Introduction: Areas is among the global leaders in travel food & beverage and retail, with a network of over 2,000 restaurants and stores across 11 countries in Europe and the Americas. Its team of 20,000 serves more than 350 million customers annually at key transport hubs including airports, train stations and highway travel plazas, as well as leisure parks.
The company is also Diamond Partner for the upcoming Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference & Awards to be held in Barcelona (25-26 June), the city in which Areas was established in 1968 and where it remains headquartered today.
Areas CEO Óscar Vela tells Dermot Davitt about the pride Areas management and staff takes in supporting this year’s event, the ‘Areas Spirit’, latest business performance and an ambitious pipeline of openings for the rest of 2025 and beyond.
Looking ahead to FAB+ 2025
The Moodie Davitt Report: Oscar, Areas is Diamond Partner at the Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference and Awards this year. Why is it so important for you to take a leading role in this edition?
Óscar Vela: We’ve always been proud to support the Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference and Awards. It’s an event that truly reflects the spirit of our industry – collaboration, innovation and excellence. We’ve participated in FABs from Geneva, Helsinki, Dallas, Toronto to Ontario in California (with the participation of Carlos Bernal, our Areas USA CEO), and it has always been a great platform to exchange ideas and celebrate success.
But this year is special. FAB is being hosted in our hometown – Barcelona – where Areas was founded back in 1968. It’s also hosted by Aena, one of our most valued partners. So, it felt natural – and right – for us to take a leading role. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase who we are and share what’s coming next.
Tell us about more about how Areas will be involved during the event.
We’ll be actively participating in the programme. I’m looking forward to taking part in a roundtable discussion with key leaders and industry colleagues as Aena Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Aena Internacional Javier Marín, SEA Milan Airports CEO and Managing Director Armando Brunini, and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico CEO Raúl Revuelta.
Together we will explore our shared visions and perspectives on the future of F&B and hospitality in the travel industry. I’m sure it will be a fantastic opportunity to connect, reflect and continue shaping the passenger experience with innovation, quality and purpose.
On the second day, Mathieu Herrero, our C&S Director, will share insights on our proprietary brand strategy.
And we’re also thrilled to be co-hosting (with Aena) Thursday evening’s gala dinner – something we’re putting a lot of love into. The menu has been created by our culinary teams from around the world, with starters inspired by ingredients that reflect the diversity of the countries where we operate. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet the Areas executive Chefs behind it and experience the creativity and passion they bring to the table. We want the evening to be a success.
Taking pride in Barcelona
Barcelona is more than just your HQ. What role does the city play in the identity of Areas?
Barcelona is where it all started for us – and our first motorway location, our first airport… Over the years, even as we expanded internationally, we kept our global headquarters and shared service centre here.
It’s a major tourist destination, a globally recognised city and a culinary powerhouse – one of Europe’s most dynamic food scenes. Commercially it’s also a strategic hub for us, with Barcelona Airport playing a key role in our network and a new tender process just around the corner.
More than anything, we feel aligned with this city’s essence: a unique mix of modernity and tradition, international appeal and a strong human-centred spirit. It inspires how we operate and how we connect with our guests around the world.
That’s why we’re especially proud to welcome everyone here, and that this year’s FAB Awards are being celebrated in Barcelona. We hope you take the time to enjoy everything the city has to offer: its energy, culture, and of course, its food. It’s a place to experience, and we couldn’t imagine a better setting for this event.
You noted Areas’ strong presence at Barcelona El Prat Airport. Can you give us a snapshot of your current operations there and what it represents for the group?
Barcelona El Prat is one of our flagship locations – both strategically and emotionally. It’s where our journey in airport concessions began, and it continues to be one of our most significant operations in Spain. Areas is the leading food & beverage operator at the airport.
We currently manage 23 points-of-sale across the terminals, offering a diverse mix of experiences. These range from internationally recognised brands like Starbucks, Paul and Burger King to local favourites such as Boldú and Montesquiu and national icons like SantaGloria and MasQMenos. We also operate several of our own proprietary concepts, including Sibarium, Deli&Cia and Como. Each outlet is thoughtfully tailored to its terminal’s passenger profile, contributing to a cohesive and authentic sense of place.
With a new tender process on the horizon, we see a major opportunity – not only to reaffirm our leadership at El Prat, but to continue redefining what airport dining can be in one of Europe’s most dynamic travel hubs.
Recently, we launched Self, our first AI-driven robotic restaurant concept, at Barcelona airport. Given its proximity to our headquarters, this location also serves as a living lab for digital innovation and operational excellence.
Innovation & Technology
You highlighted the power of innovation at Barcelona El Prat and projects like Self. How does Areas approach technology and innovation across its operations?
Innovation is one of the values of our company, but for us it always has to serve a purpose. Whether it’s improving efficiency, elevating the guest experience, or supporting our teams – we see technology as an enabler, not an end in itself.
