer satisfaction — all while improving the bottom line.

We’re sharing some of the learnings from the webinar below, but we also invite you to watch the full 50-minute webinar:

Consumer behavior: trends and takeaways

What should come as no surprise is that contactless payments are here to stay — and this phenomenon is only growing in popularity every day. This form of payment was already on the rise before 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic pushed its growth into acceleration mode. Consumers now expect contactless ways to pay for, well, everything. And if you consider most people are used to paying for their coffee via contactless technologies, why shouldn’t they have that same quick and easy option for parking?

The proof is in the pudding

Sure, we know the invaluable benefits of app-free contactless payments. But what better way to showcase its power than by painting a picture with a case study? One of our dear customers, Kevin Wood from Port Jefferson NY, joined the webinar and demonstrated how implementing a city-wide contactless payment system via HONK helped decrease his monthly expenses and increase his bottom line. 

To provide context to attendees, we walked through what the parking landscape looked like before HONK came into the picture, and explained what the implementation process entailed. From signing the contract to the date the changes went live, Port Jefferson’s transformation only took four short weeks. The two big takeaways from their contactless metamorphosis are as follows: (1) Port Jefferson’s existing infrastructure was converted into HonkTAP smart stations by retrofitting the oldest meters and turning them into virtual parking kiosks; and (2) Customers are accustomed to going to physical meters to pay for parking and they’re already familiar with QR codes — so turning the parking meters into virtual versions of themselves didn’t require any education when it came to what the parker had to do. It turned out to be a no-brainer!

High level results included removing 50% of their pay & display machines. (Yes, that’s right — Port Jefferson removed half of their machines! Think of the monthly savings: No more money spent on paper, modem, communications, maintenance, or insurance.) Plus, mobile adoption jumped from 3% to 45% of total parking transactions in just 6 short months — and it’s growing every day. How’s that for a success story?

Curiosity piqued? Want to learn more about our app-free contactless payment solutions? 

Bigger IS Better — When it Comes to Your Selection of Payment Options, That Is

While we’ve probably screamed it from the rooftops enough by now, we need to say it again: Contactless payments are no longer a nice-to-have, but rather a need-to-have. We all know this, right? For those of you still on the fence, please refer back to some of our older blog posts on the matter (said in our most teacherly voice): When Luxury Becomes Necessity: Is Covid-19 The Tipping Point for Contactless Parking Payments? and and Is Covid-10 The Tipping Point for Contactless Payments?

So what does this mean? Simply offering contactless payments is no longer enough — we must go one step further to offer contactless payments with multiple payment options. These days, it’s all about consumer choice. Because, in the minds of your parkers, not all payment methods are created equal. 

With that in mind, it becomes pretty clear: The more payment options you make available, the more likely you are to generate more sales. It’s really that simple. Think about it: Consumers want easy ways to pay — and they expect the payment method to be familiar. If you offer a variety of payment options that encompass all modern-day options, then bingo! Every customer will have their preferred payment method available to them. And you don’t risk them walking… err, driving… away to that lot down the street.

Let’s dig into the specifics — and importance — of offering diverse payment options.

1. Convenience

First and foremost, your payment offerings have to be convenient — a.k.a., involving very little trouble or effort. If you offer a myriad of payment options, chances are each and every customer who parks at your facility will be able to find the payment method that is most convenient to them. And convenience drives profit. It’s that simple. 

2. Familiarity / Preference

It’s not news that there are multiple demographics driving and, of course, needing to park. A college student on campus, a businesswoman driving to the office, a family-member visiting a loved one at the hospital, or a sports fan driving to a live event. Each of these parkers will have a different expectation when it comes to paying for their parking spot. Multiple payment options are absolutely necessary to meet these multiple expectations. If there isn’t a payment option the customer feels comfortable using, they very well might forego paying or park elsewhere.

By offering multiple payment options that are credit card specific (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc.) and others that are paid for with funds directly withdrawn from a customer’s bank account (in the form of PayPal, Visa/Mastercard Debit, and Interac Debit), there’s no way you’ll miss out on a preferred payment option and potentially lose a customer who may have been loyal for years to come.

3. Sense of trust

Lots of drivers have developed a strong sense of trust towards one — and only one — form of payment. Some customers prefer using PayPal because they believe it to be the safest and most secure option out there (since they don’t have to share their credit card details with a new company they may not yet trust). While another customer’s sense of trust lies with a digital wallet, like Apple Pay or Google Pay (because they have an innate feeling that it is the fastest, safest, most secure way to pay for goods and services). Offering multiple payment options — including the latest available — helps customers place their trust in your company without a second thought. 

Bottom line: By empowering customers to pay for parking how they want, and by offering as many payment options as possible, you will improve your bottom line. So when you’re looking for a contactless payments provider, be sure to vet them by their payment method offerings. And wouldn’t you know it? That brings us to the part where we get to toot our own horn... or HONK our own horn? ;)

At HONK, we pride ourselves on delivering a payments experience that is easy and convenient for every customer — that’s why we offer all payment options: Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Visa, Visa/Debit, Mastercard, Mastercard/Debit American Express, Interac Debit (for our Canadian customers), and even the Discover Card for those that prefer it. How’s that for bigger is better?

Want to learn more about our contactless payment options? Book a demo with a member of our team:

Skipping The App Store: Will app-less guest checkout finally allow our phones to replace pay stations and parking meters? (Spoiler: we certainly think so!)

The world of payments has changed dramatically in the last year. According to Mastercard, 75% of consumers prefer using contactless over other forms of payment. And this is expected to continue post pandemic. Why? Because, quite simply, new consumer behaviors have been learned, and the old ways of paying suddenly became unsafe and seemed very grimey, to say the least. 

