Written by:
Tom Pitfield is Head of Commercial at Spacer Technologies, where he leads commercial strategy across Australia, spanning growth, partnerships and new market opportunities. He works with hotel groups, parking operators and property owners to unlock revenue from underutilised parking and storage assets.
Edited by:
Louise is an SEO Writer for Spacer Technology, creating content for the Parkhound, WhereiPark, Spacer.com.au, and Spacer.com brands. Based in the Philippines, she transitioned from her government office job to copywriting in 2012 and has stayed in content production since.
Reviewed by:
Born with an innate entrepreneurial spirit and a thirst for all things tech, Mike founded his first business at the age of 14 by developing websites for SMEs in the mid-90’s. Now with decades of hands-on experience building startups, Mike is a seasoned tech entrepreneur with a proven track record of scaling high-growth tech companies.
Reading time: 18 mins
Quick take: The best renters for unused commercial parking include nearby businesses, employees, commuters, local residents and shift workers. The right fit depends on where your property is located, when spaces are genuinely available, and the type of parking demand nearby.
Unused parking is common across Australian properties. In fact, the scale of underused parking can be significant: a 2026 Grattan Institute report found that up to 40% of parking spaces in apartments in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were empty each night.
Commercial properties can face a similar utilisation problem for different reasons. For example, an office building may have spots freed up as workplace attendance changes, a hotel may have capacity outside peak guest periods, and a mixed-use property may see parking demand change considerably throughout the day.
At the same time, nearby businesses and workers may struggle to find enough parking. A neighbouring employer could need several spaces for staff. Employees may want reliable parking within walking distance of work. Commuters, residents and shift workers can create demand at different times of the day or week.
That creates an opportunity to put underutilised spaces to better use and generate additional revenue from an existing property asset. The key is identifying who needs parking around your property and whether that demand matches the spaces and times you can make available.
Connect your unused parking with people and businesses looking for spaces nearby.
Commercial properties can potentially rent underutilised spaces to several types of renters:
| Renter type | Where demand is often strongest | Typical requirement |
| Nearby businesses | Office and commercial precincts | Multiple staff spaces |
| Employees | CBDs and employment centres | Reliable parking near work |
| Commuters | Properties near public transport | Regular weekday parking |
| Local residents | High-density residential areas | Secure parking near home |
| Shift workers | Hospitals, hotels and hospitality precincts | Early, late or overnight access |
| Businesses with multiple vehicles | Business parks and suitable commercial sites | Several parking spaces with dependable access |
A property can suit more than one renter group. What matters is how local demand lines up with the number of parking spots available, their location and the times external renters can access them.
Nearby businesses can be one of the strongest sources of demand for properties with several unused parking spaces.
Parking availability can differ considerably between neighbouring buildings. One office may have spare capacity while another has more employees who want to drive than allocated spaces. Some businesses may have little or no onsite parking at all.
For a property with excess capacity, that imbalance creates an opportunity to accommodate staff from neighbouring businesses. A single employer may need several spaces, allowing multiple parking spots to be filled through one business relationship.
This type of demand can be particularly relevant in:
Start by looking at organisations within a practical five- to ten-minute walk of the property, particularly offices and employers with limited onsite parking.
Don’t overlook smaller organisations. Several nearby businesses requiring three or four spaces each can collectively create meaningful demand.
Properties with multiple available parking spaces also have an advantage here. A business can potentially secure several spaces in one location instead of finding separate parking arrangements for individual employees.
Individual employees are another natural audience for unused parking in CBDs, employment centres and suburban commercial areas.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 53.1% of employed Australians drove themselves to work on 2021 Census Day, showing the continuing role of private vehicles in Australian commuting.
At a local level, an employee may work in a building with no staff parking, have access to fewer allocated spots than employees who drive, or need a more reliable alternative to street parking.
Employee demand can suit office buildings, hotels, mixed-use developments, business parks and other properties within walking distance of major workplaces.
Employees are likely to care about practical details including:
Be specific when describing the location. “Six-minute walk to the office precinct” gives a prospective renter more useful information than simply describing the parking as convenient.
Properties near railway stations and major public transport connections may attract commuters looking for somewhere to leave their vehicle before continuing their journey.
Demand can arise where station parking fills early, nearby street parking is restricted, or commuters are travelling from areas without a convenient direct public transport connection.
This means a commercial property doesn’t need to be in a CBD to attract regular commuter demand. Being within practical walking distance of a well-used transport hub can be enough.
Commuters will generally want reliable weekday availability, early-morning access, security and an easy walk to their transport connection.
Precise location information matters here too. A five-minute walk to a station is more useful than a generic claim about being close to public transport.
