b'48 CVGCONCESSIONSCincinnati Intl and Its New Concessionaires Savor Alternate Bidding Process BY NICOLE NELSONNot long ago, two commercialHis cohort, director of management executives at Cincinnati/ Commercial Management Northern Kentucky InternationalCarlos Ruiz, was similarly Airport (CVG) had an epiphany as they rifledquestioning the status through a collection of old Request for Proposalquo. (RFP) books that were gathering dust in their offices. Surrounded by stacks of artfullyOut With the Olddesigned 300-page tomes, they were struckRuiz and HegedusCARLOS RUIZby the costly exercises the books represented.identified the thick,They also theorized that issuing anotherhard-bound RFP books as some of the first traditional RFP would likely countermand thefat to be trimmed.goal of luring quality bidders for open spots inWhile that information was useful, we the airport concessions program. questioned did we really need it to be able To set the stage, the entire industry wasto award concessions? And what kind of beginning to recover from the COVID-19financial commitment were these bidders FACTS&FIGURESpandemic at the time, and the associatedgoing through to put the proposals together? Project: Selecting New Concessionairesturmoil was causing leaders at CVG andAnd who were we not able to get proposals Location: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl Airport elsewhere to reflectand, frankly, providingfrom because of the expense of going Airport Authority: CVG Airport Authority time to do so.through that whole RFP process? Hegedus Strategy: Switch from Request for Proposals processFor a number of years,recalls asking. So that is what started the to Request for Qualifications nobody had RFPs out onwhole thing.Objectives: Streamline process; strengthen the street and nobodyThe whole thing he references is CVGs & diversify food/beverage options was willing to commitopenness to change, demonstrated by the Bid Opening: Aug. 2023 to capital because of alluse of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) Bid Deadline: Oct. 2023 the uncertainty, recallstender process when appropriate, alongside Paul Hegedus, vicea traditional RFP. The new approach focuses Bids Received: 10 president of CommercialPAUL HEGEDUS on assessing the general qualifications of Winning Bidders: SSP America; TailwindManagement at CVG.interested entities as opposed to asking Hospitality None of us knew where we would end up, sothem to submit proposals for a specific Key Benefits: More bids received; more dialogwe started to brainstorm about how to simplifypredetermined scope of services.& collaboration between airport & prospectivethis process.concessionairesJanuary | February 2025AirportImprovement.com'