Gatwick Parking park and stay packages

Staying at a hotel the night before you fly off to some exotic destination has become increasingly popular over the last ten years. Gatwick Airport has added another 1000 rooms to the existing Hilton and Sofitel hotels within the airport perimeter over recent years. This tells you that a lot of people want to put their head down with the peace of mind they have no problem when it comes to catching their plane.

This is an age of disruption coming from a number of causes which includes of late, volcanic dust, floods and powerful winds.

Hotels and guest houses have improved too with the help no doubt of the review web sites and on-line forums. Tea/coffee, wireless internet access and en-suite bathrooms are all considered standard these days in a very competitive market place.

With sleep and fly packages abound offering discounted rates from the big comparison companies like Trivago and Booking.com it is still worth while calling the hotel direct to see if they are offering last minute discounts.

Most hotels offer a bus service to the terminals although this comes at a small charge. With other hotels you drive to the car park in the morning and transfer to a shuttle into the airport terminal.

Some hotels only offer a taxi service into the airport which may cost upwards of another £20 to the cost of your room.

However, there are a limited number of hotels that offer a meet and greet parking service at Gatwick Airport included in the price. You are transferred to the terminal in their courtesy car and on your return from holiday your car is delivered to you on the terminal forecourt.

All these services are designed to bring more comfort and less stress to the travelling public at a time when the public are demanding more value for money.

Gatwick meet and greet parking

This is a small article to advise holidaymakers to check very carefully the small print when booking Gatwick meet and greet parking.

Trading Standards have received a number of complaints from Customers who have suffered thefts from their cars, damage to their vehicles and excessive mileage added to their cars’ odometers while in the care of some companies.

The advice given when booking Gatwick Parking is:

• Check the company websites and make sure you know who you are dealing with. Legally, companies need to provide their name, address and company number on websites. If contact address details are missing, be extra cautious and consider booking with a different provider.
• If the cost of the booking is more than £100, consider paying with a credit card as this will give you extra protection should things go wrong.
• Most reputable companies will complete paperwork highlighting any damage to the vehicle at the time you drop it off. Trading Standards advises customers to take pictures of all 4 sides of their vehicle when they drop it off to help avoid any disputes regarding damage to your vehicle when you return from holiday. 
• The majority of meet and greet companies will have parking facilities which are relatively close to the airport. Make a note of the mileage reading on your car when you drop it off, that way you will know whether or not it has been driven further than you expected. 
• Lastly, do not leave any valuables or money in your vehicle whilst you are on your travels.

Lionel Barnard, West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services with responsibility for trading standards said: “It’s important to say that the majority of people suffer a stress free experience when dealing with official and regulated meet and greet firms.

“There are so many things to arrange when you are going on holiday that it is easy to look at car parking online and concentrate on price or availability rather than reading the small print.

“If you look closely some companies offering ‘meet and greet’ services do not have full contact details on their websites so you have no way of making contact if you have a complaint.

“In some cases claims of secure parking can actually mean a field or a street near to the airport.

“We advice people to use a secure ‘meet and greet’ service provided by our ‘Buy With Confidence’ trading standards approved business and Approved Operator by Gatwick Airport”

Gatwick Parking: Parking at Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Parking: Parking at Gatwick Airport: Going on holiday is very exciting but we all know that getting to the airport is often fraught with problems. Finding a car park, waiting an...

New Valet Parking at a Parking & Ride Price

Even in this day and age of our carbon footprint being followed by political and corporate institutions we still need the automobile. If you have a family or possessions then it is the only comfortable way to get from A to B. Getting to the airport for example, with a family and luggage is not an option by public transport. For all those that have flown from an airport, you have probably tried a number of options for parking your car. If we are talking of comfort then why use a park and ride operator that takes up to an hour to get you from the car park to the airport terminal and then back again on your return from holiday. Valet parking is a huge step up in comfort but of course it carries the price tag. Unlike a bus carrying huge numbers of people it takes money and manpower to personally collect, store safely and deliver your vehicle on the terminal forecourt. New Airport Meet and Greet Parking Company at Gatwick (AMAG Parking) offer a premium service at a budget price. With the increasing popularity of Airport Valet Parking the long established firm of parking operators Tudor Rose came up with the idea of enticing new Customers to an elite service without hitting their pocket. In spite of the phenomenal growth in airport valet parking over the last 4/5 years it has not stopped the industry from being tainted by bad practices and rogue operators. All of these have been well documented in the various media. This has created a lot of confusion and suspicion where Customers want to take advantage of what valet parking has to offer but have difficulty in selecting a good operator. Tudor Rose believe that by tempting the disillusioned back into the fold a lot of the credibility will be restored. Tudor Rose has been in the business of valet parking at Gatwick for over 20 years. One of the founders of this great service Tudor Rose has helped over the years to make this elitist and normally expensive service an option that everyone can afford. With the introduction of the Approved Operator Scheme by Gatwick Airport Ltd, Trading Standards, The Chief of Police, The Home Office and the Safer Parking Scheme (ParkMark), this will undoubtedly rid the industry of the undesirable element but at the same time have the effect of pushing prices back up to unaffordable levels. Tudor Rose has introduced its budget service for Gatwick meet and greet parking to offset these market influences and hope to maintain the current growth trends in the industry. Customers get all of the products associated with their premium service. There is no doubt that when comparing your parking options at Gatwick, Airport Meet and Greet Parking is a service well ahead of its alternative options. However, there are still a number of bad operators out there and we can only hope they will put their house in order. In the meantime, be wise and only use an Approved Operator and one that’s been around for a long time. Remember, Approved Operators only are allowed to use the terminal forecourts at Gatwick.

