When I saw this social media post yesterday I had to laugh yet this is so easy to do if you do not know. I am sure the Airports Company are happy to have these payments flowing in and why parking is so profitable. The once of cost of building the multi story car park and after that you are printing money.
The Oliver Tambo Airport car park cost in the region of R1.2 billion many years ago and today it is reported makes R600 million a year or 10% of the total airports revenue. This is a really good business model that you cannot mess up and is easy money as everyone travelling needs to use it at some point.
Hard to believe that someone is this ignorant to park in short term parking at Oliver Tambo Airport, Johannesburg. The payment for 2 days in short term for the 2 days is R3780 or $230 when you convert to dollars so yes it is very expensive. Madness really when there are plenty of other options available that are far cheaper. I think we have all done something and only found out later there was a cheaper option.
When I travel and need to park a car using this airport I use the casino parking less than 5 minutes away which costs $0.60c per day and includes a shuttle service to the airport. They even serve cocktails for those travelling on the shuttle with the aim you will come back and spend some money in the casino. They are more than happy to attract the people to use their car park as the odds are people will spend before or after the trip. Especially today you need to do your homework or you will be screwed over and I am sure this person is not alone and many are making the same mistake each day more out of ignorance.
If you had parked in the correct sector for long term parking the 2 day bill would have been around R500 which is roughly R10 per hour which the R10 being the cost for the entire day at the casino. R500 does not sound so much as this is around $30, but it is still $30 wasted. Some people obviously make too much money and do not care how much they are throwing away because if they did care they would do a little research.
I think this philosophy applies to everything in life and always double check to see if there are any other options available. Money is hard enough to earn, but so easy to give away through ignorance or stupidity. Rich people tend to live frugally or should I say act smarter and do not make these kinds of mistakes and why they hang on to their wealth.
When I was in the UK late last year we stayed at an independent hotel close to Gatwick Airport (10 minutes) and they had off site airport parking charging $30 daily and I am sure is the main revenue source for the hotel. I counted over 200 cars parked out back and the parking area remained full for the entire two days we were there. That is $5K daily for a hotel in the countryside and is an excellent business. I am sure the hotel itself would not survive without this and at some point had to pivot the hotel business into a parking business which is a big money earner. Sometimes the obvious sits right in front of you and not everyone sees the opportunity.
