The Hidden Cost of Charging Your Own People

You implement parking fees and suddenly your office manager is paying $120/month to come to work. Your tenants are getting tickets. Your maintenance crew is confused about whether they're supposed to pay.

The revenue looks good on paper, but you've created a morale problem. The solution isn't skipping parking monetization. It's implementing policies that separate revenue generation from relationship management.

Who Should Never Pay

• Full-time employees: They work for you. Charging them to park effectively reduces their compensation. Exempt them completely.
• Building tenants: They're already paying rent. Parking should be included or offered at a fixed monthly rate.
• Monthly reserved spot holders: They've paid for the privilege. Don't double-charge them.
• Regular contractors: Your HVAC company, cleaning crew, landscapers. They're part of your property's operations.
• Property management staff: Anyone managing or maintaining the property parks free, always.

Who Should Pay

• Visitors of tenants/employees: Your tenant's client visiting for a meeting? They pay. This is where you generate revenue.
• Occasional vendors: One-time delivery, annual inspection, visiting consultant. Not regular enough to warrant exemption.
• Event attendees: Anyone coming for an event, meeting, or service pays standard rates.
• After-hours personal use: If your employee wants to park overnight for a downtown concert, that's personal use.

Setting Up Clear Policies

Document Everything

• Who is exempt and why
• How exemptions are granted
• Process for adding/removing vehicles

Communicate Before Enforcement Starts

• Email all employees and tenants two weeks before go-live
• Explain the exemption process
• Provide clear instructions on registering plates

Make Requests Simple

• Online form or email submission
• 24-hour processing time
• Confirmation when plates are added

Handling Common Questions

"Can my spouse park free when they visit?"
No, unless dropping off/picking up immediately. Visits are visitor parking.

"I forgot to register my new car and got charged."
One-time courtesy refund after they register. After that, their responsibility.

"The delivery driver got a ticket."
Regular weekly deliveries: Add to exemptions. One-time: They pay or you validate afterward.

"My tenant wants 5 spots but only pays for 3."
They pay monthly for additional spots or their visitors pay per visit.

When Someone Exempt Violates Rules

Exemption means no payment, not immunity from all rules. If an exempt employee parks in a fire lane or takes two spots:

• Warning notice (not a payment ticket)
• Direct conversation
• Escalate to HR if repeated
• Remove exemption in extreme cases

Your parking system and workplace conduct policies are separate.

The Right Balance

Good Policy

• Employees and tenants park free automatically
• Visitors pay standard rates
• Clear communication about who pays
• Simple exemption management
• Consistent enforcement

Bad Policy

• Everyone pays including your team
• Complicated validation processes
• Unclear rules creating constant questions
• Charging employees but not enforcing visitor payment

Getting It Right

Your goal is revenue from transient parkers, not from people already contributing to your property. Employees work there. Tenants pay rent. They shouldn't also pay to park.

Build exemption policies that protect these relationships while capturing revenue from visitors and occasional users willing to pay for convenient parking.

When done right, the people who should park free do park free, and the people who should pay understand why.