Airport lounges could transform into multi-functional spaces that incorporate fresh experiences to entertain, inform, and provide distinctive retail options. This evolution presents an opportunity to interlink lounges, airport retail, and brands, offering convenience and varied options to travellers who are increasingly seeking customized experiences to enhance their overall airport journey.
Imagine relaxing in a Plaza Premium Lounge, awaiting your flight. You’ve been eyeing an 18-year-old Macallan whiskey, and to your delight, there’s a tasting at the lounge’s bar. The bartender provides an expert whiskey experience and shows you how to purchase a bottle online. There’s no need to leave the lounge; your purchase is delivered to the front desk or to your boarding gate for easy pickup.
Now, envision this convenience at airports worldwide, with the ability to order in advance and pick up special items at connecting airports. I introduced this concept at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2024 in Frankfurt, where the latest in aviation products, services, and technology are showcased.
As the Chief Commercial Officer for Plaza Premium Group (PPG), I consistently prioritize customer experiences. Extensive travel demands have afforded me valuable insights into the evolving preferences and needs of travellers.
At Passenger Terminal Expo, I spoke about bridging the gaps between airport lounges, brands and travel retail stores. Call it the ‘airport trinity’ – the confluence of brands, travel retail, and airport hospitality – creating the ability to have a brand activation and travel retail within a lounge’s designated areas.
Yes, guests are seeking comfort, convenience and relaxation when they use our lounges. Increasingly, however, customers are also looking for more seamless and integrated experiences. Lounges can do that, by collaborating with airport retailers, creating brand activation zones and fostering partnerships to transform into dynamic environments that not only enhance passenger experiences but also connect brands with travellers.
What might a brand activation within a lounge look like?
For one, these would take place in a designated zone so that they don’t disrupt lounge guests who want to use the place for rest and relaxation, not retail. For those who are interested, these could range from collaborations between airlines and luxury brands to fashion-centric lounges and skincare and spa integrations. These initiatives create memorable experiences for passengers and leverage the reputation and trust associated with well-known brands to enhance the overall lounge experience.
A lounge could also act as an extension of the Duty Free and branded airport retailers, while providing a comfortable, easy shopping experience for travellers who prefer deliveries to browsing in real life. By incorporating tastings, brand displays, and direct point-of-sale devices, this model benefits lounges, their guests and the retailers, providing customers with a wider range of purchasing options and creating new revenue streams for the lounges, brands, retailers and ultimately, the airports.
For transit airports in particular, providing more conveniences and new experiences for lounge customers could be transformative. Passengers who would opt for direct flights to avoid the tedium of transit stops might change their plans if they know the stopover offers a fresh and experiential diversion.
The travel industry is becoming more competitive than ever, with the uptick in global journeys enabled by the growing crop of low-cost carriers, the merger of business and leisure, and airports all vying to be the most passenger friendly and entertaining hubs.
Committed to seamless and end-to-end journeys
At PPG, we aim to keep several steps ahead of the travel trends that demand seamless and end-to-end journeys. We are continuing to develop and expand our airport hospitality services and facilities beyond our lounges to airport concierge services, in- terminal airport hotels, digital solutions and airport dining experiences across all major airports.
Our OneTECO single marketplace platform connects service providers with customers, and our Smart Traveller rewards and membership program allow our guests to plan and curate their own personalized hospitality experiences spanning origin to transit to destination, and back.
Breaking down silos and to step outside of our traditional operating models
So how does this imagined scenario turn into reality? I think it starts with the parties involved – airports, travel retailers, brands, airlines and lounge operators – to be open to the idea of breaking down the silos and to step outside of our traditional operating models.
However, traveller needs are continuously evolving.
The ASQ 2023 Global Traveller Survey, which PPG was proud to support, indicated that passengers are looking for newer airport experiences, and expect “a more tailored and increasingly personalized experience”. Travellers are also willing to pay for more premium services.
Many industry sectors already factor these points into their offerings. PPG is a 26- year-old business, and we know that having the courage to transform is key to our survival and success. I hope that our airport hospitality industry will join us in this journey of self-disruption, because as they say, “Fortune favors the bold.”
So, let’s be bold together.
This is sponsored content. Sponsored content is provided by third parties including airports, members of ACI, World Business Partners, and others. The views expressed and/or presented by these third parties through sponsored content are their own and may not represent or reflect the views of ACI, its management, Board, or members. Readers should not act on the basis of any information contained in the blog without referring to applicable laws and regulations and/or without appropriate professional advice.
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