Having worked in marketing for well over a decade, I’ve seen plenty of companies make tone-deaf pricing decisions. But the recent parking price increases at Prahran Square might just take the cake for terrible customer communications and pricing strategy.
For those who don’t know, Prahran Square is this lovely urban parkland area in Melbourne with a 500-bay underground car park beneath it. It’s managed by Care Park and serves the shopping precinct around Pran Central, Prahran Market, and the busy Chapel Street area. It’s a convenient spot if you’re doing your shopping or hitting up the market on a weekend.
The Price Shock
The new pricing structure at Prahran Square is wild. According to the official rates now listed on the Prahran Square website, casual parking has increased significantly:
- 0-30 minutes: $4.00 (up from what was previously around $1.60)
- 30 minutes to 1 hour: $6.00
- 1-2 hours: $10.00 (previously around $4.20)
- 2-3 hours: $12.50
- 3-4 hours: $15.00
- 4-5 hours: $20.00
- 5-6 hours: $22.00
- 6-7 hours (max daily): $24.00
The early bird rate has apparently jumped from around $11 to $18, which is a 64% increase. That’s a massive jump for people who are just trying to park for work or spend a few hours shopping.
The Marketing Problem
Here’s where this becomes a textbook example of bad marketing. Price increases happen, I get it. Operating costs go up, wages increase, and inflation is a thing. But the way this has been communicated (or rather, not communicated) is the real issue.
From what I can tell, there wasn’t any clear advance warning to regular users. No explanation of why the prices needed to increase. No grandfather period or loyalty discount for people who’ve been using the car park for years. Just a sudden jump that caught a lot of people off guard when they went to pay.
This is the kind of thing that frustrates customers and sends them looking for alternatives. And in Prahran, there are alternatives – the Elizabeth Street car park at Prahran Market has 644 spaces, and there are also parking apps like Parkhound and Spacer where locals rent out their driveways for significantly less.
What They Should Have Done
If I were advising Care Park on this rollout, here’s what I would have suggested:
- Give advance warning – At least 2-4 weeks’ notice with clear signage in the car park and on their website
- Explain the why – Even a basic explanation about rising costs, facility improvements, or whatever the actual reason is
- Phase it in – Maybe increase prices by 30% initially, then the rest a few months later
- Offer alternatives – Promote monthly parking deals more heavily to offset the casual rate increases
- Actually communicate – Email newsletters to regular users, social media posts, and local press releases
Instead, it seems like they just quietly updated their website and left people to discover the new prices when they went to pay. That’s not how you maintain customer goodwill.
The Broader Context
This reminds me of the kind of parking fee controversies that pop up at hospitals and shopping centres all the time. St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne copped a lot of flak for its parking prices a few years back. Hospitals can somewhat justify high parking fees because they’re providing essential healthcare services, and people have fewer choices.
Prahran Square is competing with other parking options in a busy retail precinct. They can’t just jack up prices without considering that people will simply park elsewhere or shop elsewhere. That’s basic supply and demand.
The monthly parking rate of $264 (as advertised on the Pran Central website) is actually not terrible compared to other Melbourne CBD-adjacent locations. But casual parking hitting $24 for 7 hours means that anyone spending a decent chunk of time in the area is going to seriously consider other options.