This ‘new normal’ accelerated the push towards mass adoption of  touch-free ways to pay. Seemingly overnight, contactless payments went from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have.

Still, many parking operators equate offering a mobile app with contactless payment. While an app is certainly one way to offer touch free payments, this solution unfortunately doesn’t go far enough in making contactless payments ubiquitous. Not every customer wants to download and install an app, enter their payment information — and then create an account to boot. To meet the moment, the parking industry must go beyond the app to offer safety-conscious consumers new and accessible touch-free ways to pay. And what better way than by providing a no-barriers, zero-steps-to-pay, app-less mobile guest checkout experience?

Up until very recently, paying for parking via a traditional parking meter or pay station came with one advantage: it was the only way that drivers could pay for parking using what everyone who drives has on them - credit cards and cash. Customers would simply select the rate/duration, and pay — no need to set up an account or download an app.

Honk’s patent-pending mobile guest checkout experience takes this advantage away from the pay station. Customers pay for parking using the other item that everyone has on them at all times - their mobile phones. Drivers don’t have to walk across a parking lot, take out their wallet, fumble for coins, or fiddle with their credit card at a ‘dirty’ machine in order to pay. They can do it from the convenience of their vehicle, using their own device without the need to download and register an app. (Not to mention, they can enjoy bonus features like being notified if their parking session is about to expire or adding more time from wherever they happen to be — neither of which is possible with a traditional pay station.) 

Let’s quickly outline the many benefits of  app-less mobile guest checkout:

1. It takes less time: It works on any phone with no app to download and no account sign-up required! 
   

2. It’s less daunting for first-timers: It’s a simple and easy way to pay using what everyone has in their pocket - their mobile phone.
   

3. It’s more profitable: It’s cheaper to own & operate than traditional parking meters or pay stations — there are no large capital expenditures, no paper to supply, no need for power or internet connectivity, nothing to break and can be located absolutely anywhere payment acceptance is required. 

Launched in 2019 and with thousands of locations in operation across North America, Honk’s app-less mobile guest checkout technology is making parking more profitable for parking operators while meeting the needs of this new breed of health-focused, safety-conscious, convenience-loving consumer.  Will app-less mobile guest checkout finally allow our phones to replace pay stations and parking meters? We certainly think so.

Want to learn how HONK’s app-less guest checkout fits into your parking payments strategy?

The Contactless Glow Up

The Contactless Glow Up

The lowly QR Code has been around for nearly 30 years — it was invented back in 1994! — yet it is only now getting the recognition it truly deserves, owing largely to today’s health-conscious and convenience-driven world. If anyone (or thing) merits the award for Biggest Glow Up of 2020, we unanimously vote for the sleek, the beautiful… Contactless QR Code. 

So... what is a QR Code?

Short for “Quick Response Code,” the QR is a code that is quickly readable by a smartphone. Not to be confused with a barcode (which is 1-dimensional and holds 20 characters of information), the QR Code is a 2-dimensional code that stores all types of information horizontally and vertically, holding hundreds more characters than the barcode. When triggered (scanned by a smartphone - no app download required), the QR Code prompts a digital call-to-action. It’s impressively versatile — it can hold links, digital menus, coupons, event details, and yes, can even facilitate parking payments. In terms of practical use cases, the world is its oyster. 

The Glow Up 

The QR Code is being used at a wider scale than ever before due to its ease of use and ability to facilitate touchless buyer journeys. It’s no secret that the pandemic has forced all of us to — quickly — adopt touch-free ways to go about our daily lives. And the hero that’s helped businesses and consumers through our touch-averse, budget-conscious ‘new normal’? The affordable and versatile QR Code. A bit of a late bloomer, the QR Code has won over consumers in 2020 because it helped them feel safe in the midst of so much uncertainty. Not to mention it’s just so easy to use. Now universally recognized by consumers everywhere, we all know what to do when we see those familiar black and white splotches: open our phone camera and scan the code. Simple as that. Overnight, the QR Code has become the standard — we see them on the table at restaurants and instinctively know they’re there to order and pay for our meal; we use them to unlock bike-shares, and — you guessed it — to safely and easily pay for a parking spot.

First Movers in Parking

At HONK, we’ve been touting contactless payments since we were founded in 2013 and began employing this technology for contactless guest checkout in the spring of 2019. We’re proud to say we saw its potential long before the world embraced and adopted this new (old) technology. If you’re wondering why, it’s as simple as this: The QR Code has all the qualities needed for safe, quick, and convenient parking payments. And now she’s all glowed up!

Interested to know how HONK fit the QR Code into the parking payments puzzle for an even quicker and easier way to pay?

Embracing The F-Word: Why Flexible On-Campus Parking Is the New Normal

To meet the parking needs of today’s students, post-secondary institutions need to move quickly and embrace the f-word on campus: flexibility. With far fewer students learning in the classroom, plus a new wave of semi-frequent parkers in town, flexible parking options have never been so important to the bottom line.

But what exactly does ‘flexible parking’ mean? And what sort of parking options are appealing to this new market of campus parkers? First things first: Adding a flexible parking program to any campus is a need-to-have for both students and faculty alike.

Up until COVID-19 reared its ugly and catastrophic head, parking at colleges and universities was fairly straight forward — with hourly or daily parking made available to the transient parker, and permit parking for those who come to campus regularly. These days, those who are still coming to campus are doing so on a hybrid model, and neither parking option is suitable. 

