That's a Wrap!
We have concluded our special ARRA Forum series “If I Knew Then.…” For this special series, we talked with five former airport concessions leaders who now work for ARRA members: Dawn Hunter Christy; Liz Grzechowiak; Meghan M. Woods, A.A.E.; Marlene Coleman; and Paul Brown, C.M.
We asked each of them what they learned on the concessionaire side. What they wished they knew when planning and managing airport programs. What surprised them. What they want their new concessions industry colleagues to know about airports.
Our guests delivered. Each offered meaningful insights about their new positions and the relationship between airports and concessionaires. Five distinct points of view, but common threads we should all heed:
👉 The concessions business is unexpectedly complex and costly. Consequently, high sales don’t always equal profitability and, in fact, some noted the perspectives of many airport concessions teams are “out of balance” because of the under-appreciated complexity and costs.
👉 On the other hand, some told us concessionaires need a better awareness of airport governance and the pressures airport executives and staff face from multiple directions.
👉 Critically, the lack of a common understanding by both sides creates a “gray area” that diminishes the hospitality experience airports and concessionaires want to create.
👉 How to fix? Upfront dialogue leads to better programs for concessionaires, airports, and passengers. As Dawn says, “it’s both sides of the table really understanding each other. It's not just having someone come in and draw the boxes. It is really looking holistically at not only the physical building, but also the financial terms and saying, ‘does this make business sense?’”
👉 A streamlined RFP experience with a lot of transparency creates a robust environment for both parties to achieve their goals and meet their needs. In the end, a better RFP process leads to a better hospitality experience for our guests.
One great quote:
🗣 “We have to realize there isn’t really a normal anymore. It’s a new world now. And so now we have to learn to adapt and thrive in this new world. We can’t do it with everybody going back to their respective corners and saying, ‘okay, we're back to normal.’”
These are critical conversations for an understanding of our industry and the necessity to move forward. Watching, listening to, or reading any or all of our interviews with Dawn, Liz, Meghan, Marlene, and Paul is time well spent. Click below to reach our Forum home page where you can find links to each of these informative episodes of the ARRA Forum.
What an inspiring update! 🌟