Construction workers and crews can create consistent parking demand around major building and infrastructure projects, particularly where onsite parking is limited.
This is especially relevant in Brisbane. Construction Skills Queensland forecasts a $26.2 billion building pipeline for Greater Brisbane, part of a broader surge in construction activity across Southeast Queensland.
For commercial properties near active construction sites, this can create an opportunity to rent unused parking to individual workers, contractors or businesses that need several spaces for their crews. Demand may last for weeks or months depending on the project.
Construction workers and crews are likely to prioritise:
Properties near apartment buildings and other high-density residential areas may find demand from residents who need an additional parking space close to home.
The 2021 Census recorded an average of 1.8 motor vehicles per Australian household, with more than half of households having two or more vehicles. In some areas, household vehicle ownership can exceed the parking available within residential buildings or on surrounding streets.
Residents may need another space because their home has no allocated parking, their household has an additional vehicle or their existing arrangement no longer meets their needs.
This can be particularly relevant for commercial properties with capacity outside normal business hours. An office building, for example, may have lower internal parking demand overnight at the same time nearby residents need somewhere to park.
Residents are likely to value proximity, security and dependable access. Properties should make sure the hours offered genuinely suit residential parking needs.
Parking demand doesn’t end with the standard working day.
Hospitals, hotels, restaurants, airports, retail centres and other workplaces can have employees arriving early in the morning, leaving late at night or working overnight. These schedules may align with periods when nearby commercial properties have more parking available.
A building near a hospital, for example, could have capacity in the evening as healthcare workers begin night shifts. Similar opportunities can exist around hospitality, hotel and entertainment precincts.
Potential renters include healthcare workers, hotel employees, hospitality staff, retail employees, airport workers and security personnel.
For these renters, access outside standard business hours is essential. Security, lighting, safe pedestrian access and proximity to the workplace are also important.
Looking at employment patterns beyond traditional office hours can reveal demand that would otherwise be easy to miss.
Some businesses need parking for their vehicles as well as their employees.
Properties with several suitable parking spots may attract organisations looking for parking for company cars, work vans or other business vehicles. This can be relevant in business parks, suburban commercial areas and suitable industrial locations.
Businesses may look for:
Not every property will suit every type of vehicle. Vehicle dimensions, access conditions and site restrictions will determine which businesses are a practical fit.
The surrounding area provides the strongest clue, but the type of property also affects which renters are likely to be a good fit.
Office buildings often suit nearby businesses and employees. To start, check with existing tenant allocations and actual weekday utilisation.
This is particularly relevant as office occupancy patterns have changed. Property Council of Australia data put Melbourne CBD office vacancy at around 19% and Sydney at 13.8% in early 2026, with remote and hybrid work contributing to reduced demand for office space. Where fewer people are regularly coming into the office, allocated parking spots may also be going unused.
If several allocated spaces remain consistently available, neighbouring employers can be particularly relevant because they may need multiple spaces for staff. The surrounding office precinct matters too: a building with excess parking may sit within walking distance of workplaces where parking is much harder to secure.
Hotels often occupy locations that already generate parking demand, including CBDs, airports, healthcare precincts and entertainment areas.
Parking availability can vary considerably around guest demand, events and local activity. CBRE Australia found that major sporting, cultural and business events produced measurable increases in hotel occupancy in 2025, with average daily room rates during peak event periods typically around 40% above average trading levels.
Separate research into off-street parking found that hotel parking can have complex usage patterns, with some locations retaining substantial unused capacity across both weekdays and weekends.
Depending on the location, potential renters could include nearby employees, businesses, residents and shift workers.
The main consideration is therefore understanding the property’s actual parking patterns rather than assuming spaces will always be available at particular times. Identifying periods of consistent spare capacity can help determine when spaces can be offered externally without interfering with guest requirements.
Mixed-use properties can attract several renter groups because the surrounding precinct often combines offices, retail, hospitality and residential uses.
These uses can generate parking demand at different times. Australian traffic engineering guidance on mixed-use developments highlights these non-coincident peaks: office parking is typically busiest during business hours, residential demand increases outside those hours, and hospitality demand tends to peak in the evening. This creates opportunities for the same parking capacity to serve different users at different times.
Reviewing utilisation by time of day can help property teams identify periods of consistent spare capacity and determine which external renters fit naturally alongside existing users.
Retail properties need to understand customer and tenant parking patterns before determining what capacity is genuinely spare.
Where parking spaces remain consistently available, nearby workers, neighbouring businesses and hospitality employees may be potential renters.
Weekday, weekend and seasonal differences matter more here because retail parking demand can change significantly during peak trading periods.
Business parks and suitable industrial properties may attract employees, neighbouring businesses and organisations requiring several vehicle spaces.