Students — especially in today’s economic environment — are extremely budget-conscious. Daily (and even hourly) parking rates no longer make financial sense for them, and monthly or semester parking even less so considering they’re on campus a fraction of the time they were pre-COVID. To meet the needs of the new, post-COVID student driver, there needs to be a flexible hybrid between hourly/daily parking and monthly/semester permits. According to the IPMI Roadmap to Recovery: University Planning, Strategies & Benchmarking for 2021, 53% of schools implemented flexible permit options in fall 2020, and 11% plan on implementing flexible permitting for the first time in spring 2021. 

But the need for embracing flexibility doesn’t stop there. New parking options need to be both flexible and agile when it comes to how parkers pay for their spot. In today’s health and safety-conscious world, contactless payment options are a must. We’ll say it again for the people at the back: Digital touch-free payment options are no longer a nice-to-have, but an absolute need-to-have. 

Okay, so what next? Forward-thinking parking operations will need to commit to a variety of payment options, and offer a selection of new parking products in order to offer the end consumer flexibility to use the payment method and choose the product that’s right for them. With all this choice, we predict that parking ‘a la carte’ is the way of the future.

But where does this leave parking services during these fluid, uncertain times? Nobody knows when classes will go back to their ‘regular’ full-time programming, making it hard to plan for the next quarter, month, or even week. But with flexible back-end solutions, parking operators can quickly and easily adapt to ever-changing circumstances and shifting consumer needs. 

So what is this flexible back-end solution, and where can you get it? Introducing HonkPASS, a flexible parking pass that fills a gap — let’s call it a pothole — for this new wave of semi-frequent parkers. Consisting of a prepaid package of electronic parking credits, HonkPASS can be redeemed for parking at a single location, or within a group of locations during a specified period of time (think: 10 days in a calendar month). Our team built HonkPASS with both the end customer and operator in mind — to provide flexibility and savings for both. Woo hoo!

But that’s not all… There are so many tangible benefits to adding this new technology to your suite of parking products. With HonkPASS, you can:

• Increase sales and generate upfront revenue

• Provide customers with a safe, clean, contactless way to pay

• Drive uptake with increased compliance, flexibility, and convenience

• Save on resource & labor costs associated with manual permitting

---

Want to learn more about HonkPASS as a flexible parking option for your campus? Simply click on the link below to schedule a 30-minute demo with a member of our team. It’s free!

New Year, New You: Lose That Infrastructure Weight and Go ‘Hardware Light’ in 2021

2020 saw parking volumes way down and revenue goals unmet. And as a result, many budgets continue to be constrained. So what does this mean for your business goals in 2021? 

The way we see it, the desired outcome of parking payments solutions (i.e., to create and foster a customer experience that keeps them coming back to park) hasn’t really changed, but the how has never been so mission critical. 

It all comes down to this: We need to be smart(er) when it comes to investing in payment infrastructure. That’s where going ‘hardware light’ comes in.

Ready to shed some of that infrastructure weight? Then we’ve got a New Year’s resolution for you: Go with cloud-based contactless payments in 2021. Lighter on your wallet and your resources — but heavy in customer demand — contactless parking payments are truly a win-win. Whether you’re looking to downsize your hardware, or are aiming to add additional points-of-sale to your parking facility, cloud-based contactless payments are the all-around lighter option — especially for cash-conscious parking operators. 

And guess what, our industry-leading, patent-pending HonkTAP Smart Stations are, ahem, the perfect example of a digital contactless payment solution that works as a standalone payment option, or in tandem with other payment solutions — whether that be parking meters, pay stations, or mobile apps.

For those unfamiliar with HonkTAP Smart Stations, they offer parkers an easy way to pay with their phone without having to download an app — no hardware required. Custom-branded HonkTAP Smart Stations give drivers a touch-free payment option, while keeping your hardware costs down. HonkTAP Smart Stations process the payment directly from  a driver’s phone and require no data, no power and can be located absolutely anywhere. Brilliant, right?

To help you better understand the value and benefit of going ‘hardware light,’ we’ve listed some of the main differences between traditional and contactless payment options below:

Save money

• Traditional hardware is expensive, but touch-free HonkTAP Smart Stations are a fraction of the cost. For starters, there’s no upfront cost with Smart Stations. Consider the fact that hardware requires constant power and internet connectivity. HonkTAP Smart Stations do not. So you can say good-bye to those monthly expenses! Not to mention, hardware can break, resulting in downtime and requiring maintenance — sapping your money and manpower. HonkTAP Smart Stations have zero downtime and require absolutely no upkeep. 

Prioritize health and safety

• In today’s hyper-clean, safety-conscious environment, parkers are looking for the cleanest way to pay. Hardware is a high-touch point of sale — hundreds of people touch payment machines every single day. HonkTAP Smart Stations are 100% contactless and 100% germ-free.

Attract and retain customers

• Cloud-based contactless payments make it easy to build customer loyalty and retention. Unlike traditional hardware, where there are no ways to integrate your marketing and loyalty efforts, HonkTAP Smart Stations come with these sorts of marketing capabilities built right in! Want to entice first-time parkers with a discount? No problem! You can easily set up custom promo codes for savings off their first purchase — one of the many ways to attract new customers and keep them loyal for years to come.

Increase compliance

• There aren’t any hoops to jump through when it comes to digital contactless payments. No more lining up to pay or fiddling with your credit card at the machine! And with no app to download, it’s an incredibly fast and easy way to pay. Simply tap or scan your phone, and voila! By reducing time-consuming hurdles to making a payment, HonkTAP Smart Stations increase compliance — meaning more revenue in your pockets.

