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Author image Paola Baez-Perez

Posted by Paola Baez-Perez
September 3, 2026

Innovation is often associated with new technology or breakthrough ideas. In practice, however, the most meaningful innovations often result from organizations recognizing a changing customer need and bringing together complementary expertise to address it.

That philosophy has guided Colonial Parking for generations. As the way people move throughout the DMV has evolved, the company has continued asking a simple question: How can we make arriving at a destination easier, more flexible, and more predictable for the people we serve?

The answer has rarely been to innovate alone.

ColonialFlex™ illustrates that approach. Developed through Colonial Parking’s collaboration with @SpotHero, the program demonstrates how strategic partnerships can create solutions that improve the customer experience while delivering value for property owners and the communities they serve.

Embracing a Changing Customer

The way people move throughout the DMV has become increasingly dynamic. While navigating a day with multiple stops and destinations, customers expect every part of their journey to be convenient and predictable. Those evolving expectations have reshaped what people value in the parking experience, creating opportunities for more flexible, connected, and customer-focused solutions.

Convenience is no longer measured solely by proximity to a destination. Customers increasingly expect parking to be flexible enough to accommodate changing plans and simple enough to be one less decision to think about during their day. Meeting those expectations required Colonial Parking to think beyond traditional parking operations and consider how technology could further enhance the customer experience.

Building a Better Solution Together

Colonial Parking has spent decades building trusted relationships with property owners and managing one of the region’s most extensive parking portfolios. SpotHero had already established itself as the leading digital parking reservation service, helping customers discover and reserve parking with confidence before arriving at their destination. Together, those complementary capabilities created the foundation for ColonialFlex™.

Designed around the changing needs of today’s customers, ColonialFlex™ brings greater flexibility to the parking experience. Through our partnership with SpotHero, ColonialFlex™ allows customers to purchase qualifying parking credits at a 15% discount and reserve in advance. The result is a more connected and affordable parking experience that delivers meaningful value across the DMV.

“The way people experience our communities has changed, and parking has evolved right alongside it,” said Colleen M. Niese, SPHR, CPP, President & CEO of Colonial Parking. “ColonialFlex™ reflects our commitment to making parking more convenient and valuable. Through partnerships that help us operationalize innovation, we’re delivering savings and more options for parkers while creating new revenue opportunities and added value for our clients.”

ColonialFlex™ represents more than a loyalty program. It reflects a shared commitment to solving a customer challenge by combining operational expertise with technology in a way that neither organization could have accomplished independently.

A Partnership Philosophy

ColonialFlex™ is one example of a broader philosophy that continues shaping Colonial Parking’s growth. The company views partnerships not simply as business relationships, but as opportunities to strengthen the services it provides and respond more effectively to evolving customer expectations and client needs.

That philosophy continues to expand the ColonialFlex™ network through relationships with organizations such as Joyce Parking, providing customers with additional parking options across the region while extending the program’s value.

Beyond day-to-day operations, Colonial Parking brings that same collaborative mindset to industry conversations through its Tech Talk: Connect, Innovate & Celebrate, convening technology providers, property professionals, and mobility leaders to explore emerging trends and the innovations shaping the future of parking.

Although each partnership serves a different purpose, they share the same objective: combining expertise to create better experiences than any one organization could deliver alone.

Ultimately, the story behind ColonialFlex™ is about more than one program or one partnership. It reflects Colonial Parking’s belief that the best ideas are built collaboratively. By continuing to bring together the right partners around shared challenges, Colonial Parking is helping create a more connected, more flexible, and more customer-focused parking experience across the DMV.

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