GLOSSARY

Oversell (Oversubscription)

Oversell is issuing more monthly parking credentials than stalls, priced on the fact that not all holders park at once. In a parking facility:

SELL MORE PERMITS THAN SPACES, CAREFULLY capacity 120% 100% ~88% permits sold physical spaces typical peak in use
Because not every permit holder parks at the same moment, an operator can sell more permits than spaces and still fit the peak. The discipline is watching the gap between what you sold and what actually shows: oversell too far and the peak spills over. Illustrative.
  • A 400-stall facility at an 85% peak show rate supports roughly 470 credentials at a 1.12x oversell.
  • The practice funds pricing headroom but requires occupancy data and a plan for the day everyone shows.
Try it
How many monthly permits can you sell?

A 300-space garage sells monthly permits at $180. Not every permit holder parks every day. Slide the number of permits and run a month of weekdays.

With one permit per space, 40 to 90 spaces sit empty on a typical weekday because permit holders are away, sick or working from home. Selling about 15 percent more permits than spaces adds roughly $8,000 a month with few or no days when a permit holder finds the garage full. Past about 15 percent, midweek days start turning permit holders away.

Illustrative: weekday show-up rates of about 80 to 87 percent Monday to Thursday and 70 percent Friday, with day-to-day variation. Operators set oversell ratios from their own access data.

Considerations

  • Oversell ratios are use-specific; hospitals and courthouses behave differently than offices. Oversell is yield management applied to the monthly book.