There’s no denying one silver lining of the toughest year in living memory: COVID-19 has given our industry the downtime needed to reevaluate current payment solutions, and freed up the resources to make much-needed changes to our infrastructure. So once we’re (finally!) on the other side of this pandemic, the parking industry’s payments infrastructure will be cheaper, more customer-centric, and as a result, better for the bottom line.

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Ready to take the first step in shedding that hardware weight? Learn more about our HonkTAP Smart Stations by clicking on the link below to schedule a demo with a member of our team.

A Look Back on 2020: A Year That Changed Everything

Back in March (what feels like a lifetime ago now), the world as we knew it changed. Thanks to a global pandemic, life-altering “pivots” soon became the “new normal,” cementing new behaviors that impacted the way we run our businesses, to the way we run to the grocery store, to — yes — even the way we park. 

Now that we’re just over 2 weeks away from 2021 — but who’s counting? — we can finally see some light at the end of this socially-distanced-hand-sanitizing-mask-wearing tunnel. So what better time to look back at the ripple effect COVID-19 has had on parking behaviors, and ask ourselves how these changes have impacted the industry? It’s only by examining these changes that we can equip ourselves with the right outlook (and the necessary toolset) to future-proof parking for the years to come.

{Spoiler alert: There are quite a few silver linings.}

2020: The year of contactless payments 

We know, we know. You’ve seen the reports. Contactless payments were on the rise before COVID-19 reared its ugly head. Still, what we’ve seen in the contactless market this past year is best described as growth on steroids. 

And it’s no surprise, really. During these COVID times, why put your hands on a high-touch point-of-sale device when you can simply tap your phone to pay? A recent Mastercard survey shows that a staggering 51% of Americans are now using some form of contactless payment. Contactless payments are the safest and most hygienic way to make a purchase and are no longer a nice-to-have, but a need-to-have. 

Ultimately, parking operators will need to provide accessible, easy, contactless payments for their customers. If they wish to compete in this hyper-clean, safety-conscious brave new world, that is. (This would be the spot for us to shamelessly plug our patent-pending HonkTAP Smart Stations and tell you how paying for parking with a simple tap or scan of your phone makes for a clean and safe experience — but we have far too much tact for that. Ahem.) 

For more information relating to COVID-19’s impact on contactless parking payments, we invite you to read our previous blog post: When luxury becomes necessity — Is COVID-19 the tipping point for contactless parking payments?

Less riders means more drivers (and parkers)

Mass layoffs, furloughs of an unprecedented scale, and a shift to working from home (and just staying at home in general) — all have a part in the pummelling top US transit systems experienced this past year. Think about it: Ridership dropped between 70% to 90%, pretty much overnight. Truly bonkers! While numbers will surely bounce back as new jobs are created, a sizable amount of future would-be passengers are likely to change their commuting patterns, and opt to drive or bike in a post-COVD world. A Google Consumer Insights Study reported that 93% of drivers were using their cars more in the era of COVID. Let that sink in for a minute: The pandemic has impacted us in such a way that 93% of car owners were driving more than was their norm.

And it seems that this shift in commuting behaviors may be permanent. “We know that people will be scared to use public transportation from a health perspective,” says Ahmed El-Geneidy, a professor of Urban Planning at McGill University who has studied transit ridership. Heavy-hitting statistics — e.g., roughly 47% of consumers plan to reduce usage of public transit in a post-coronavirus world — seem to back up this claim.

Less people on public transportation means more people driving. And more people driving means more vehicles on the road. And what does that mean for parking in a post-pandemic world? A lot more of it!

The future is flexibility

A Stanford study reported an astonishing 42% of the US labor force was working from home on a full-time basis back in the spring. And with COVID cases on the rise, WFH isn’t going anywhere. 

Interestingly, this new work reality will remain even after mass vaccinations have reached the general population — it’s beginning to look like the 9-to-5 will be forever changed. Future Forum research shows that 72% of knowledge workers want a hybrid remote-office balance moving forward in the new normal. We’ve already seen large technology companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Shopify pledge to move away from onsite work, either offering a hybrid work/office model, or going entirely work-from-home for many departments.

So is this the end of 9-5 commuters en masse? What does it mean for early bird parking? And will we be saying bon voyage to monthly parking? The way we see it, these lasting changes will largely impact what type of parking commuters want. Perhaps this is the birth of a flexible parking pass that will complement existing offerings, giving consumers more choice and operators more business. This is where companies like ours need to innovate to create a product that this new wave of semi-regular parkers needs. Hint Hint: HonkPASS, the industry’s first-of-its-kind flexible parking pass gives drivers flexibility and competitive pricing, and operators steady, upfront revenue.

Conclusion

While parking volumes are still well below industry norms, it’s important that we, the change-makers, take this time to sit back and observe, to analyze new trends and behaviors, and to learn from them. Only then can we better understand when to innovate — or pivot — with the goal of successfully future-proofing parking payments for a post-pandemic world. 

It’s time to put the safety-conscious consumer in the driver’s seat, where they belong.  

Lucky #7: A Letter From Our Founder & CEO On Our 7th Anniversary

Seven (long) years ago, Honk was all but a bushy-tailed payments startup — consisting of 3 employees working from a kitchen table. We had big hopes & dreams: to make parking payments easier, safer, and all around better; in short, to disrupt an industry long in need of disruption. This month, on our 7-year anniversary (that’s 42 in startup years) I’m taking the time to look back on how far we’ve come, how we’ve evolved, what corners we’ve turned, and celebrate our successes. After all, what good are all the milestones if you don’t take the time to honour them? 

