One of the groups I've become increasingly interested in isn't the traveler who always parks, or the one who's committed to taking a rideshare before they even leave the house.

It's everyone in the middle.

I tend to think of them as the travelers "on the bubble." Every airport has them, although the size of that bubble probably looks different depending on where you are. At some airports it may be fifteen miles. At others it could be forty-five. Somewhere within that radius, though, there's a point where parking and rideshare start looking remarkably similar. The cost is comparable, the travel time is comparable, and every trip becomes a new decision.

That's where I think online booking has one of its biggest opportunities.

One thing I've always found interesting is how much of our marketing is aimed at people who have already decided to park. Paid search is a great example. Someone searching for "airport parking" or "airport parking reservations" is already well down the funnel. They're looking for a place to park, and our job is simply to help them choose our product over someone else's.

The traveler on the bubble isn't there yet.

They're still planning the trip. They're checking flight times, researching baggage policies, figuring out when to leave the house, looking at weather, or deciding whether driving, parking, or calling an Uber makes the most sense. Parking isn't the decision they're making.

They're deciding how they want their trip to begin.

I think that's an important distinction because it changes where and how we reach them.

This is where I've become increasingly interested in search, AI search, and what we've been building through our Related Content Series. If someone is asking, "How early should I arrive for an international flight?" or "What's the easiest way to get to the airport?" those aren't really parking questions. They're travel planning questions, and they often happen long before someone starts comparing parking products.

That creates an opportunity to enter the conversation much earlier than we traditionally have.

I've also started thinking differently about the parking value proposition itself. We often assume rideshare wins on convenience because it drops you off at the curb, and in many situations that's absolutely true. At the same time, convenience isn't only about where the trip begins. It's also about how predictable it is.

When I reserve parking before I leave home, I know exactly what I'm going to pay. I know where I'm parking. I don't have to wonder what surge pricing looks like after a delayed flight, and I know my car will be waiting for me when I get back. As more airports continue managing curb space and adjusting rideshare pickup locations for operational reasons, those tradeoffs become even more interesting.

Maybe that's the opportunity.

Not convincing someone who always parks.

Not trying to convert someone who would never consider it.

Simply helping the traveler who's still weighing their options understand that parking offers something rideshare often doesn't: a little more control, a little more predictability, and one less thing to think about before they leave home.

For the traveler on the bubble, that may be enough to make the decision.

And from a marketing perspective, those are often the decisions most worth influencing.