#
 

SMC Software is Designed to Empower Parking Operators

January, 2013

Mike Harley

From time to time PT invites its advertisers to provide information about their company and products. This is one of those articles.Providing a breadth of reservations technology and Internet marketing services to the parking industry, SMC Software (SMC) is designed to simplify, secure and accelerate online bookings for parking at airports, cruise ports, hotels, hospitals, restaurants, universities, shopping centers, sport complexes and municipal garages.

In 2010, SMC Software, a subsidiary of Smart Marketing Concepts, deployed a patent-pending central reservations system (CRS) intended to allow parking operations to manage reservations, multiple rate structures, inventory controls, ancillary services, partner channels, and marketing campaigns – all in real-time from a single platform.

SMC’s proprietary software is enterprise grade and capable of seamlessly integrating with back-office systems.

Travel industry veterans Mayra Harley, CEO, and Mike Harley, President, co-founded SMC after identifying a crucial need for a more cost-effective reservation solution designed both to reduce the cost of third-party intervention and adapt to the increasingly digital landscape of eCommerce.

With more than 30 years of experience in designing, developing and delivering comprehensive reservation systems for the travel industry, SMC is leveraging its considerable expertise to empower parking operators with an online reservations platform as robust, powerful and secure as anything found in today’s airline, hotel or car rental industry.

Reservation Solution in the ‘Cloud’

Employing Software as a Service (SaaS), SMC offers a convenient and affordable fully managed and hosted solution. There are no investments in hardware or software and no maintenance contracts. The solution is completely web-based, enabling the user to access and manage data from any Internet-connected device – PC, tablet or smartphone.

SMC’s products and features were designed for parking businesses to help them streamline operations and stay competitive:

Multi-Channel Management. Users can produce multiple customized reservations systems with individualized revenue tracking for each client and/or referral partner.

Instant Confirmation and Email Notification. Reservations are confirmed in real-time. Once the reservation is confirmed, an email notification with detailed information (check-in instructions, directions, etc.) is immediately sent to the customer.

Optional Reservation Systems. Whether a single lot or multiple parking garages, SMC’s platform offers a variety of interchangeable applications, such as integration with Google Maps.

Yield Management. Maximizes rates for all strategies with forecasting and automated controls, allowing management to quickly adapt to changing market conditions. Because revenue is the driving factor to performance, it is essential to use an effective real-time tool.

24/7/365 Support. Whenever clients have a service request, the SMC support staff is always on call to offer assistance.

Reporting. An online reporting solution allows a user to quickly and easily retrieve reports with sophisticated features such as its smartBoard, which displays a snapshot of current real-time activity.



Secure, Integrated Payments, Solutions

Through SMC’s partnership with payment processor PayPros, parking businesses can accept credit and debit cards easily and securely, directly within the SMC system. The integrated payment solution also adheres to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

As a certified Level 2 solution provider, SMC uses “tokenization” technology from PayPros, managing risk through the storage of sensitive customer data in a secure environment outside the reservations system. For prepaid reservations, a payment gateway is set up through PayPros for encryption of data and transmission to the card-issuing bank for authorization.

SMC provides parking businesses additional options:



Mobile Integration. SMC provides a mobile Internet reservations system that is fully integrated with its website and formatted for use with any mobile device – smartphone or tablet. Mobile payments can be accepted with the PayPros integration.

PARCS Integration. SMC is working with a number of industry leaders that provide parking access and revenue control systems (PARCS) for reservations integration.

Google Maps Integration. SMC recently deployed smartMap, for parking companies with multiple garages or lots in a market.



Internet Marketing Solutions

Internet marketing is a booming industry. SMC is highly skilled in both the art and science of creating and deploying Internet marketing strategies, including a diverse range of solutions: website design, search engine marketing, email marketing, social media marketing and channel partner programs.

With SMC’s zero-dollar contract, performance-based transaction model, there is no risk to embedding the company’s white-label CRS on one’s website. With the enhanced capabilities of its technology, SMC is in a position to further expand channel partner opportunities to its clients, including corporations, travel agents, associations, social media, restaurants, convention centers and many others.

SMC focuses its efforts on achieving one ultimate goal: empowering parking companies with the ability to control cost by enhancing brand growth through maintaining a consistent and aggressive online presence via multiple channels.



For more information, visit SMC’s online brochure at www.smcsoftware.com/parkingtoday. To learn more about PayPros, a trademark of Payment Processing Inc., go to www.paypros.com. Mike Harley is President/Chief Operating Officer of SMC Software. He can be reached at mike@smcsoftware.com


#