USA. Welcome to our rolling coverage of the 2024 Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference and Awards, held this year in Ontario, California.
The conference, being staged at the Ontario Convention Center on 25/26 June, features a stellar line-up of speakers from the airport F&B and hospitality world. View the line-up on our dedicated event website here.
The event will culminate with a glittering Gala Dinner at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel on 26 June, generously hosted by Ontario International Airport. Here, the winners of the much-anticipated FAB + Hospitality Awards, for which we received nearly 300 high-quality entries, will be revealed.
Below, we feature extensive live coverage of the conference, awards and social events in words and images.
DAY TWO
19:00 Gala Dinner: FAB Awards winners revealed
Qatar Duty Free at Hamad International Airport captured the ultimate Airport Food & Beverage Offer of the Year accolade, retaining its title at the Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Awards at Sheraton Fairplex Hotel in Ontario last night.
That was one of nearly 300 highly competitive entries received for the award categories this year, all of which recognise excellence across the travel F&B and hospitality sector.
The winners were revealed during a hugely memorable Gala Dinner courtesy of hosts Ontario International Airport, an event preceded by a Welcome Reception courtesy of Avolta (and HMSHost by Avolta).
View the full list of FAB winners in our story here.
16:00 FAB Superstars Awards winners revealed
An established highlight of the FAB conference brought proceedings at the Ontario Convention Centre to an uplifting conclusion. The winners of the popular FAB Superstars Awards were revealed by Martin Moodie, recognising often unsung individuals and teams from around the world of travel food & beverage.
The overall winner was Brodie Leslie, a Bartender and Coffee Barista who works for Emirates Leisure Retail at Launceston Airport.
Read Brodie’s inspiring story and the full list of winners here.
15:15 Retaining and developing the airport F&B workforce
The key subject of people in the airport F&B industry closed the conference sessions, with excellent contributions from SSP America Vice President, People Sherree Coker (below left) and Avolta North America Chief People and Culture Officer Laura FitzRandolph (centre).
In a wide-ranging discussion with Martin Moodie, they highlighted the high costs of shedding employees and strategies to retain and develop staff. They also underlined the key role played by leadership, and the value of Gallup employee surveys which are deployed by both SSP and Avolta, in employee retention.
14:30 Ground-breaking airport F&B research
The Moodie Davitt Report Travel Retail Research Director Jess Allerton and tRetail Labs Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder Sossina Shenkute delivered original insights from the ground-breaking series of Airport Food & Beverage Market Intelligence Reports, which reveal never before seen levels of industry data.
The size of the global F&B market in 2023 is estimated by the researchers to be worth between US$39 billion and US$45 billion.
The reports cover seven regions, with the third of the reports on Europe released today to coincide with the FAB conference. Each report gives first-ever market-size estimation of the various dining categories and formats that make up the airport F&B business, including restaurants, bars, cafés, fast-food outlets and more.
The report goes into further detail on average spend by category and the airports leading individual markets.
Also explored are the cuisines on offer within each category as well as the most-prevalent brands. This insight is all brought to life by overlaying the traveller view, identifying sentiment about their preferred options, and actual experience in each dining category.
To get your copies of the reports, please email jessica@moodiedavittreport.com.
1:45 Customer experience perspectives
A superb session moderated by Martin Moodie featured Travel Food Services Chief Operating Officer Gaurav Dewan; Delaware North Senior Director, Brands and Concepts Liz Grzechowiak; Airport Dimensions Vice President of Global Business Development Chris Gwilliam; and London Luton Airport Head of Retail & Surface Access Mark Jennings.
Each delivered excellent presentations on their companies’ work in airports, together with travel experience insights.
More follows.
12:45 Lunch sponsored by Qatar Duty Free
12:15 Case study: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s F&B sustainability
11:30 Panel: Enhancing the customer hospitality journey
Chief Ontario International Airport CEO Atif Elkadi, DreamFolks Services Chairperson & Managing Director Liberatha Kallat and Plaza Premium Group Director of Global Brands and Transformation Mei Mei Song gave engaging presentations of their respective approaches to hospitality.
They then joined Martin Moodie for a discussion about enhancing the role of hospitality in the customer journey. Martin remarked on how the staff of Ontario Airport had been a pleasure to deal with in every encounter he’d had with them and asked Elkadi for the secret of such courteous people.
Elkadi replied: “As an organisation it’s a passion for what we can do for our community, how we represent Ontario. I believe in hiring staff that are smarter than you, and then I just push them [to do well]. We have barely scratched the surface of what we can achieve as an airport. A lot more is going to get done.”
Song talked of Plaza Premium’s mission of ‘making travel better’. She said: “There is so much we can achieve if we push boundaries. We have opportunities to raise the bar in hospitality, push things to the limit. So many things are possible in the airport.”
