The Trinity Challenge
The Trinity Challenge, exclusively sponsored by Mondelez World Travel Retail, is a pan-industry project designed to encourage and reward imaginative solutions take the industry forward.
First introduced at The Trinity Forum in Doha in 2019, for this edition the four finalists pitched their ideas to on-stage judges and the audience, with the results announced on the spot. The judges were Mondelez World Travel Retail Managing Director Jaya Singh, Changi Airport Group Senior Vice President (Enterprise Digital Ecosystem & Business) Hung Jean and Greater Toronto Airport Authority Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships & Digital Business Tina Williams.
Jaya Singh opened the session by looking back at how the industry has changed since the previous Trinity Challenge. He said: “We’re in an industry that is reinventing itself. A thing of beauty is being reborn in our industry post-COVID and we should be excited by that. Three years ago, I had the pleasure of hosting the first Trinity Challenge. It was about leadership, innovation and value creation.
“Today, we’re once again hoping to provide a platform with new ideas, stimulate collaboration publicly and deliver further opportunity creation. The world looks different than it did three years ago. We’re addressing new travel retail consumers and we need to evolve alongside and ahead.”
Mondelez World Travel Retail Managing Director Jaya Singh: Generating new ideas and collaboration opportunities
The winner of the Trinity Challenge 2022 was virtual reality company Dayholi. Founder Fjolla Holzleithner demonstrated how the company’s VR glasses and VR Dome can beam users to any travel destination in the world – and how it can be applied to virtually any airport environment.
She said: “Dayholi was founded with the goal of enabling everyone in the world to travel without any limits. No limits on time, money, health and sustainability. Dayholi beams people into new realities through immersive 8K quality virtual experiences that tap into all the senses.
“We increase revenues by creating ‘Day Passengers’. These passengers buy tickets and go to the airport, but they don’t fly. They go through the whole process, enjoy the travel retail offer, go into the VR Dome and travel all over the world (virtually). After the experience, we can partner with the F&B and retail brands to tie in their offer.
“With our technology, we can enhance brand experiences through virtual reality technology, increase retail loyalty and enhance entertainment at lounges and gates. We think Dayholi can also enhance staff training by giving them an enjoyable and interactive experience.”
Fjolla Holzleithner received a donation to her chosen charity, Plant A Tree; below, with the judging panel and Martin Moodie
Other Trinity Challenge 2022 finalists included GrayMatter Software Services Vice President Presales & Business Solution Viren Gupta, Spark Group of Companies Founder & President Heidi Van Roon and Plaza Premium Group Global Business Development Director Jonathan Song.
Gupta presented Gray Matter’s Skateboard platform which streamlines airport processes to create a ‘phygital’ consumer experience. “Skateboard is a holistic application for passengers and brings all airport concessionaires into one platform,” he explained. “It offers a frictionless travel experience and helps consumers navigate a complex airport. It enables commerce with single cart concessions, offers a unified payment gateway and seamless order management and fulfilment.
Song showcased Plaza Premium Group’s (PPG) airport passenger service platform; a one-stop-shop management solution called Travel Experience Eco System (TECO). He said: “When we think of non-aeronautical revenue, people often think of travel retail and F&B. Airport passenger services like wheelchair, fast-track, meet & greet, car wash, and baggage storage are all services we know off, but a lot of consumers don’t know that they exist in the airport or how to book them.
“At PPG, we consolidated all these key airport passenger services,” Song added. “We invested heavily to develop a one-stop-shop airport services platform, or Travel Experience Eco System (TECO), which passengers can book from origin to arrival.”
Spark Group of Companies’ Heidi Van Roon presented a proposal to rethink the whole area of human resources. She said: “My challenge is about the in-person element that takes place in every airport and customer encounter. We are in a people-facing industry. If the Trinity Forum is about building collaboration between all stakeholders, this challenge is about bringing every employee into that equation.
“If we want to make travel retail right, we have to make employment right,” Van Roon added. “We need to seed sustainability and innovation into our people. The priorities that I’m proposing are to build better employment so we can attract the right employees. We have an opportunity to rebuild travel retail careers as a career of choice.”
Short-listed Trinity Challenge nominees Heidi van Roon (Spark), Jonathan Song (Plaza Premium) and Viren Gupta (GrayMatter) eloquently presented their innovations
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The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 317 | 22 November 2022
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com