Gatwick Airport Hotels with Parking

There are many advantages to staying at a hotel the night before you fly off to some distant destination. Not least is the fact that you can be assured you will be on time for your check in and boarding. At the time of writing this short blog gales and winds have caused havoc across the road and rail network causing mass disruption and traffic chaos. It's not just the fact that you may miss your flight but it's the associated stress and worry it causes. Not a great way to start your holiday as the whole purpose of a break is to get away from the daily stress we have to endure. Finding the right hotel for your specific requirements is another matter and Gatwick Airport offers an entire range of possibilities to suit your needs and pocket. So here are some questions to help you search for the right hotel; Q.1 What time do you intend to arrive at the hotel or do you want to spend some time at the hotel to help you wind down and relax? A.1 Choose a hotel that has leisure facilities and/or a bar depending on your needs. Q.2 Do you want an evening meal in the hotel and how much money are you prepared to spend? A.2 Fine dining or plain good wholesome food that is the question. Sometimes a good pub within walking distance is great. Q.3 Do you have a family and do you require a family room? A.3 Some hotels do not offer family rooms and others may charge a premium. Q.4 Do you require leisure facilities? A.4 A gym, swimming pool or sauna is great but make sure they also offer an early check-in so you have plenty of time. Q.5 What is your budget - do you want to keep the price below or above £100? A.5 A good many Hotels or Guest Houses offer accommodation below £100 including parking. Use the search engines like ‘Google’ to find the right one. Q.6 Is your priority a comfortable bed and a good night's sleep? A.6 Essential to start your holiday. Choose a hotel away from the bustle of the airport and busy roads. Q.7 Do you want breakfast before you leave the hotel or will you have it at the airport whilst waiting to board the plane? A.6 Having breakfast at the airport kills time after check-in and there are some good restaurants offering reasonable prices. Q.8 How important is the time factor in getting to the check-in desk on the morning of your flight? A.8 This is important as some hotels do not offer parking on site. Check first with the hotel. Q.9 Do you want to hang around in the morning waiting for buses or would you like to get to the airport in 5 minutes? A.9 Having to drive to a car park and transfer to buses on the morning of your departure is time consuming and stressful. Look for a hotel that offers direct transfers to the terminal. Q.10 Do you expect to pay extra for your transfer to the terminal? A.10 Most hotels will charge extra for a transfer between £3 and £5 one way. If you have a family this can add quite a bit to the overall cost. Q.11 Do you have a car and do you need to keep it somewhere safe for the duration of your holiday? A.11 Only use an operator that is part of the ‘Approved Operator’ scheme. A list of these can be found on the Gatwick Airport web site. Q.12 On your return from holiday do you mind having to wait for a bus, transferring your luggage and taking you back to a car park to pick up your car? A.12 This is time consuming and stressful especially if you are tired or have a family. There are better, alternative options. Q.13 Do you want a Gatwick Parking Service where your car is brought to the airport terminal. This enables you to drive directly home saving you valuable time especially after a tiring flight? A.13 Valet Parking or Meet and Greet Parking is available at most airports and is considerably more convenient and less stressful than park and ride operations. Q.14 Do you expect to pay extra for a Valet Parking Service? A.14 The present market place is extremely competitive and ‘Approved Operators’ are keen to win business off park and ride operators.

Gatwick Parking

Booking Agents or Book Direct.

 

We have all seen the advertisements for Comparison Sites which cover a wide range of products from insurance to airport parking. With the power of internet marketing becoming ever more powerful it is no surprise that the numbers of comparison sites are increasing year on year. Some web sites call themselves comparison sites and others as agents for the various company products they are selling but they are both ultimately the same.

Comparison sites are what it says on the tin, they offer the opportunity for you to compare prices on your chosen product and in some cases but not all, explain the advantages over one product to another. This is great for products like insurance or banking but does it apply to other businesses like airport parking?