Kallat was asked about issues around crowding at Indian airports and how that impacts customer experience. She pointed to the example of Bangalore International Airport, and what it is doing on the hospitality front, particularly in regard to lounges.
She commented: “We don’t want lounges to just offer food and a comfortable chair to sit in. It has to be more than that – passengers want a wider range of services. Travellers are looking for choice; they want different options. Bangalore Airport has shown what can be achieved; it’s a great case study of how we can take it forward.”
11:15 Coffee and networking break
10:45 Interview: Mark Schwartz, Palladin Consumer Retail Partners
Palladin Consumer Retail Partners CEO Mark Schwartz is involved in acquiring and actively managing corporations in the consumer products sector. He has taken on various roles in the companies in which he has invested or advised, including CEO, Chairman and active board member.
Schwartz spoke to Dermot Davitt about the challenges facing the airport concessions sector. Addressing investment in the airport F&B segment, he gave this reason for its attraction to investors: “It services a need. The question is, can you service that need in the right way at the right price point? If you get the fundamentals correct, there is no reason why you can’t provide products and services to a consumer successfully.”
He added: “With the analytics behind it, is much more predictable than other businesses.”
10:15 Interview: Tom Fricke, OTG
A fine interview between OTG Chairman Tom Fricke and Martin Moodie just took place on stage, as Fricke reflected on his return to the airport F&B industry after a ten-year hiatus.
He said: “The recovery from COVID has been terrific. I do worry that costs have escalated and the P&L is a lot harder now than it was when I was in the industry with HMSHost but the industry has really moved on from where it was.”
OTG was acquired earlier this year by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners, and Fricke describes the buyers as “great investors that are taking a long-term view”.
Fricke, who was instrumental in the appointment of OTG CEO Jeff Yablun earlier this year, said: “Jeff and I are getting a handle on how we elevate the guest experience so we can focus on expansion. When we get that right the expansion opportunities are going to be terrific.
“We believe we can be industry disruptors while still delivering a valuable guest experience.”
Fricke also spoke of the importance of communicating value to airport passengers, something he sees as sometimes lacking in the airport F&B industry. He commented: “Our guest is captive to the terminal or the airport; they are not captive to the F&B experience.
“You have to be constantly talking to the customer about your offer and communicate the value of the proposition on your guest. I’m very passionate about that.”
Concluding, he said: “It’s a great time to be in this industry. There are challenges ahead but this is a very exciting time.”
9:45 Converting passengers into F&B spenders
Pragma Consulting Chief Executive Officer Alex Avery (pictured below chatting with Dermot Davitt) gave an insight-filled presentation around the theme of converting passenger appetites into spend. The strategies he highlighted for airport F&B venues included communications prior to arrival, clarity of concept, driving interests across all times of the day, configuring the store to encourage easy conversion and elevating simple products into experiences.
9:00 Case study: Bob Marley’s One Love, Sangster International Airport
18:30 Drones light up the sky at an extraordinary FAB Welcome Cocktail evening
Preliminary images below are from tonight’s superb FAB welcome evening at Topgolf Ontario, sponsored by SSP.
The event featured an amazing FAB-themed drone show, courtesy of Ontario International Airport.
16:30 Panel: New consumer trends
16:15 Coffee break sponsored by Fever Tree
15:05 Panel: New dimensions in airport dining
14:35 Raising customer-centricity
The audience were treated to presentations on the F&B and hospitality offers from two airports with commercial offers described as “outstanding and astounding” by Martin Moodie.
Qatar Duty Free [Hamad International Airport] Vice President, F&B Grant Fleming and Bangalore International Airport Vice President Commercial Development Pravat Paikray each gave a snapshot of their respective airports’ stunning F&B venues and lounges.
14:15 Interview: Elena Sorlini, Abu Dhabi Airports
13:45 Interview: David Mackay, Avolta
13:00 Networking lunch sponsored by OTG
12:00 Challenging the concessions status quo
This was a terrific session moderated by Dermot Davitt and Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA) Executive Director Andrew Weddig. Centring on the cost of doing business in airports, it featured two concessionaire perspectives from Paradies Lagardère Executive Vice President David Bisset and Greg Plummer, Chief Executive Officer of Enjoy Repeat, Concord Collective and Fly With Breeze; and an airport view from San Diego International Airport Director, Revenue Generation & Partnership Development, Deanna Zachrisson.
More follows.
11:30 Global foodservice market perspectives
Paradies Lagardère CEO Gregg Paradies has revealed a new partnership with Plaza Premium Group to “elevate the lounge experience in US airports”. It involves the Vino Volo wine/bar restaurant concept, which the retailer acquired in 2018.