While 2020 certainly hasn’t been the year that I (or anyone) could have forecasted, one thing is certain: Today’s reality is showing the world what we have always known to be true — that safe, contactless payments are no longer a nice-to-have, but an absolute necessity. Consumers are done touching things they don’t own — they want to pay for everyday goods and services from the comfort and safety of their own homes… err… devices.

If I had to pick just one word to describe Honk and all that encompasses our team, our product, and our maxim, I would choose innovative. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Honk. It’s in our blood. We started as a mobile app for drivers who wanted to search, find, and pay for parking from their phone — and we’ve evolved into so much more. (HonkAPP, our first child, we still love you!) 

Not wanting to limit our technology to app users alone, we asked ourselves: What next? The simple answer: an easy way for drivers to pay for a parking spot without downloading an app, or even having to create a user account. Well, I feel like a proud papa when I say that our team turned that vision into a hugely successful reality with HonkTAP. With it, we became the first parking company in the world to offer a tap-to-pay option with our patent-pending HonkTAP smart stations.

Next up: A global pandemic that completely transformed the way that we work, shop, eat and ultimately live. The precipitous drop in the need for monthly parking had us wondering what we could do to help restore some normalcy for both parkers and operators? Surely there had to be a way to bring back some much-needed value to parkers, while guaranteeing steady revenue for parking operators. So we put our heads together and created an all-new product that helps both operators and the new wave of ‘clean’ parkers: a first-of-its-kind digital parking punch card, called HonkPASS. Our product and development teams not only laid out the vision, but brought this idea to life — all during a global pandemic (excuse me while I wipe a tear of joy from my cheek).

In 2019, we had big plans to exhibit our products at various national and international conferences and trade shows. Suffice to say, that was put on pause this year. Indefinitely. Okay, let’s pivot and find new ways to stand out, we thought, to bring our brand to existing customers and prospects behind computer monitors at a virtual trade show. We like to think we accomplished that with our super successful Honk Show. And while we’re still fielding calls from Hollywood, I think we’ll stick to payments for now…

To close off the year, we placed 7th on the Canadian Business 2020 Growth List of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies. I could not have asked for a better recognition of our 7th year of business  – quite fitting, no?!

To our partners and operators who have been with us since Day 1 or thereabouts: It’s been an honour to grow and evolve in such great company. 

And to our newest partners who have joined us in recent months: Welcome to the party! (ain’t no party like a Honk party?)

On this, our 7th anniversary, I’ve never felt more bullish and excited for Honk’s future,  because we're just getting started...

Stay safe out there,

Michael Back

Honk Founder and CEO

An Open Letter: Our Commitment To Do Better in The Fight Against Racism

We've got something to get off our chest. 

We can no longer remain silent about the systemic oppression and racism that has been happening for far too long. 

Current events across the globe have made us think harder and deeper about this issue than ever before. We’ve been reading, talking, thinking and doing since we heard the call. We’ve been looking inward and self-reflecting on our own privilege, and the biases we’ve amassed over the years. We have come to a very clear conclusion: To be silent is to be complacent. And as a company we need to do better in our support of the BIPOC community that makes up our employees, our community, our clients and our customers.

We’ve been reflecting here at Honk HQ about how we can actively participate in the anti-racist fight. How can we use our platform to raise awareness? What tangible something can we give to the cause?

 Here’s what we came up with: For starters, we’ll be donating all parking service fees collected every Monday in August to 2 non-profits that support BIPOC. Because we operate in both the United States and Canada, we’ll be supporting one initiative from each country:

Equal Justice Initiative

This initiative works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality in the United States. Because Black people in America are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of white people.

Black Health Alliance

This community-led organization looks to improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada. Because Black women in Canada have substantially higher rates of premature births than white women.

Another thing we’ll be doing? making an effort to become better anti-racist allies — by doing the research, the work, the learning, and the re-education at the individual level.

“Racism is a big bad word that’s often perceived as overt and violent, but racism is most often implicit, insidious, pervasive and systematic.” 

(Source: Temi Adamolekun)

This statement is powerful. Violent acts of racism are most certainly overt and obvious, but the deeply ingrained systemic racism that is woven into society? It needs to come undone. So we’re getting down to work here at Honk HQ. We’ll be better educating ourselves to become better allies, and we’re starting with the list below. We invite you to do the same.

Reading List (*Shop local if you can!!):

Between The World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson *Adapted to a movie 

The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin

How To Be An Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi

There’s a revolution happening. We can’t stay silent. We urge you to use your voices too — however small or large they might be. 

Let’s continue to rage against the machine.

- Michael & the entire Honk Team

“I never thought I’d say this, but I f*cking miss parking conferences.”

Seven years ago, when I came into this industry - a bright eyed and bushy tailed sales executive - if you had told me that I would be longing for a windowless trade show floor, a busy hotel bar, or even a (delayed) connecting flight to a touristy resort (aka a parking conference), I wouldn’t have believed you. After countless trips, unpacking and repacking my suitcase and racing through airports, it’s amazing how much I’ve come to look forward to these conferences throughout the year and how much I’m missing them during this time. I’ve been thinking back on these beloved conferences and realizing what they’ve meant to me over the years. 

Early in my Honk career, I attended conferences solo — for many a daunting task — but being alone with a group of strangers doesn’t phase the extrovert in me. It’s my sweet spot. I am also lucky to have always been met by a warm and welcoming group of people at every show.  When I look back at their kindness, it’s not surprising that I’ve formed lasting friendships with many of them along the way. 

I’ll never forget the year my birthday fell during the Parking Industry Expo (PIE) in Chicago. After a long day on the tradeshow floor, I’ll always remember celebrating at the side of the highway with my parking friends and a box of delicious Chicago deep-dish pizza. Definitely a birthday for the books. I truly miss these friends that I only get to see in person a few times a year, and I’m counting the days until I can see these folks face to face again.

