The Trinity Forum: Hospitality
Digitalisation holds key to customer-centricity say lounge and F&B providers
The importance of data and how to better blend services within the airport eco-system were among the big picture themes discussed by a panel of lounge, hospitality and food & beverage service providers on day two.
The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt hosted an engaging discussion with Mignon Buckingham, CEO of Airport Dimensions; Song Hoi-see, Founder and CEO of Plaza Premium Group, and McDonald’s Hong Kong CEO Randy Lai.
Buckingham highlighted the LAX Order Now passenger app, in use at Los Angeles International Airport, as an example of the way forward in effective digital interaction with the passenger, offering a variety of services and information via the interface.
Randy Lai: Convenience, digital ordering, familiarity and novelty in product choice and shareable moments are among the key consumer drivers
Understanding the traveller and delivering on digital demand are core priorities in the services sector, as explained by Mignon Buckingham (Airport Dimensions, left) and Song Hoi-see (Plaza Premium Group)
She said: “Our last survey showed that passengers want a single interface for their entire journey from end-to-end and clearly there are obstacles to that, such as the lack of collaboration between airlines and airports in sharing data. That doesn’t make it easy to have very customer-centric approach.
“But in terms of what we’re starting to roll out in LAX, that single point of contact for the customer, bringing together not just airport commerce, but airport information and airport services to basically try and ease the journey for the customer, is important. Easier journeys and less stressed customers create more revenue.
“The challenge that the airports face is that they don’t let customers come in until they are a long way through their journey. Quite often they don’t know the customer at all until they switch the airport Wifi on. We need to create a really compelling proposition from the airport to the guests, which encourages them to hand their data over to the airport with permissions in response to a really strong [digital] value proposition to the customer.”
Song also spoke on theme of digital interaction with the airport customer, highlighting Plaza Premium Group’s development of oneTECO, which brings all of PPG and its partners’ services together under one technology platform.
“This allows us to offer a consistent and efficient travel experience for our customers,” said Hoi-see of oneTECO. “Our solutions cover everything from an omnichannel digital commerce platform to loyalty rewards to lounge, hotel, F&B and airport passenger services management.
“We connect customers and operational data from all of our touchpoints to provide a 360-degree view of our customers and operations. This enables us to create and implement insights-driven commercial and operational strategies. With a strong commitment to innovation and investment, we’re breaking free from traditional practices to provide exceptional travel experiences for all passengers.”
He noted that while digital has been an important element of Plaza Premium Group’s recent strategy, serving the customer well is all about his company’s people. “They are our greatest asset,” he said.
Lai highlighted four key evolutions in the travelling consumer behaviour brought forward by the COVID-19 pandemic – the need for super-convenience, the ability to order digitally, familiarity and novelty in product choice and shareable moments through social media.
She also highlighted the importance of data sharing for shaping the McDonald’s offer in the airport environment. Lai said: “We know how many customers are coming through our doors in the airport but do we know who they are and what they want? So digital transformation is something that can really help us and enable us to understand our customer. We need to know who they are, how they consume McDonalds and how often they come here.
“We could collect the data and figure out trends and upgrade our service to provide a better customer offer. On the one hand, you still have to continue on the same foundations of your service but at the same time you need to upgrade those services by keeping up with customer demands and needs. Data is the way to go.”
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 329 | 22 November 2023
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