Breaking the news during The Moodie Davitt Report’s Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality conference today, Paradies said: “We have some exciting news to break here. Vino Volo, our ‘wine bar oasis’ will be involved in a collaboration with Plaza Premium, which operates 250 lounges across the world.”
Paradies referenced Plaza Premium Group’s Director of Global Brands and Transformation Mei Mei Song, also a speaker at FAB this year, describing her as “a young, brilliant leader”.
He added: “We are very excited about this opportunity to grow the lounge experience in US airports.”
Lagardère Travel Retail Executive Vice President Foodservice Global Mélanie Guilldou, who appeared on stage with Paradies, hinted that the collaboration will eventually extend beyond US airports to the retailer’s wider airport estate.
More will follow on the details of the partnership.
10:15 Panel: Diversity and inclusion
9:40 CEO interview – Michael Svagdis, SSP America
A great keynote interview took place on stage between SSP America CEO Michael Svagdis and Martin Moodie in which Svagdis gave some candid insights into his approach as a CEO.
Svagdis, who revealed he makes a full week of unannounced airport site visits every month, gave his view on what underpins the restaurateur’s success. He said: “Great-quality food as fast as we can get it out.”
Quality of food was a recurring theme during the interview, with Svagdis underlining the lead role executive chefs should play in decision-making and leadership at the company. “And our regional chefs must be in the kitchen as often as possible, that is the key to delivering an incredible food offer.
“Great food does not have to be complicated,” he added, referencing the logistical constraints of running airport restaurants and this rising importance of central airport kitchens. “Better to make 20 things amazingly than 40 things OK.”
Asked for what he has on his wish list for the industry, Svagdis said: “I would love to see the industry carbon neutral but we need to make sure it is done in a cost-effective way.”
9:10 Opportunities at Ontario International Airport
Ontario International Airport Chief Executive Officer Atif Elkadi and Chief Revenue Management Officer Elisa Grey joined Martin Moodie on stage to give uplifting presentations on the spectacular progress of our host airport for the conference. The airport is the fastest growing in the USA for the last five consecutive years according to Business Traveller magazine.
Presenting to the audience, Elkadi said: “Thank you for choosing ONT to be your host, we really appreciate it, great to see so many here. I must give a big shout out to our staff, who have helped deliver this conference. I am blessed and lucky to work with these people in Southern California.”
Elkadi discussed the “tremendous growth” at the airport, noting that international traffic has doubled over the last 12 months. He also paid tribute to concessionaires at the travel hub for their spirit of partnership, including SSP and 3Sixty Duty Free.
Presenting a bright picture of the current aviation market in the USA, Elkadi underlined the importance of continuing investment across US airports to keep up with infrastructure demands.
Grey gave a compelling presentation on the growth and importance of non-aeronautical revenues at Ontario Airport, highlighting a shift in the balance of contributions compared with aeronautical revenues.
Non-aeronautical revenues now hold the lion’s share of income, and Grey underlined some of the strategies which have helped to achieve that. They include investment in branding and marketing and optimising passenger usage of the airport.
9:00 Conference kicks off
The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie and President Dermot Davitt kicked off the 2024 Airport Food & Beverage + Hospitality Conference & Awards proceedings this morning, welcoming guests to Ontario for the event.
Moodie gave thanks to Ontario International Airport for supporting the conference. He said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be here in Ontario as we bring this event to the US for the second time after a memorable FAB 2019 in Dallas.”
He added: “This event builds on our rich history at FAB; some of you have been to every edition since our first one in Manchester in 2011, to our most recent edition in 2023 in Bangkok after a COVID-related four-year pause.
“And reference to that hiatus brings me to an important thanks. In July 2022, I had the pleasure of having lunch with Ontario International Airport CEO Atif Elkadi in London. The industry wasn’t in great shape then, airports worldwide were still struggling to emerge from the most severe and sustained crisis in sector history.
“Yet our conversation was all about imagination and investment and the great plans, great days that lay ahead at Ontario International. And that day, the seeds were sewn to reflect that imagination, investment, willingness to try new things, desire to say we are an airport to be reckoned with, seeds that would germinate, sprout and grow into FAB 2024.”
Davitt said: “We’re delighted to welcome guests from around the world to sunny Southern California, where over the next two days we’ll talk about the many great things we are seeing across travel dining and hospitality; we’ll look too at some of the challenges and we’ll ask how the future looks for this fast-evolving sector.
“A very big thank you too to all our sponsors who have returned this year to support us and to help develop FAB’s status as the world’s key airport food & beverage gathering.
“So, a FAB-ulous welcome to you all and we promise you a compelling two days of debate, education, engagement and networking, with of course plenty of good food and wine to keep things moving along nicely.”
8.30 Networking and the FAB exhibition
