The only thing more frustrating than driving in South Florida is parking – think sweaty hikes from hinterland spots at malls, popular restaurants and venues. MyPark has been changing that since 2013 with its dedicated parking system that sells or rents what is essentially a personal-size private entry-and-exit gate. Upon arrival, the “parker” activates the arm from a smart phone, the gate opens, and voilà! Frustration is gone, and fun begins.
MyPark is the invention of Luis Mayendía, who conceived of the service in his native Puerto Rico, with Ricardo Blanco, his uncle and best friend [Both are pictured above]. In the time-honored manner of successful entrepreneurs, the idea arose in relation to a problem: Blanco, who owned a construction company, was having trouble accessing his dedicated parking spot in a lot he shared with a bank and other offices. Mayendía was studying mechanical engineering at the time, and in 2004 they came up with the device. “That was the original idea,” Mayendía said. Then, as the smart phones proliferated, they realized its potential. “We could turn it into a service.”
The invention, essentially a little robot, works like this: the shopper drives up to a mall, (such as Dadeland where MyPark operates) sees no easily accessible spots and spies the close-in MyPark unit and its sign, whose QR code beckons. No need to download an app. Once scanned, and a payment method entered, one presses the “Let Me In” button. Stroll, shop, stop for a bite: when you are ready to leave, ask it to let you out and for $5 an hour, you are on your way. “You can also reserve a spot ahead of time,” Mayendía said. One space, complete with gate and sign costs about $1,500 outright, or can be rented.
Kennedy House Condominium in North Bay Village is another client. It had issues monitoring its visitors’ parking spots. “They reached out to us,” Mayendía said. Kennedy House and MyPark split the revenue from the device’s usage, according to their contract, which is negotiated with each client. Mayendía said.
Whether renting or buying, each option includes maintenance and customer support through MyPark.
MyPark now has data from about a decade of business. That has led to intriguing opportunities, especially when delving into AI. Meet “Parky,” the company’s AI agent that can help both parking customers and clients, providing instant bookings, support resolutions for customers and revenue projections for those with MyPark devices. It is accessed through the “Chat Now” button. “We have thousands of visitors to our site,” Mayendía said, plus patterns gleaned from 10 years of business.
Parky was trained using such data plus customer support logs. Part of the aim is to provide better customer service. “I see it interacting with people and it surprised me,” he said. “In some cases it answers better than I would.” It also provides the kind of AI information that has already become familiar: predictive analytics and, for example, forecasting parking needs based on data.
The name “Parky,” said Mayendía, “just came to me, like an entity that already has a personality.” Meanwhile, MyPark is expanding, having recently opened a site at Radisson Dubai DAMAC Hills. Other locations besides Miami include Puerto Rico and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
MyPark is now working on a second generation of its services, which will seamlessly upgrade both the software component (including Parky!) and construction of the actual devices. One service on tap is the ability to connect parkers to businesses or restaurants on the property being visited and, for example, be offered a dining coupon when they park.
Reading the data is fascinating, Mayendía said. “Patterns in residential properties differ from retail,” he said, adding that there are many possibilities for using the data. “Just now we are focused on making parking better.”
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