How many people can say they’ve gone to New Orleans for a work conference and had some of the best meals of their lives? And those tacky Anaheim or Universal Studios hotels that I now miss so dearly? Once-in-a-lifetime experiences for most people, but they have turned into my home away from home. Who doesn’t love coming home laden with swag that you don’t really need? All those branded pens are finally coming in handy in my new ‘home office’ - as are the stress balls!

Parking conferences have sure taught me a lot. All the new advancements in the industry, the many innovations on display on the show floor, the knowledge gained from seminars and panels - maybe not the early morning ones after a late night out with my buddies - but you get the gist. I’ve developed tons of new skills like how to tear down a 10’x10’ trade show booth in under 7 minutes, pack it in the oh-so-convenient ‘carrying case’ Jenga-style (minus a few key pieces), do the mad dash to the airport, pay $600 in overweight baggage fees, and finally set up a permanent office in the airport lounge waiting for a flight, all while wearing heels. 

Parking conferences were a great source of new leads, new contacts, and new connections. And while it’s been wonderful seeing many of these conferences pivot to the virtual realm, there’s something so, well, human about meeting people face to face at trade shows. Shaking hands with new clients, hugging old friends, or giving our parking industry peers a pat on the back — these are the things that I miss, and some that I may have taken for granted pre-pandemic.

While being *robbed* of our dearly loved conferences has been a bitter pill to swallow, I have so much faith that those of us in the parking industry will gather together again, stronger than ever, on the other side...

Stay safe and healthy my friends.

I’ll be ready for you, Conferences.

While I can’t be with you in-person, the next best thing is drinks over Zoom. Hit me up!

- Kacey Siskind

Senior Vice President, Honk

When luxury becomes necessity — Is COVID-19 the tipping point for contactless parking payments?

By Michael Back

Contactless infrastructure has been in place for years but until now, consumers have not embraced this technology on a broad scale. As a result, parking operations have offered it inconsistently across the board. The tides are changing – but will it be a tsunami?

The climate around coronavirus has drawn particularly close attention to the cleanliness and safety associated with both cash and the high-touch payment technology that we use every day — from ATMs to retail pin pads to parking infrastructure. The new consumer hypersensitivity around previously simple conveniences of modern-day life will need to be re-examined post COVID-19.

Let’s start by considering just how unhygienic — and as a direct result — unsafe cash and high-touch payment technology happens to be:

We have known for years that banknotes harbour the perfect environment for microbes to settle.  Past studies have shown that bills carry more than 3,000 types of bacteria including E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus. But as the world comes together to stop the spread of COVID-19, what’s new is that governments are starting to undertake strong measures to alleviate coronavirus transmission via cash handling — China is disinfecting and locking away used banknotes, while the Bank of Korea is heating banknotes, and in some cases, burning the bills. In addition, the Bank of Korea will no longer handle the exchange of coins and banknotes that have been introduced from abroad.

Another powerful recommendation in the move away from cash comes from the World Health Organization, which has urged the population to avoid cash and to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.  In an April 2020 study, The Lancet Microbe looked at how long the coronavirus lasts on various surfaces. Among their discoveries was that the virus can stay on plastic and steel – the very same materials used to make up parking payment infrastructure – for up to 7 days.

While the current coronavirus outbreak won’t last forever, we can expect that many of the new, and sanitary, habits developed during this time will remain – not only to prevent additional coronavirus waves, but to avoid newer microbes from infecting our population. It is safe to assume the global disdain for cash-based sales and the avoidance of high-touch areas will have a lasting impact on consumer purchasing behaviours and spending habits going forward. How will this shift impact the parking industry in a post COVID-19 world?

Let’s take a look…

Pre-pandemic parking infrastructure revolved heavily around high-touch pay stations and parking meters for the acceptance of cash, credit card and electronic payments. Contactless payments (think: mobile apps and standalone tap-to-pay) have been largely regarded as “premium” products. The mentality that contactless technology was a nice-to-have, but not a necessity prevailed. As a result, it has not been ubiquitously accepted or made available to consumers and in many cases, users were and are charged additional fees for this ‘convenience’.

Post-pandemic, everyday life will be forever changed. Experts are telling us that the virus won’t suddenly disappear, nor will there be a complete return back to “normal” life. Instead, restrictions will gradually be eased and society will slowly start to re-open. Everyday habits and processes will need to be re-examined, and companies must quickly adapt. Will consumers feel comfortable interacting with high-touch public surfaces?  Will valet parking become a thing of the past?  Will parking finally go cashless?  While the answers to these questions remain to be seen, what we do know is that parking operators must begin preparations now for a brave new world of parkers — one that limits shared interaction and demands safe, hygienic forms of payment.

Mobile apps for parking payments will no doubt see a huge surge in downloads and usage. The safety and ease of paying for parking from one’s own mobile device is no longer a luxury — it is a necessity for safety-conscious consumers. Parking operators must acknowledge that mobile apps are no longer a premium product, and the parking meter with its high-touch surfaces, paper-based receipts and high-cost maintenance is a thing of the past. With this realization, we should see a change in the fee structure for apps. Will more operators begin to absorb the convenience fee to provide this essential service to customers? Only time will tell.

Parking operators will also need a holistic approach for safe parking payments, one that offers drivers a variety of options — and not simply a “one and done” product. As seen by the numbers – about 38% of consumers now see contactless as a basic need when it comes to payments – contactless payments will become the new norm for all payments. Parking operators need to include this form of payment as an option for parkers if they want to meet consumers’ needs and reach the highest level of compliance.

