Multi tenant KIT & Tropen Hotel's parking space optimization: A case of sustainable facility management

In this interview, Bert Boer talks about collaborating with Mobypark as Head of coordinator of facilities at the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT). Bert is responsible for all facilities inside and outside of this multi-tenant building, which includes offices and a hotel.

Since the KIT Royal Tropical Institute was founded in 1910 as the ‘Colonial Institute’ to study the tropics and to promote trade and industry in the colonial territories of the Netherlands, it has changed a lot. Nowadays, KIT Royal Tropical Institute is an independent centre of expertise and education for sustainable development. They assist governments, NGOs and private corporations around the world to build inclusive and sustainable societies, informing best practices and measuring their impact. Bert also strives to be sustainable in his facility management.

How are you implementing sustainability in the facility part of the company, besides sharing your parking with Mobypark?

We do a lot actually. Apart from KIT, we also call ourselves a SDG house, which means we are guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. We do a lot with waste removal, we, of course, separate waste like everybody but we also have a contract with a boat company who picks up our garbage by boat and essentially we have little electrical cars that bring the garbage to the containers. Both the cars and the boat are electrical so we reduce the amount of diesel trucks. We are also working in many other ways towards sustainability, for example we only have sustainable toilet paper, we rent out cycles here at the hotel so people can come by and park here and then bike through downtown. That’s the best way to get around here. And we have more sustainability projects to come, for instance we are setting up solar panels on the roofs.

Great that you do so much and that you chose Mobypark to work with as well. How did the collaboration start between Mobypark and Kit?

Well I think the connection was made in 2008, one of our renters was an investor of Mobypark, I believe. From there the idea came that we could actually do something more with our parking spaces. Naturally our collaboration started.

How has your experience been so far collaborating with Mobypark?

Very positive, I think it's a unique concept. Especially in the beginning of our collaboration this concept was very new, nowadays there are companies that are having the same kind of idea. But in the beginning it was unique in the sense that we could generate income through parking spots. For me it was an eye opener.

What benefits have you seen since using Mobypark?

Well the benefits are of course that we don't have to keep track of all the different people who want to park here, everything is arranged and everything is taken care of. People can reserve parking spots through the website then get a code. They simply type in the code at the entrance and just park their car. Also, the hassle of administration is no longer an issue so we are really happy with our corporation, we know what we get and the results are good..

If you would describe working with Mobypark in three words, what would those words be?

How would you rate working with Mobypark from 1-10? Would you recommend Mobypark?

I would go for an eight, no, a nine. One improvement could be that the cars can enter by license plate instead of codes. But I would recommend Mobypark for sure!

Thank you for taking your time and answering our questions!

Thank you as well! I also really have to say that in the beginning when we started this, I never thought it was possible that we could make income out of a parking lot, but when you look at the results afterwards, I can’t believe I thought that. I have seen how this really big space very close to the center of Amsterdam is now used in a better way. Mobypark opened my eyes.

Do you know anyone who needs a professional system to manage their company car park? Don't hesitate to contact us and let Mobypark help you! Or check out our business page for more information.

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