Why would Joseph Daniel Kasman, a highly respected real estate professional who has relationships with the leaders in CRE in the tri-state area and beyond, join TICKETECH, a Queens-based company that creates and implements the cutting edge software programs used in the great majority of NYC’s parking garages?
Kasman explains: “TICKETECH’s product is software, but its application is parking garages. When you’re talking about programs that manage 80% of the garages in the nation’s most densely populated urban areas, starting with NYC, then you’re talking valuable real estate.”
That’s where Kasman comes in.
For over 40 years, TICKETECH has increasingly become the brand of choice running the lion’s share of the parking industry in the NY metro area. It is widely used by the major operators, by owners who prefer to manage their own parking facilities (Rudin Management, Glenwood), and by a number of institutions such as Stony Brook University Medical Center.
The product’s obvious advantages – detailed customization, flexibility, ease of use even to persons with limited computer proficiency, security, prompt accessibility of technical staff that adds levels of service and comfort to its demanding users – drew Kasman to TICKETECH in 2007.
“I began as an advisor and my role evolved,” he says. Now one of the principals, he utilizes his knowledge of CRE to work with the management team to strategize, plan, and take TICKETECH to the next level.
“Real estate has to constantly anticipate the needs of a changing population,” he says.
In the mid-20th century the parking industry was largely a closely held mom and pop business with a sealed “cigar box” as the cash register. Revenue control, the company’s initial major selling point, remains key.
“In the past there was no way of keeping track of what was being collected. The more you can report and analyze data, the greater the profitability. There has to be a reliable system in the middle that connects the whole operation,” he says.
“TICKETECH provides a reliable, well-known, prominent piece of software that can run and control the business, providing valuable information and maximizing revenue while reducing potential loss. It’s a tool that can be easily inserted into the business.”
He credits TICKETECH’s latest platform, Ultra, which the company has carefully developed, with providing state-of-the-art features that adapt to rapid change and upgrade requirements and interface easily with other programs and apps as the technology environment evolves. “Parking used to be a more of a passive business. Now it’s active and very competitive– we are constantly seeking ways to improve and facilitate the customer experience,” adds Kasman.
“We have to stay on top of everything for our clients” he explains. The company’s founder, Isaac Seychett, saw that change was imminent and encouraged it by bringing Kasman into the fold.
In the past five years, additional changes have continued in various aspects of the parking business as TICKETECH deals more with public companies, consolidations, changes in client structure and more institutional presence. Working closely with COO Mauricio Cotto and the TICKETECH management team, Kasman has made significant progress on several fronts: marketing, positioning, structuring transactions, and conducting dialogue with clients.
“There’s a lot of third party institutional capital in this business today – private equity, investment firms, banks. This marks a pivotal change for the business and we have had to adapt and evolve,” he says. He has also played a key role in transforming the company’s business model.
TICKETECH upper level executives now have direct ownership in the company. This changed the dynamics dramatically. “We’re all speaking as owners, not just consultants and employees. We are fully vested in the future of the company,” he says.
He points out that efficient parking operations are especially important in a tough economic climate. In the past, owners leased garages to operators, serving as a buffer and providing a steady stream of income. “It was a line item on a P & L statement,” he says. “More recently, the business has been transitioning more to management contracts. There’s more risk for the garage owner, but more upside potential from efficiently-run operations. The TICKETECH system provides a valuable tool in this respect.”
Noting that the company’s focus stems from its roots in New York City, he is confident of even greater market penetration in Manhattan and the boroughs, in major urban cities along the East Coast and eventually nationwide. “We are continuing to strengthen and gain relationships in the tri-state area and laying the groundwork for significant expansion,” he says.
Says Kasman, “I feel confident that TICKETECH will continue to succeed as the leader in the attended parking business.”
“Our knowledge of parking is infinite. New Yorkers are very astute. If they are choosing TICKETECH, we must be doing something right – we’ve proven that this company ‘gets’ NYC parking like no other for decades.”
