Plaza Premium Group, a pioneer and industry leader in innovative global airport hospitality services, continues its mission to “Make Travel Better” for North American travelers as they return to the skies. In December, 45 percent of Americans traveled and nearly six percent of trips were to another country, the highest rate since the start of the pandemic, according to Skift’s Travel Tracker report. That momentum aligns with Plaza Premium Group’s recent data that shows steady month-over-month growth in lounge, Aerotel and meet & greet bookings, and demonstrates that convenience through all aspects of the journey will remain a priority for consumers in 2022.
“Over the years during the pandemic, the travel industry and general consumer needs have expectedly and drastically evolved, and expectations from the market have also changed. Our data points to a growing interest in adding lounge or other premium services to their journey,” said Stuart Vella, vice president, Business Development, North America. “As the industry leader, we have been consolidating resources and efforts to support demand and distribution in the market through organic growths and partnerships – to ensure a comforting, peace-of-mind airport experience in the future is of top priority. We’ve had 20 percent growth across Plaza Premium Lounges in Canada, and even more encouragingly, over 60 percent growth in both Plaza Premium Lounges & ALLWAYS Meet and Greet services in the United States last quarter. That increase alongside an uptick in international travel indicate a pivot to recovery in the North American market.”
Plaza Premium Group has bolstered its independent lounge presence in North America throughout the pandemic and is ready to meet demand as one-third of Americans expect to increase their travel spending in the next 12 months. The first U.S. location opened in September 2020 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) followed by new strategic partners in 2021 with lounge openings at JFK, Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C. In 2022, Plaza Premium Group is expecting to expand its network in the Americas, with additional airport lounges and other airport hospitality services in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston. Newark, Orlando etc. Most recently Plaza Premium Lounge has expanded at the Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) with the Landmark Lounge and the new Concept Lounge in December 2021, the largest independently owned lounge in North America, as well as an all-inclusive airport hospitality experience open to all travelers. With disruptive flight schedules and airline industry labor shortages already impacting first quarter 2022, the independent operation that Plaza Premium Lounge offers allows immediate accessibility to all travelers, without allegiance to a credit card, an airline or loyalty program. Consumers are responding to that access in droves - for instance, DFW had a quarterly growth of 106 percent in bookings.
In addition, the company has expanded offerings that consider the current traveler’s behavior, values and concerns. The launch of ALLWAYS airport meet & greet services at DFW and YYZ is designed to reduce stress at every point in the airport from greetings at arrival gates, buggy service, fast-track assistance, porter service, airport lounge access and escort to transportation pick-up. The on-site Wellbeing Ambassadors at each location also guarantee that sanitary and precautionary measures are deployed in accordance to local health and safety guidelines. As part of heightened hygienic measures, freshly made, pre-portioned and pre-packaged food items are also offered at the self-serve counters.
