How Lark Chapel Hill made visitor parking available on demand

Story topics

Student Housing, Visitor Parking, QR Code Registration, Digital Passes, LPR, Tow Management, Paid Parking

Kristen McMahon explains how Lark Chapel Hill manages visitor parking with ParkStash

Kristen McMahon, General Manager of Lark Chapel Hill, discusses on-demand visitor passes, staff efficiency, towing authorization, fair access, and parking revenue.

About Lark Chapel Hill

Lark Chapel Hill is an off-campus student-housing community near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a portfolio property of The Scion Group.

People behind the results

Results at a glance

The old process

Staff printed visitor passes and tracked each resident's usage manually in a spreadsheet.

On-demand access

Residents can reserve an available digital pass through an app or website, including outside office hours.

Fairer availability

Shared rules give residents the same opportunity to request a pass rather than relying on who can reach the office.

Authorization checks

Property staff and the towing company can review the same current vehicle authorization information.

Revenue model

Lark provides a set amount of free visitor time and can collect revenue for additional parking.

The Challenge: Printed Passes and Spreadsheet Tracking

Before ParkStash, Lark Chapel Hill managed visitor parking manually. The onsite team printed passes each day, tracked how many passes each resident received in a spreadsheet, and checked formulas to determine remaining availability.

Parking-pass calls and office visits repeatedly interrupted the team. The process also made accurate limits difficult to maintain when the property was busy, taking attention away from the broader resident experience.

It was very laborious and was using a ton of our teammates' time. Many calls and visits to the office were about parking passes.

Digital Passes Beyond Office Hours

ParkStash moved visitor-pass access to an app and website. Residents can see whether a space is available, reserve it, and receive a digital pass without asking the leasing office to print one.

That matters most when guests arrive outside office hours. Residents can use QR code visitor registration on evenings and weekends, making visitor parking available around the different schedules students keep.

Residents have access to an app and a website where they can reserve the pass and get the pass digitally. They're able to get passes on demand.

Consistent Rules and Fairer Access

The previous process could create an imbalance. Residents with more time to call or visit the office had an advantage, and manual tracking could allow someone to receive more passes than the property's policy intended.

With a shared digital process, each resident can request an available pass under the same rules. Kristen says that equal access gives her more confidence that visitor parking is being managed consistently.

Everyone is on an equal playing field. They all have access to log on and get a pass when they need it.

One Authorization View for Staff and the Towing Company

Visitor registration records the vehicle's license plate so authorization can support LPR-assisted parking enforcement. The towing company can check the same system to see which vehicles are supposed to be in the visitor lot.

That shared visibility reduces the need for Lark's team to mediate questions about whether a pass was valid or printed correctly. It also helps the property keep visitor spaces available for residents and their guests.

Our residents and our tow agency are all on the same page. They have access to the same website, and we're not having to play the middleman.

Free Visitor Time With a Path to Revenue

Lark Chapel Hill gives residents a set amount of free visitor time. When a guest needs additional time, the property can use QR code parking payment to collect parking revenue under the rules it chooses.

Kristen views that balance as reasonable: residents retain free visitor access, while paid time helps recognize the cost of managing and maintaining parking. She says those funds can support property improvements and resident services.

We allow our residents a set amount of free hours. Seeing that there's an opportunity to make revenue out of this was also really great.

Visitor passes no longer depend on office hours.

Residents can get a digital pass through the ParkStash app or website, including evenings and weekends. That flexibility reduces calls and office visits while giving the Lark team more time for broader resident service.

It has been a really big time savings for our staff, and a really big improvement for the residents. They're able to get passes on demand.

ParkStash capabilities used

• QR code visitor registration — Let residents register a guest vehicle and receive a digital pass without waiting for the leasing office.
• Digital permits — Make visitor authorization available through an app or website at any time of day.
• LPR-assisted enforcement — Use license plate information to help enforcement teams verify whether a vehicle is authorized.
• Tow management — Give the towing company access to current authorization information without making onsite staff the middleman.
• Paid visitor parking — Configure free visitor hours and collect payment for additional parking time.

Built From a Real Operational Need

I remember saying, 'If only someone would create a visitor-lot app, my life would be so much easier.' Then this came along. ParkStash has been such a solution for us.

Make Visitor Parking Easier for Residents and Staff

See how ParkStash connects on-demand digital passes, license plate authorization, towing workflows, free visitor time, and paid parking for student-housing communities.