Located in the heart of downtown Baltimore, Washington Hill is a 400-space surface lot offering quick access to restaurants, businesses, and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Owner Dave Holmes, a local real estate developer, was primarily focused on his residential and commercial properties, but found himself overseeing the management of a single, stand-alone parking lot. Just like his other properties, he sought to make Washington Hill profitable, efficient, and frictionless.
Mixed-Use
Baltimore, MD
Surface Lot
After a decade of working with a traditional parking operator, performance at Washington Hill had stagnated. Despite its prime location, the lot’s financial potential remained untapped and reporting was delayed by weeks, making proactive management nearly impossible. Unexpected charges like staff uniforms and unapproved maintenance expenses hurt trust between Dave and his traditional parking management company and made profitability unpredictable.
Despite these challenges with the traditional, gates parking management model, Holmes was skeptical about transitioning to gateless operations. He had operated with gates in place for years and was concerned about how going gateless would impact payment compliance and violations, ultimately fearing that it would result in lost revenue. Even though the gates were costly and outdated, they felt like a necessary safety net.
Holmes knew that more than anything, he needed a modern solution that combined real-time visibility, operational excellence, and asset management expertise. He did not want to lose control, though, or risk revenue leakage from violations.
Holmes chose AirGarage after evaluating multiple operators. From day one, the AirGarage team revitalized Washington Hill by upgrading signage, implementing proprietary camera technology, refreshing lighting, and introducing a modern, branded look that matched Holmes’ high standards across his broader portfolio.
One of the biggest shifts was removing the physical parking gate arms. Holmes has relied on them for years to deter non-payment and ensure order. But AirGarage’s automated enforcement system, powered by license plate recognition and real-time monitoring, offered a modern and effective alternative. In AirGarage’s insights dashboard Holmes had something he’d never had before: total visibility into performance, driver behavior, enforcement, and revenue at any given moment.
"At any second, I can see exactly how much money I’m going to get at the end of the month. That level of transparency is a game-changer."
Even more important to Holmes, though, was an ethical approach to pricing. With Johns Hopkins Hospital driving the majority of traffic to the lot, he felt a strong responsibility not to exploit that dependency and be a good member of his local community by providing a fair parking option to healthcare workers. As a result, Holmes implemented strict pricing guidelines, and AirGarage was not permitted to increase parking rates at all. Despite these constraints, the AirGarage team found other ways to drive performance such as cutting unnecessary expenses, enforcing parking effectively, and focusing on customer retention.
Instead of reactive audits, he now proactively collaborates with AirGarage to identify revenue opportunities, operational efficiencies, and ways to enhance the customer experience. Holmes described AirGarage’s responsiveness as “unmatched,” with expert support rallying within hours when needed.
“AirGarage wasn’t just another vendor. They became a true partner, as serious about the success of this asset as I am.”
In just the first few months, Washington Hill’s revenue increased by 19.5%, despite no longer having physical parking gate arm barriers. This improvement was driven by AirGarage’s frictionless parking experience, optimized with real-time insights.
This financial improvement is especially impressive given the pricing limitations in place. Rather than chasing quick wins through higher rates, Holmes and AirGarage prioritized sustainability and fairness, an approach that paid off.
Customer ratings rose from 2.3 stars to 4.25, thanks to the improved lot conditions and ease of use. Meanwhile, Holmes no longer had to spend his days dealing with time-consuming invoice disputes and administrative headaches, allowing him to focus on asset optimization in partnership with AirGarage.
“Compared to my old operator, working with AirGarage is like switching from a traditional car to a Tesla. I didn’t even know this level of technology and support was possible in parking.”
Initially skeptical of the gateless model, Holmes is now one of its strongest advocates, regularly recommending AirGarage to other property owners looking to modernize their parking operations.
