Key points
- A guest who asks about parking has a car, or is about to rent one, and wants three things: is there a space, is it free, and where exactly do I go.
- Parking rules are set by the building, not by you, and they change.
- The bay numbers and prices above are examples. Use your own and check them twice a year.
On this page
Parking is a small question with a large failure mode. "Is there parking?" takes three words to ask and, in a Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur condo, can take three hours to get wrong: a guest arrives in a rental car at 9 PM, the guard says the visitor spaces are full and short-stay guests are not registered, and the guest is at the security desk messaging you with the engine running. This page is about settling the facts once and answering before the car arrives.
What the guest actually wants
A guest who asks about parking has a car, or is about to rent one, and wants three things: is there a space, is it free, and where exactly do I go. "Yes there is parking" answers the first and leaves the other two to be discovered at the gate. The good reply answers all three and adds the one thing guests never ask but always need: what to tell the guard.
Questions to answer for yourself first
Parking rules are set by the building, not by you, and they change. Confirm these with the juristic office once a year and whenever a guest reports a problem.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is there a space that comes with the unit? | A fixed bay with a number, a floating space in a zone, or nothing. Many Bangkok condos allocate one bay per unit; many do not. |
| Can a short-stay guest use it? | Some buildings only register cars for residents with a juristic contract. Ask the office. If you are unsure of your building's position on short stays, check with the office and a local lawyer. |
| What does the guard need? | A licence plate in advance, a car sticker, the guest's name on a list, a deposit for a car card. |
| Where exactly is the space? | Floor, zone, bay number, and which lift goes from the car park to the lobby. |
| What does visitor parking cost? | Free for two hours, then hourly, or free overnight. Who pays. |
| What is the height limit and the gate time? | Vans and roof boxes, and some car parks lock at midnight. |
| What if there is no space? | The nearest public car park, a mall across the road, a lot that does monthly rates. Have the name and the rough cost ready. |
The most important line in the table is the second one. If the building does not register short-stay cars, say so in the listing and say "no parking" even if the car park is half empty. A guest who was promised a space and turned away at the gate will mention it in the review, and the building will notice your unit.
Three replies you can paste
Yes, the apartment comes with one parking space, bay B2-41 on the second basement level. Send me your licence plate before you arrive and I will register it with the building, then the guard will raise the barrier when you give your name. From B2 take lift 2 to the lobby, it needs the key card from the lockbox. The gate is open 24 hours. There is no charge.
The building does not have parking for short-stay guests, sorry. The closest option is the car park at the mall across the soi, which is open 24 hours and charges roughly 20 THB per hour or a flat overnight rate, about 150 THB last time I checked. It is a two minute walk to our entrance. If you would rather not drive in the city, Grab is quick from this soi.
Let me confirm with the building office whether a visitor space is available for your dates and what they need from you, and I will come back to you by tomorrow morning. Could you send me the licence plate and the type of car in the meantime?
The bay numbers and prices above are examples. Use your own and check them twice a year.
Mistakes hosts make
Saying yes without a bay. "There is parking" when you mean "there is a car park" is the root of most arguments. Say which bay, or say visitor parking and its rules, or say no.
Forgetting the plate. Many buildings will not raise the barrier for an unregistered car. Ask for the plate in the booking confirmation, not when the car is at the gate.
Not saying who pays. Visitor parking that turns out to cost 300 THB a night is a surprise fee, and surprise fees are the thing guests remember.
Giving the lobby directions, not the car park directions. A guest who drives in needs the car park entrance, which is often on a different soi from the lobby. Give both. See giving guests directions in Bangkok.
Promising a space the last guest is still in. If your bay is used by a guest checking out at 11 AM and the next guest arrives at 1 PM, say "from 1 PM" and tell the departing guest the bay must be empty by checkout.
How Tokay handles it
Tokay is an AI front desk. Parking facts live in its knowledge base at the building level, written once: the car park entrance, the bay, what the guard needs, the gate hours, the cost and the nearest alternative. Every unit you have in the same tower answers the same way, and when the building changes the rule you change one entry.
Pam, the front desk agent, answers parking questions around the clock in the guest's own language, including the follow-ups ("which entrance", "is it covered", "can I leave the car after checkout"). If a guest asks something you have not recorded, Pam asks you rather than guessing. It never promises a space, a price or an exception you have not agreed to.
When a guest sends a licence plate, registering it is an action for you or the building, so it comes to you as a task with the plate and the dates. A guest already at the gate with a problem is unusual and time-sensitive, and comes to you first. After the first two weeks of approving every reply, you switch on what Pam may send alone, one kind of question at a time; parking facts are usually an early one because the answers are fixed.
Questions hosts ask
Should I charge for parking?
If the building charges you, pass it on and say so in the listing. If the bay comes with the unit, most hosts include it; it is a small thing that reads well in a review. Whatever you decide, the price belongs in the listing and in the first parking reply, never at checkout.
The guest arrived and the guard would not let the car in. What do I say?
Reply within minutes, calmly: call the guard or the building office yourself if you can, and tell the guest what you are doing and when they will hear back. If the building will not register the car tonight, send the alternative car park with directions and sort the rest in the morning. A guest with a plan at 9 PM is calm; a guest with silence is not.
Can a guest leave the car after checkout?
Only if the bay is free and the building allows it, and only until a time you state. Treat it like a late checkout for the car: check the next arrival, name the deadline, and tell the guard. See late checkout requests for the same logic applied to the apartment.