Tell us about yourself
I’m Tim Al-Ghraoui, CEO and Founder of SpareSpace.io. I’m Canadian-Syrian, and my background is in law, but I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I was born and raised in Doha, and have been living in Dubai for over 8 years, so I know the region inside-out. SpareSpace.io is the result of my desire to build a practical solution to an everyday problem.
But SpareSpace.io is not my first business. I founded an athletic chalk company called ‘two pandas’ nearly five years ago, and that business is going from strength to strength, especially after teaching me many valuable lessons.
What led to you founding SpareSpace.io?
Like many people living in Dubai, I’ve been frustrated by the lack of parking in the city. When I was a junior lawyer, I was never eligible for a parking space in the same building as my office; I always had to park on the street (and risk getting fines, and did get fines), or in Dubai Mall (and walk 20 mins through the mall to get to my office in Emaar Square. Even at home, despite being in a 2-bed apartment, we have to park our second car outside in the sun because we only get one parking space inside.
One night, I simply had an epiphany after I noticed a pattern: right next to crowded office complexes and full apartment buildings were hotels with half-empty parking lots. It felt absurd. There was clearly supply, and clearly demand, but no platform connecting the two.
So, I asked myself: wouldn’t it be cool if there was a booking.com/Airbnb for parking spaces? That question became my mission, and SpareSpace.io was born.
What does SpareSpace.io do exactly?
We like to say we’re the Booking.com/Airbnb of parking. SpareSpace.io is a digital marketplace that allows verified users to book underutilised parking spaces, typically in hotels. For Hosts, it turns idle assets into revenue-generating real estate. For Renters, it offers peace of mind and time savings in a city where parking is a daily headache.
What is your company mission?
Our mission is simple but impactful: to solve the parking crisis by unlocking and monetising underutilised parking spaces, making cities more efficient, sustainable, and convenient for everyone.
Our product, effectively Parking as a Service (PaaS), is the only way to deploy thousands of parking spaces across any city without building anything; there is no need for any new parking structures, they already exist and are covered in cobwebs.
How are you unique in the marketplace?
We are the only PaaS platform in the world to have a loyalty program. For each 6 months a Renter rents a parking space from us, they get 0.5 months back free; that’s 1 month free each year. This is a cost we absorb; the Host doesn’t pay for this.
Moreover, we have a significant head start over our competitors, and our product is in far better shape than theirs in terms of polish, functionality, and content.
How are you revolutionizing the industry?
Not every company or product has to be ground-breaking or revolutionary. We are filling a very necessary gap in the market, and solving a very real crisis with a very simple solution. Simple solutions are often the best; they are certainly the easiest to scale.
We are not revolutionising the industry, but we’re on track to transform people’s daily-lives; not an exaggeration considering the bane of parking in Dubai and most cities.
Having said that, we have some ideas in the pipeline including introducing a subscription service, and some AI features to streamline onboarding and pricing. These are features not currently contemplated or implemented by our competitors.
What benefits can host’s expect?
Hosts can expect a nearly completely hands-off new revenue stream. Listing a space takes minutes, and we handle the rest; marketing, payments, customer service. Some hotels are projected to earn close to AED 1 million per annum from just 40 parking spaces; parking spaces that are completely underutilised.
Because our users are verified, Hosts don’t have to worry about security or misuse. Moreover, our Hosts have full control over availability.
Do you have an example of how it works from a host’s perspective?
Let’s say a hotel signs up. Once onboarded, they can list their available spaces on our platform; say, 20 spots at a rate of AED 1,000 per month (they can even specify weekly and annual rates). After we verify the listing details, the listings are made live, and Renters can then book those spots via our web app or Android app (coming soon to iOS). The Host gets a notification when a booking is made, and payment is automatically processed each month directly to the Hosts bank account. We even handle cancellations and refunds.
Hosts can log in anytime to update availability, see upcoming bookings, and track earnings. It’s simple, flexible, and profitable.
What has been your biggest success since launching?
Our biggest success so far is the traction we’ve seen in just a few months post-launch. Getting major hotel brands like Radisson and Holiday Inn on board so early validated our concept in a big way. We’re also closing in on a deal between a hotel and a corporate behemoth across the street from them (which will be next biggest success)!
As tech pioneers, what do you see as the future of your app?
We’re not going to spill the beans on our future plans, but we are looking at, among other things, introducing APIs that streamline the UX for both Hosts and Renters (including a fully-fledged B2B dashboard for business Hosts to rent spaces directly to business Renters as blocks).
What is your vision for SpareSpace.io?
We’re starting in Dubai, and working on Abu Dhabi. Sharjah’s next. Doha is probably next thereafter. Obviously, then Saudi. We already have users and investors interested in deploying our PaaS in Singapore, India, São Paulo, Beirut, and Athens.
Each market will need its respective adjustments and localisations, but this parking crisis is one shared in essentially every city and town around the world. It’s time for a common-sense and simple platform to quickly deploy thousands of parking spaces to address that crisis, and generate new revenue lines for business Hosts and even private individuals.
Where can we download the app?
Our main app can be accessed on the web (our web app), and our mobile app is already live on the Google Play store. The iOS app is coming soon.