Just one year ago, Honk developed a patent pending contactless technology that does just this. It’s called HonkTAP, and it allows drivers to literally tap their phone to initiate payment. No app to download, no pay station to touch. Drivers simply — and safely — tap to pay for their parking spot, using a smart station with near field communication (NFC) technology. This type of technology is a necessity in the post COVID-19 world.

Planning ahead for a contactless strategy that works with parking operations now is of utmost importance. As restrictions start to ease, and the “new-normal” begins, consumers will continue to have both safety and cleanliness as top-of-mind when making a purchase. Are your parking operations prepared for the new-normal?

While these uncertain times are rocking every industry, there’s good news for the parking industry: The answer is — and has always been — in the palm of our hands.

About the Author: Michael Back, Founder & CEO of HonkMobile is a seasoned entrepreneur with 20 yrs experience in electronic payments. 

Meet The Honkers.

Andre: Operations. New Dad. Football & Basketball Enthusiast.

Ever open the Honk app and wonder how it all works? How do all those parking pins get on the map? How do the rates and times match the posted rates in the lot? Event rates - how do those work?

Enter Andre: Operations Manager here at Honk. Once we land a new partnership with a parking operator, municipality, airport or school, he’s the guy. He does all the zone things.

When Andre isn’t at the office doing all things parking, he’s likely at home spending quality time with his new baby girl <3. When not on diaper duty, he can be found cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles during football season and the Toronto Raptors the rest of the time.

Honk: Andre, can you take us through what it means to be Operations Manager at Honk? What responsibilities fall under your bucket? What’s the most challenging part about your job?

Andre: The most challenging part of the job is keeping up with the constant request of clients! Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that each day can bring new challenges, but at the same time it’s very easy to get overwhelmed with requests if I don’t stay organized and on top of things. Institutions, Private Parking Operators, and Municipalities have different visions, policies and requirements. This is where integrating what we do with their operations and technology is a never-ending cycle and involves constant change. As their systems and policies change, we have to make sure ours does as well to keep everything running smoothly.

Honk: What do you think the biggest misconception is around parking?

Andre: That there’s not a lot to the parking industry. I think when most people think of parking, they just think of a parking meter and coins, an app, or a hang tag. There’s actually a lot more depth to the parking industry, mostly involving logistics and technology. It’s a lot more complicated than how it actually comes across to the end user, but I guess that’s the way it should be.

Honk: Favourite office snack?

Andre: Popcorn. Oreos. Raw Mixed Nuts.

Honk: When not at work, where would you most likely be found?

Andre: Before my daughter was born, I could be found in my den on my laptop, at the gym or playing basketball or baseball. Now? I’ll be at home with my wife and daughter changing diapers and just hanging out.

Honk: What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to parking?

Andre: Coming from someone who used to work in parking at an institution, it still annoys me when people don’t r-e-a-d! I see that many of the same issues pop up for Honk, as I did when I worked at my old job and it all involves people not reading signs or knowing what they are purchasing!

Well, there you have it! A quick look inside what it means to be Operations Manager at Honk!

How to Honk: The [Not-So-Silly] Questions You Might Be Too Afraid to Ask

Well hello there, Honker!

We get asked SO many questions in a week, we thought it might be helpful to share the most commonly asked ones, the real doozies and the ones that nobody even thinks to ask, so you’re absolutely in the know.

Ever wonder how the sausage gets made? Now’s your chance!

We’ve canvassed our crack Customer Support Team and selected the questions that get asked the most because the way we see it if you’re scratching your head about something, it’s very likely that a few others are confused about the exact same thing. And, since our entire reason for being is to make things easier…we want to get those questions answered!

Just remember,  there are no silly questions (except the one about leaving your phone in the windshield).

So read on – You might just learn something...

Q.  How will parking enforcement know I paid?

• Do I have to leave my phone on the dashboard?

• Do I have to print out a ticket from my phone?

*We’re not kidding when we tell you that these questions have been asked more than once!

A. PLEASE PLEASE don’t leave your phone on the dash! (We would never ask you to part ways with your beloved device), and we HATE paper tickets. With Honk, you never need to print your receipts. We’re paper free!

Here’s how it actually works: When you pay with Honk using your license plate as identification, we use that info to let local parking enforcement know you’ve paid — we share your plate number, what zone you’re in, and how long you’ll be there. That way, enforcement has a real-time list of paid vehicles when they’re out patrolling. This is the reason we ask you to confirm your license plate and location so many times. Your license plate is the only information enforcement officers have to ensure that you’ve paid (we don’t collect car make, model, colour, bumper stickers - NOTHING!), so keep that in mind the next time you drive a rental or your partner’s car to work. The license plate in the lot has to match the one you’ve paid on the app.

Q. I paid at the pay station but my receipt isn’t coming up on the app... why?

A. Think of the Honk app as your own personal mobile paystation.  Our information doesn’t speak to those old clunky machines and at the same time, they don’t speak to us. So when you pay at the paystation, we don’t know it (nor do we really want to). So if you paid at the machine, there’s no reason a receipt would show up in the app. Drivers have two options: They can either go “old-school” and use the pay station, or step into the future by downloading the Honk app. If you use the app to pay, you’ll be emailed your receipt right away and you always have us at your fingertips if something goes awry (try asking for a refund from a broken machine that just ran out of ink!).

Q. If I make a parking reservation in a gated lot, how do I get out of the parkade without that paper thingy?

A. We’re eco-friendly here at Honk! Gone are the days of carrying that annoying paper slip with you — with Honk, you simply open the app, scan the barcode, and you’re good to go (in and out). That’s right, the barcode gets your car both in AND out of the parkade. The barcode is always on the app under ‘sessions’ and it’s safely stored on the email we send with your parking receipt.

