When I first became involved in airport transfer heathrow to Gatwick parking at Manchester many moons ago, we simply competed with the airport. Back in those days there was no internet and use of computers. For instance to measure the amount of cars that would be in the car park on any given day, was done by deducting the cars coming in that day less the ones going plus the cars that were remaining.
The airport would advertise a winter and summer price with increases for bank holidays and when children broke up for their summer holidays. We advertised our rates in newspapers with a starting price and send customers a simple brochure with a price list making sure our rates under cut the airport price.
To be honest there were so few off airport car parks the airports never saw these as a threat to their business and this carried on for many years. The same could be said for the hotel business who never saw the package holidaymaker as a potential target primarily because of cost and a lack of competition.
The hotels serving the airports were all clustered close to the airport and dominated by the major hotel chains such as Hilton and Marriotts. These hotels were the preserve of businessmen who were either travelling abroad or meeting clients coming to the UK. The internet has changed all this and led too far greater competition because of the speed with which you are able to reach the customer and the ability to alter prices at the touch of a button.
Computers now constantly measure car park capacity numbers hourly for any given day and this means prices are changing daily and it is no longer just the on airport prices which are now monitored but also other off airport car operators.
Now days the travelling public are more aware that off airport car parks usually offer better prices. Also many customers prefer to use an off airport car park to avoid travelling into the airport. Taking Gatwick for example by booking your Gatwick Airport Parking off airport you simply drive to the car park and a let an experienced driver drop you off right outside the terminal.
To start with hotels close to the off airport car parks started selling hotel airport parking packages. The customer would drive to the hotel and then to the secure car park the following morning.
Also hotels recognised that the week ends were always when the hotel capacity was at it’s lowest and this was exactly when most package holidaymakers travelled. Budget hotels starting springing up along with smaller hotels combining with secure car parks to provide more choice with prices forced down all the time as more and more hotels started to provide this service.
London – a city with a regal charm. The capital city of United Kingdom is the largest financial centre in the world and hence is the home to more than 100 of Europe’s 500 largest companies’ headquarters. London is a place where tourists along with prominent businessmen visit, making this metropolis the most visited city in the world. All the airports in United Kingdom use ‘London’ in their name. However, five out of these eight airports witness the high traffic. These five international airports make the city’s airspace the world’s busiest urban centre.