Self, our AI robotic restaurant, is a good example. It was launched at Barcelona Airport, where we identified a unique fit based on passenger behaviour. But beyond that, we’re also testing autonomous stores in Madrid and Atlanta airports, implementing smart kiosks, and introducing new back-office tools to reduce administrative tasks.
At the end of the day, we’re in the hospitality business. That means people come first. Our teams are our main assets. Technology helps us empower them – giving them more time to focus on guests and allowing us to personalise and streamline service in smarter ways.
The ‘Areas Spirit’
That brings us to culture. What does the ‘Areas Spirit’ mean to you?
It’s something very real. We talk about it often because it’s what makes us different. The Areas Spirit is about passion, accountability and pride in what we do. It’s in the way we support one another and in the way we serve our guests.
A great example is the Areas Worldwide Challenge – our internal global competition that brings together over 20,000 employees to focus on KPIs like service quality, conversion and customer satisfaction. It builds connection across borders and shows that we’re one team with one mission.
Performance, footprint and the future
Let’s talk about the business. How is Areas performing today and what’s your current footprint?
2024 was a record year in terms of results and sales. We reached €2.2 billion in sales – our best results to date. These numbers reflect the strength of our model: geographic diversification, a balanced mix of channels and above all the commitment of our teams across 11 countries.
More than 130 new locations opened around the world, and today we operate more than 2,000 points-of-sale and serve over 350 million travellers every year. Around 80% of our revenue comes from outside Spain, which shows just how far we’ve come from our origins in Barcelona.
We’ve built a solid foundation, and we’re focused on delivering consistent performance while continuing to innovate and grow responsibly.
This solid foundation is what allows us to grow further, both through strategic consolidation and international expansion. Over the past two years, Areas has secured ten major tenders, which represent an additional €3 billion in revenue over the next eight to ten years.
In Europe, we’re strengthening our presence with key contracts like Madrid-Barajas Airport, IFEMA, Basel-Mulhouse Airport and train stations in Cannes and Dresden. We’ve also expanded through acquisitions, such as the integration of Sighor in France.
In the Americas, we’re accelerating growth with new contracts at major hubs, including Houston Hobby, San Diego, Atlanta, Orlando and Guadalajara in Mexico.
These projects not only reinforce our global footprint but also reflect our ambition to continue leading the travel food & beverage industry. I’m sure we’ll break a new record again this year.
And where is Areas heading next? Can you outline the growth strategy?
Looking ahead we are focused on strategic tenders and new opportunities. Our strategy hasn’t changed: it is to consolidate and accelerate. We want to reinforce our leadership in Europe, especially in key markets where we already have a strong presence. At the same time, we’re accelerating our expansion across the Americas – both North and Latin America – where several tenders are on the horizon.
But we’re particularly ambitious when it comes to the USA. Because of the size of the market, the number of upcoming tenders, and our current market share, this represents the group’s main growth opportunity.
We’re also continuing to diversify by channel: airports, but we also believe in the potential of train stations, motorways and leisure. And always with a focus on sustainability, brand innovation and guest experience.
And when you ask me, how does Areas set itself apart from key competitors in the travel space, I’ll tell you this: we differentiate ourselves by bringing value to our partners and guests through tailored and meaningful hospitality experiences.
In an ever-changing world, where adaptability and resilience are more important than ever, making an impact means agility, expertise and a human touch.
It’s the Areas Spirit, the engine that has powered us since the beginning. It unifies us, guiding us as we make a positive impact on our Team members, partners, travellers and ultimately our planet.
It’s the spirit of endless innovation, the combination of commitment and flexibility needed to meet the demands of an evolving world.
Ultimately it all comes back to the food. Can you tell us about the culinary strategy at Areas, and how you are seeking to create a point of difference here too?
Around half of our portfolio consists of proprietary brands, which gives us the flexibility to drive innovation and showcase the strength of our talented culinary team. We develop tailored product ranges for each concept, adapting them not only to the specific location – since the same brand can perform very differently in two separate terminals – but also to the unique demands of the airport environment. This approach allows us to optimise team productivity, maintain high product quality and elevate the overall customer experience.
We also work closely with chefs to develop and refine our own brands, as well as to adapt franchise concepts to local tastes and expectations. Some of these chefs, like Michelangelo Citino from Areas Italy, have been recognised at the FAB Awards, and we’re proud to have finalists in this year’s edition as well.
These collaborations are central to our culinary DNA and play a key role in delivering distinctive, high-quality food experiences across our network. 
 The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to announce Airport Hospitality World, the latest edition to its wide-ranging, market-leading travel retail and airport non-aeronautical revenues publishing and event portfolio. Airport Hospitality World will cover all forms of airport lounges across international and domestic terminals, including various definitions globally as follows:
Plus other hospitality-related platforms:
Excitingly, the long-established Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference & Awards will embrace Airport Hospitality World from the 2026 edition – the event’s 15th anniversary. The event will take on an extended form, featuring an exhibition and the ultimate one-stop airport hospitality and food & beverage conference and awards platform. |