Q. What if I reserve a parking spot ahead of time, and there’s no spot when I get there?

A. We guarantee all parking spots. But in the rare event that there’s no spot when you get there, simply reach out to customer support,  and we’ll issue you a full refund. And chances are, there’s another Honk lot nearby. Just do a search on the app!

Q. Why am I paying a “convenience” fee for a parking spot when there’s no fee if I just pay at the pay station?

A. In order to provide our service and pay our amazing staff, we have several business models set up with our clients (You are our customers. Our clients are parking lot operators, real estate owners, Universities and municipalities). We charge our clients a small fee to provide them and you with great service and the most convenient way to park. Some of our clients choose to pass that fee on to Honkers, while others cover the cost themselves. We like to think that the convenience of using the app to find, book, and pay for a spot (especially in the winter) is worth it!

Q. What happens if I book a spot and I’m late? Will I be reimbursed for those minutes?

A. Unfortunately, no. We do empathize, though. We know that traffic — and life — is unpredictable, and sometimes it’s impossible *not* to be late. This is where we have something in common with the meter - we can’t prorate your parking. Think of it like a hotel room. You pay for the use of the space whether you arrive at 3 pm or midnight.

The good news is, you can make sure not to overpay by UNDERpaying from the get-go. (We recommend it!) Essentially, choose an earlier end time and simply top up as many times as you need to throughout the day/night. You can do this from the app (a.k.a., anywhere), so it’s ridiculously convenient. Even better? We remind you when your session is about to expire, so you only need to top up when you hear from us. No more paying extra to avoid a ticket!

Q. What happens if I book a spot, my kid gets sick, and I need to cancel? Do you guys do refunds, or I am stuck with a parking space I can’t use?

A. Plans change, we get it. Contact us up to the minute before your parking session begins, or within 10 minutes of your session start time, and we’ll give you a full refund.

Q. After reserving a spot through Honk, am I assigned a spot number? How do I know where to park once I get there?

A. You are not assigned a spot, so you can choose any open spot when you get there. Please make sure to follow the lot rules posted on site. Simple as that!

Well, there you have it. All of your questions… answered!

Do you have a burning question we missed? Drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with an answer, pronto.

(Plus, if it’s silly enough, we’ll add it to this page. You’ll be famous! ...sorta.)

So… Whatcha waiting for?

Finding our spot: A love letter to 5 years of parking.

Five years goes by in the blink of an eye. While it’s not a long time in age, it’s a lifetime for an entrepreneur!

Looking back on our startup journey of the past 5 years, I can see how Honk has grown as a company, how much I’ve learned as an entrepreneur, and how we have influenced the culture of parking and transportation. It gives me great perspective and an amazing amount of energy to map out what is yet to come.

One of the highlights of any startup is experiencing and celebrating all the firsts along the way:

• Our first hire: Kacey Siskind - still our queen of Business Development, longest standing employee and basically the darling of the parking industry.

• Our first parking operator who took a leap with us when we were completely unknown and untested:  Thanks Just Park!

• Our first municipality to Honkify their city: the City of Oshawa; still going strong and growing every day.

• Our first Honk user (who wasn’t related to me): Roy Thomas; We don’t know how you found us, or why you downloaded, but THANK YOU! Your trust and faith means more than you can ever know!

• Our first PR mention: It happened to be a major win on Dragon’s Den -- not a bad way to enter the PR world, IMHO.

• Our first broken transaction record: we partied like it was 1999 when we hit 100 transactions per day, thought we had conquered the world at 1,000 per day, went streaking through the quad at 10,000 per day...you get the picture.  The nice thing about starting from scratch - there are always records to break.

I’m told I have to be more mindful and ‘present’ so part of this taking stock is about celebrating the here and now.  Our 5 year anniversary coincides nicely with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Awards where I’m a finalist (for the second time!). We could not have planned the timing better ourselves. This is a huge accomplishment for the entire Honk team, as I stand on the shoulders of giants.

• Our development team is the best in the business. All Canadian, all nerd, and all knowing. They build things without being asked, execute our vision impeccably and do it all in a language that is completely foreign to me.

• Our marketing & operations folks keep the machine oiled and running on time and (mostly) on budget. They are our eyes, ears and feet on the street interacting with customers, launching new zones on the daily,  making it right when things (inevitably) go wrong, and they do it all with a smile.

• Our customers are why we do what we do. Our app would not be nearly as dynamic, user-friendly or convenient without our hundreds of thousands of customers who use Honk to simplify their lives. We hear and absorb every bit of feedback, and we use it to keep moving forward.

• Our parking lot operators, airports, real estate owners, universities and municipalities - our clients - are amazing. They are a group of trusting, forward thinking and dynamic individuals and institutions whose unique needs drive us to be better, to do better and to create more innovative products to suit their needs. Everyone is a special snowflake. I came into this game determined to change the way consumers search, find, and pay for parking – and I’m happy to know that we’ve changed the game for operators as well. With Honk, our clients have more insight into their business than ever before, along with increased sales and significantly lower operating costs. We’re winning all the way around.  

The road ahead is surely paved in bumps, potholes and hopefully some beautifully smooth paved roads. We have some pretty big goals for the next 5 years -- we’re talking enabling self-driving vehicles, helping cities become smarter, and making parking totally frictionless -- and we want to take you all along for the ride .  The last 5 have just scratched the surface - stick with us for the next 5 and watch us shine.

Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we conquer the (parking) world.

- MB