These properties can be particularly relevant where several parking spots are available together, although access, security and vehicle suitability still determine which renters are appropriate.
Once you know what capacity is genuinely available, look at what generates parking demand within walking distance.
Potential demand generators include:
Then compare that demand with when your parking is available.
A property with weekday vacancies surrounded by offices may have an opportunity with employees or neighbouring employers. Overnight capacity near apartment buildings could suit residents. A building near a hospital may attract workers across several shifts.
For B2B demand, pay particular attention to organisations with a structural parking shortage. A nearby employer with a large workforce and limited onsite parking can represent a stronger opportunity than a business surrounded by ample parking.
Once you’ve identified likely demand, make it easy for prospective renters to understand whether your parking suits them.
The most useful information includes:
How many parking spaces are available together
Different renter groups will prioritise different things. A commuter may care most about early access and walking distance to the station. A resident may prioritise overnight access and security.
Meanwhile, a nearby business looking for several staff spaces will want confidence that enough parking spots are available consistently in the same location.
With that said, specific descriptions can significantly help you target your renters better. “Five-minute walk to the station” or “300 metres from the hospital” gives prospective renters information they can use immediately.
Both can be valuable, and the amount of spare capacity often helps determine which opportunity makes more sense.
A property with a few available parking spots may be well suited to individual employees, commuters or residents. A building with a larger block of consistently unused spaces has more scope to accommodate nearby employers or other organisations needing multiple parking spots.
Some properties can support both. Renting to different types of users is also one of several ways to monetise vacant parking spaces at your property, depending on its location, access and availability.
The priority is finding renters whose requirements fit the capacity you can reliably make available without compromising existing property users.
Who you rent to and how you offer the parking are separate decisions.
Some renter groups may need regular ongoing parking, while others create more variable demand. The appropriate model depends on factors such as utilisation patterns, access arrangements, income predictability and how much turnover the property can comfortably accommodate.
For a detailed comparison, see Parkhound’s Should Buildings Allow Short-Term Parking Rentals?
Parkhound for Business helps Australian businesses and property teams connect underutilised parking with people and businesses looking for spaces nearby.
For businesses with unused parking, this provides access to an established audience without having to build their own parking marketplace or customer acquisition channel.
Parkhound for Business works with hotels and accommodation providers, commercial and residential properties, small businesses and other organisations with underutilised parking.
Property teams decide how much capacity to make available based on their own requirements. An office building can account for tenant allocations before making consistently unused parking spaces available. A hotel can manage capacity around guest requirements. A mixed-use property can identify the periods when enough parking is available for external renters.
Properties with several unused parking spaces can also reach demand beyond their existing tenants, staff, guests and customers, including nearby businesses looking for multiple spaces.
Nearby businesses, employees, commuters, local residents and shift workers can all create demand for unused commercial parking. The best fit depends on the property’s location, available hours, access requirements and number of spaces available.
Yes, where suitable capacity is available and the property’s requirements allow it. Individual employees may need reliable parking close to work, while neighbouring employers may require several spaces for staff.
Review parking use across different days, times and peak periods. Parking spaces that remain consistently available after normal property requirements are accounted for may represent underutilised capacity.
Look at employers, workplaces, hospitals, transport hubs, apartment buildings and other major destinations within walking distance. Then compare the parking demand generated by those locations with the times your property has spare capacity.
It can, depending on the property’s access arrangements, utilisation patterns and ability to accommodate changing users. Short-term parking isn’t appropriate for every property, and some sites are better suited to regular longer-term renters.
Unused parking becomes more valuable when it solves a real parking problem nearby.
Start with your property. Establish how many parking spaces are consistently available and when they can be accessed without affecting tenants, guests, customers or other existing users.
Then look at the surrounding area. A neighbouring business may need several staff spaces. Employees may need dependable parking near work. Commuters may be searching around a station, residents may need additional overnight parking, and shift workers may need access outside standard office hours.
The strongest opportunities are where those two patterns meet: reliable spare capacity at your property and genuine parking demand nearby.
Have parking spaces your business or property isn’t using? Parkhound for Business can help connect your available parking spaces with people and businesses looking for parking nearby.
Tom Pitfield is Head of Commercial at Spacer Technologies, where he leads commercial strategy across Australia, spanning growth, partnerships and new market opportunities. He works with hotel groups, parking operators and property owners to unlock revenue from underutilised parking and storage assets.
Tom Pitfield is Head of Commercial at Spacer Technologies, where he leads commercial strategy across Australia, spanning growth, partnerships and new market opportunities. He works with hotel groups, parking operators and property owners to unlock revenue from underutilised parking and storage assets.
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