The Group has embarked on a business transformation strategy to reshape the future of travel as a global leading premium airport service provider. PPG’s forward-looking strategy is based on the evolving needs and behaviours of the travel market, during and post-pandemic.
Re-engineer travel demand strategy
Reassess the needs of the industry and direct consumers
A few key areas to support PPG’s travel demand strategy include:
- Reassess PPG’s value proposition: To enhance PPG’s service offering and customer experience journey so as to meet the new demands and expectations of travellers. Reshaping customer experience offerings and products to ensure a comforting, peace-of-mind airport experience in the future is of top priority.
- Expand an end-to-end airport hospitality experience: On top of PPG’s flagship brand Plaza Premium Lounge, we see a rising need to refine the customer offerings and airport journey to connect airport hotel accommodation, wellness services, meet-and-greet services and high standard airport dining concepts. PPG strives to offer the entire ‘curbside-to-gate’ airport passenger services.
- Reshape distribution dynamics through strategic partnerships: Specifically in regards to B2B and B2B2C, the anchor approach is to formulate collaborations to create a more open, more innovative and more commercially favourable trading environment. In the past months, PPG has been working closely with our industry partners who were previously considered competitors. In recent months, several strategic partnerships have been formulated and announced including the global meet-and-greet service aggregator YQ NOW, and Middle East’s leading airport service provider marhaba.
- Level up information and technology driven decision-making: As partnerships with corporate clients have grown beyond being just a “lounge operator”, the need to level up on data and insights driven strategy is clear. Over the last two years, PPG has invested over USD5 million on technology and data management capability and will invest double that in the coming two years.
- Strengthen Direct to Consumer approach: “Open to all travellers” is PPG’s fundamental customer proposition. The Group has maximised Covid-19 downtime to conduct multiple customer surveys and consult with corporate partners to re-look at the Group’s product proposition.
Aggressive growth planning & supply strategy
Addressing the diversified needs of global customers
In the coming years, PPG targets to expand from over 180 lounges to over 500 lounges by 2024/25 through growing both the Plaza Premium Lounge venues and through affiliate lounge networks.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, in the past 12 months PPG has expanded its service to include the following airport and railway stations:
- Plaza Premium Lounge: Sydney, Dallas Fort Worth, Sabiha Goken, Changsha High-speed Railway Station
- ALLWAYS meet-and-greet: Rome Fiumicino, Sabiha Goken
- In addition, approx. 50 locations are expected to be launched over the next 12 months including lounges, hotels, dining concepts and meet-and-greet services (including Americas, Australia, EMEA, Greater China, India and Southeast Asia).
Smart Traveller
Welcome to a new level of loyalty membership
PPG’s global membership programme – Smart Traveller is the key engine to transforming PPG’s end-to-end airport hospitality customer experience, distribution and business modelling. The 360o business transformation consists of multiple components evolving from upstream to downstream and vertical to horizontal aspects through the entire air travel ecosystem.
Strategic positioning of Smart Traveller:
- The first integrated digital solution, both app and web-based, to connect all PPG airport hospitality offerings with the air travel market. Smart Traveller members enjoy rewards, exclusive offers, benefits and service packages.
- The first global loyalty and membership programme built for air travellers and airport users, combining both PPG offerings and extensive non-PPG affiliate network offerings via a point reward system which currently houses over 1,000 specially curated travel and lifestyle products within the Smart Traveller marketplace.
- A data-centric, seamless engagement, marketing and distribution platform that connects consumers with corporate partners including airlines, financial intuitions, corporates, travel brands, retailers, airport merchants and rewards programmes.
- Smart Traveller technology infrastructure is built for B2B, B2B2C and B2C, and boasts profound integration capabilities. It is also connected to Plaza Premium Group’s guest admissions system which enables a more advanced, seamless customer experience.
Being at the forefront of reshaping the future of travel, PPG continues to support the dynamic growth of the industry by taking a lead in forming strategic partnerships across the ecosystem.
Statement from Mr. Song Hoi-see, Founder and CEO at Plaza Premium Group.
