Put aside your parking reservations: just ask Waldo

Why parking needs a reservation system

When offices reopened after the COVID-19 lockdowns, in places like the US, the UK and Canada, one question came up on the very first morning: where do I park? It is still true in every hybrid office.

Most businesses have nothing in place for monitoring parking occupancy or managing parking reservations. The result: delays, employees competing for spots, sometimes even traffic jams in the car park. A parking reservation solution like Waldo solves this before anyone leaves home.

Add parking reservation, promote commuter relaxation

When people arrive at work, they want to get to work

There is nothing worse than travelling all the way to the office only to find there are no good spaces left, or no spaces at all. Time is wasted searching, followed by an awkward visit to the reception desk.

With Waldo, businesses create a map of their car park and choose which spots can be booked. Employees see availability in advance and reserve a space suited to their needs. For example:

• someone with reduced mobility can book a space closer to the entrance,
• someone who visits clients off-site can pick a spot near the car park exit.

What happens when the car park is full?

We've planned for that. With Waldo, you can create a backup pool of parking spaces. If someone arrives and finds their space taken, they simply message Waldo and it automatically finds them a backup spot. Crisis averted.

Waldo just works: zero-click installation

Adopting Waldo is easy. Waldo is an AI bot that employees chat with, and it installs itself as a Microsoft Teams application:

1. Install Waldo from the Microsoft Teams store.
2. Update the global app policy to make it available to everyone.
3. Employees find it in Teams, with zero clicks on their side.

Waldo appears in Microsoft Teams on desktop, web and mobile, so employees can get help with parking (and desk booking) wherever they are, on any device.

Always one step ahead

Waldo is always on, but mornings are where it shines. No need to book a space manually every day: Waldo learns each employee's desk and parking preferences over time.

• If you usually come in on Thursdays and Fridays, Waldo learns it and only books on those days.
• If it sees your teammates are in the office, it reserves a space for you and suggests you join them.
• Plans changed? Ask Waldo "Where are my teammates?". If everyone is at the office, tell it "I need a desk and a parking space" and you're set within seconds.

Better facilities management

For employee parking management, Waldo connects to existing equipment and shares data to make sure there is enough space.

• Badge check-in: badge systems with NFC sensors can replace manual check-in in Microsoft Teams. When an employee scans their badge, Waldo confirms the check-in.
• Electric vehicle spaces: designate "electric only" spaces to guarantee parking and charging for EV drivers.
• No more "safe bookings": if someone keeps booking the same spot but never checks in, Waldo flags it to facilities managers.
• Capacity insights: if desks or parking spaces are consistently full, Waldo lets you know. Maybe it's time to expand.

Workplaces (and car parks) work better with Waldo

Waldo monitors capacity and utilisation so commuters can focus on the journey, not on where to park. In short, it is your flex office solution for desk and parking reservations.

Take Waldo for a spin: the free version lets everyone declare where they work and shows desk and parking occupancy and where your teammates are, and the complete version adds desk and parking booking, with a guaranteed space for everyone. Want to see every parking option, from EV to two-wheel spaces? Book a demo.