What are the real advantages of buying through comparison sites compared to buying local or going direct to the product company? As with the example above we shall look at airport parking and explain the differences between booking through an agent and booking direct.

Depending on the agent or comparison site the Customer will have a choice of a number of parking operators to choose from. If we take Gatwick Airport Parking as an example these prices range from £35 upwards to over £100 for a weeks depending on the quality of the service. We will assume that the lower price range would offer a park and ride service ( transfer by bus )  and the higher price would be a valet parking service or meet and greet at the airport terminal. However this does not always apply as some agents offer a meet and greet parking service as low as £40 - £50. Prices as low as this for a valet service can only be offered by un-approved operators where they are compromising on safety and security. It is most unlikely the agent will sell the product for less than the operator itself.

Most parking operators are tied to their agents inasmuch as their prices cannot be more or less than the agent selling the product. This means that the parking operator will have to take a hefty chunk of its fee to pay the agent and this can be as much as 35%. Add this to the 20% VAT element of the booking it means that the operator is only getting approximately 50% of the total cost of the booking. This substantial cut in the operator’s profit margins can only reflect itself in the ultimate quality of the service the Customer receives. At a price range of £35 to £50 this means that the profit is small or non-existent or where the parking is not subject to adequate insurance, has no planning permission or even VAT.

The recently introduced Approved Operator Scheme at Gatwick will inevitably create a bigger divide in price between park and ride and valet parking. Airport Access Charges have been introduced for every vehicle that enters the forecourts. This again will create a greater burden on the Operator as it is them that will have to absorb the costs and not the commission agent.

Most of the Gatwick Parking operators have their own web sites in spite of the fact that most of their traffic is derived from the Agents. The Agents are superior marketers and this is readily demonstrated by typing in a keyword such as ‘Gatwick Park’ in a search engine such as ‘Google’. The first page is entirely made up of agents or comparison sites and sole operator sites are found further on.

If you look at price comparison web sites for airport parking and then compare them to sole operator web sites you will find an enormous difference particularly if the sole operator is an approved operator.

The sole operator’s web site goes a long way to explaining its service and the industry surrounding it. The agent’s web site is a long way short of descriptions and will simply show icons to indicate what is offered with no actual detail.

If you are a new Customer and you are booking direct with an approved parking operator at Gatwick then you will find the operator working hard to please you and to tempt you back again and again. Very often the operator will offer discounts for your next trip.

Gatwick Parking

Commission Agents Vs Sole Operators

Most parking operators have their own web sites and it has to be accepted that they would rather not pay agents fees if they could achieve the same sort of traffic without them. However, the agents are marketing experts and you will see this just by typing in the term ‘Gatwick Parking’ in your chosen search engine. The first page of results is entirely made up of Agents or comparison sites. Move on to subsequent pages and you will see more actual ‘Operators Web Sites’.

Sole operator web sites offer many advantages to the Gatwick Parking Customer. They explain in much greater detail every aspect of their operation including security, location, terms and conditions, operational procedures and complaints procedures. They supply landline telephone numbers, VAT numbers and 24 hour phone numbers in an effort to provide total peace of mind to the Customer. They will tell you exactly where your car is parked for the duration of your holiday or business trip. By contrast, comparison sites use ‘call to action’ methods on their landing pages.  They use a series of icons to inform you of the security, service offered and others. They will indicate an icon of a barrier where the said car park has an entry barrier or a CCTV icon where CCTV is being used. This in no way indicates the true nature of the barrier i.e., always closed or CCTV ( total or partial coverage) and in some cases there is no barrier or CCTV at all.

Gatwick Airport has recently introduced an Approved Operator Scheme. After achieving certain awards from Trading Standards and the Safer Parking Scheme operators are invited to join the scheme. Only 8 operators have achieved Approved Status. These approved operators have their car park sites inspected every year in order to remain within the scheme. It is the actual operator that receives the award not the agent or comparison site.

An approved operator will deal with you the Customer for the entire length of your booking from the time you make it to the time you return from your holiday and your car is delivered to you. They will keep you informed of any changes as a result of airport security alerts, traffic issues and any other issues. They have one very special item on their agenda and that is to provide you with a service that will keep you coming back time after time and for you to recommend them to your friends.

The Gatwick parking operator may not be so good at marketing but he does have your very best interest at heart.

Most sole operators will offer discounts on return bookings or ‘loyalty’ discounts the more times you use them even if this is over several years.

Good operators will have landline telephone numbers so any queries or requests can be dealt with just by lifting the phone. Good operators have 24 hour mobile contact or emergency contact. After all, you’re going to leave your prized possession in the hands of someone else so wouldn’t it be nice to have total peace of mind so that you can really enjoy your holiday!

So for your parking at Gatwick always choose an approved operator and preferably one that’s been around for a long time.