New figures released reveal that rather than cutting costs, Brits are prioritising luxury over budget for a more convenient holiday experience.
LONDON – Despite the UK still being in recession, Heathrow parking specialist Purple Parking has reported a year on year increase in the popularity of its Meet and Greet valet parking services, with a 43% rise in the number of bookings for the service in 2012 so far.
The increasingly popular service accounted for 27% of all bookings made in the first seven months of 2011, a number which has risen to 34% in the first seven months of 2012. Luton airport parking saw the highest increase, with Meet and Greet bookings up 223%.
Additionally, whilst search terms based around Park and Ride services saw traffic to the Purple Parking site increase by 16%, Meet and Greet terms saw a 134% increase.
Oliver Inwards, Head of Online at Purple Parking said: “Although people are still suffering with finances at this tough economic time, they are willing to put extra funding towards the little luxuries if it means ensuring that one of the biggest outlays of the year, their holiday, runs as smoothly as possible. Our competitively-priced Meet and Greet service means that travellers don’t need to concern themselves with securing a parking space or tackling public transport, allowing them to focus on enjoying their trip.”
Purple Parking isn’t the only airport parking specialist to report such figures, as last month price comparison site Looking4Parking.com revealed that their bookings show Meet and Greet services now account for 58.7% of all airport parking.
Meet and Greet offers a car collection service, with a chauffeur meeting travellers at the terminal building to collect and park their car at one of Purple Parking’s secure parking compounds. The chauffeur will meet them again with their car at the airport when they return home.
Purple Parking is the UK’s largest airport car parking operator, offering services at over 23 key airport car parks across the UK.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
