Howard County News

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected businesses nationwide, and one parking services business owner has seen his best year ever result in his worst year.

Gateway Parking Services based out of Maryland, owns, operates, and consults in the parking business from large parking garages to large parking lots, including equipment and management for owners of parking businesses nationwide.

Prior to the coronavirus, business was “gangbusters—we were looking to have the best year ever,” said Andrew Sachs, president of Gateway, in a phone interview.

The coronavirus and the related shutdowns, however, have taken their toll.

“We went from a record year to a record year. Basically, business is off probably 90 percent,” Sachs said.

Gateway has 11 full-time employees and many independent contractors, and Sachs said the company kept everyone on staff and “made that decision from the get-go.” Even though he cut some employees hours, he still kept paying salaries, adding employees are OK.” 

Sachs said he is planning for the longer term, and doesn’t believe his business will return to normal for more than a year.

“I’m budgeting out for the next year and a half now with the assumption that we don’t get back to normal until a year and half from now,” Sachs said. “Parking is a great immediate indicator of what is going on in the economy. If things are going great, and everyone’s going out, and if my Christmastime traffic is up from the year before, then there will be better retail sales numbers in the next quarter for Christmas time when that comes out. If things are going bad, and people are not going out, I know right away.”

The future is uncertain, but Sachs said he doesn’t see his business rebounding until people are able to attend a concert or bring their children or grandchildren to a museum or aquarium.

“That’s back to normal for me, when you can take you kids or grandkids and go to a children’s museum, an aquarium or a restaurant, then we’re back to normal,” Sachs said. “It’s not about restrictions. I need all levels of people trusting to go out.”   

According to Sachs, the government needs to step up and present clear guidance to businesses on reopening safely so there is not another resurgence of coronavirus cases.

“What are they doing to help people trust to go out?" he said. "What are they doing to help businesses safely reopen? Are they giving us clear guidelines and supporting that because that’s the only thing that’s going to help my business. 

“If the government doesn’t create clear guidelines, make sure we get adequate testing and everything, it just makes it less helpful. The government restriction isn’t my problem, the government response to how we get back to work is.”

Washington could help businesses like his by compensating companies for lost revenues, he said.

“I’d like to see a bill coming out of our government that is giving companies some kind of compensation for the money they lost---not 100 percent. That would be great," Sachs said. "It’s not the government's job to be profits in my profit. I have lost significant revenue and I’ve gone negative and I have to pay my bonds and my mortgage payments. I have to pay my employees and other stuff."  

He said if the government would give loans to business and allow them to write off half of lost revenues, that would help him get back to business.

Despite his plummeting revenues, Sachs started a charity at his Harbor Park Garage in downtown Baltimore called Heart of the Park, which serves 200 to 300 meals daily. More than 15,000 meals have been given out during the pandemic. He said it was launched, "in part to keep at least one restaurant open and to keep our employees engaged in something they can believe in, and to give back to our community in a time of need."