Leonardo Hotel - East Midlands

Leonardo Hotel East Midlands Airport is located directly next to East Midlands Airport, making its car park particularly convenient for hotel guests, visitors and customers using the hotel's facilities. However, its proximity to the airport was also creating a significant parking management challenge. The hotel car park was regularly being used by taxis, airport passengers and commuters as an unofficial drop-off and pick-up location, allowing drivers to avoid the airport's designated drop-off areas and associated charges despite having no genuine reason to visit the hotel. This created unnecessary traffic within the hotel grounds and placed additional pressure on parking spaces intended for paying guests and genuine hotel visitors. Leonardo Hotels needed a solution that would prevent unauthorised airport-related use while maintaining a simple and welcoming parking experience for genuine guests, restaurant customers, meeting attendees and other legitimate visitors.

Countrywide Parking Management designed and implemented a comprehensive ANPR barrier-controlled parking solution specifically around the operational requirements of the hotel. Rather than simply introducing parking enforcement, the system combines access control, ANPR technology and multiple payment and validation options to distinguish genuine hotel visitors from motorists attempting to use the car park as an alternative airport drop-off facility. The solution includes: • ANPR-controlled entry and exit barriers, recording vehicles entering and leaving the hotel car park and controlling access at the point of exit. • On-site payment terminals, providing a straightforward way for motorists who are required to pay for parking to settle their parking charge before leaving. • Reception payment kiosks, allowing the hotel team to assist visitors and manage parking payments conveniently from within the hotel. • Free parking validation for genuine visitors, ensuring customers who are entitled to complimentary parking can validate their stay without unnecessary inconvenience. • QR code parking vouchers, which can be printed and provided to genuine hotel visitors, allowing them to quickly validate their vehicle and receive the appropriate free parking entitlement. • Integrated ANPR and barrier technology, helping prevent vehicles from simply entering the hotel grounds to drop off or collect airport passengers without using the hotel. The combination gives Leonardo Hotels greater control over who uses the car park while providing several convenient ways for legitimate visitors to pay or validate their parking.

The new parking system has transformed the hotel car park from an easily accessible alternative airport drop-off point into a controlled parking environment designed around genuine hotel use. ANPR and barrier control provide a physical deterrent to motorists attempting to use the site simply to avoid airport parking or drop-off charges, helping protect the hotel's parking capacity for the people it is intended to serve. At the same time, the combination of payment terminals, reception kiosks and free-parking QR code vouchers means that genuine guests and visitors have convenient ways to manage their parking. The result is a parking operation that provides greater control without compromising the guest experience. By combining ANPR technology with physical access control and flexible validation options, Countrywide Parking Management has delivered a solution tailored to the particularly demanding environment of an airport hotel — protecting valuable parking spaces while ensuring genuine visitors continue to receive a straightforward and welcoming experience.