Plaza Premium Group announces the creation of strategic structure in the Americas

Announcement of structural remodeling that connects Brazil to the company's new regional headquarters in Dallas, Texas, is made today, 3/14, in São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil: March 14th, 2023 – About a year after confirming its expansion plan with Brazil as a development platform in the Latin American region, the Plaza Premium Group presents a structural management remodeling that connects the country to the Americas in an even more effective way.

The announcement was made this morning, in São Paulo, by Pascal Bélanger, Senior VP Americas. The executive informs that the new structure is based in the United States, with a regional headquarters in Dallas, Texas, from where it will lead the strategic management of the Americas. Among others, the change was implemented with the aim of ensuring greater speed in decision-making, promoting cultural and organizational integration between countries in the region and the integrated management of commercial opportunities.

The structural change also follows the business transformation fo Plaza Premium Group to a 360 airport hospitality company, providing seamless experience from lounge, airport services, hotels and dining concepts.

The global structural change has been developing since 2021, as Plaza Premium Group is urdergoing a global business transformation to become an international airport hospitality company and we are started seeing the recovery progressively in different regions. We also have developed reformed regional structure for our key regions like EMEA, North Asia, Southeast Asia and Ocenia.

“In this scenario, Brazil will continue to play a fundamental role in the development of new businesses and in the company's expansion process in Latin America, given the relevance of the market and its high potential for organic growth. In the post-pandemic recovery, Rio de Janeiro – Rio Galeão GIG, is the top recovery location for all Plaza Premium operations globally.”

Among the strategies announced in 2022 and which follow in the wake of the news brought today are business expansions through strategic partnerships and digital transformation to expand, globally, world-class end-to-end hospitality services. Worldwide, the goal is to expand consistently the presence in the busiest and most relevant airports in the world, including those of its own brand – the Plaza Premium Lounge – or strategic B2B partners.

“We are constantly evaluating and monitoring the market, looking for innovative and pioneering ways to stay ahead, remaining competitive and leaders in the global airport hospitality market. And we understand that this is the time for the Americas”, reinforces Bélanger.

Brazil is positioned among the five largest markets in the world for PPG

The strategy developed for Brazil over the last few years has proven to be assertive and with more speed since the opening of two proprietary lounges at GRU Airport – the Plaza Premium Lounge on the air and land sides, which were inaugurated at the end of 2021.

In less than two years, sales volume tripled, partly driven by the resumption of tourism and, partly, by operational consolidation in the country with the opening of lounges, in addition to investments in partnerships with the national tourist trade. As a result, the Brazilian market reached, at the end of 2022, the fifth position among the company's main markets in terms of revenue and volume of passengers served. “Brazil will continue to be a platform for the development of new businesses in Latin America, focusing on expanding the company's capillarity and presence in the region, through organic growth and also strategic partnerships”, emphasizes Alex Cortilio, Regional Director of Business Development by Plaza Premium Group for Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the executives, despite the scenarios and prospects for the tourism and hospitality sector worldwide, the opportunities for growth in the coming years are particularly evident in Europe and the Americas.

In the first quarter of 2023 we see a 80% recovery to pre-pandemic numbers in most of the key regions, we are confident that 2023 will be a great year of stronger business growth, surpassing 2019. This scenario reflects the recovery of the global tourism market and the expansion of new businesses and the opening of new PPG lounges around the world. Also noteworthy was the growth of the other hospitality businesses of the PPG group, with emphasis on the meet & greet service Allways and Aerotel.
In addition to Brazil, Plaza Premium Group's expansion in Latin America includes markets such as Argentina, Colombia, Mexico among others.
With this, the expectation is that the Latin American region will be increasingly consolidated and representative in the distribution of the Plaza Premium Group's businesses around the world.

About Plaza Premium Group

With the mission to “Make Travel Better”, Plaza Premium Group is a leader and pioneer in innovation in airport hospitality services and facilities in more than 250 locations and in more than 70 international airports around the world. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Hong Kong, the group has four main business segments – Plaza Premium First and Plaza Premium Lounge airport lounges; hotels in airport terminals under the Aerotel brand; the ALLWAYS meet & greet service; and a series of concepts in airport gastronomy. Plaza Premium Group has also developed Smart Traveler, a global airport loyalty program based on an application designed for airline passengers, offering the experience of obtaining specially selected advantages, benefits and rewards through the accumulation and redemption of points. In addition to its own brands, Plaza Premium Group provides airport hospitality solutions to airlines, alliances and corporations around the world including, Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Star Alliance, SkyTeam, American Express, Capital One and many others.

Plaza Premium Group has won more than 60 awards over the past five years, including “Best Independent Airport Lounge in the World” four years in a row from 2016 to 2021 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, the global benchmark for aviation excellence, and “Best Operator Airport Lounge” in 2018 and 2019 by TTG Asia magazine. In 2020, the group received ISO 9001:2015 certification from its headquarters in Hong Kong, proving the quality of management in offering lounge services at airports. In addition, group founder and CEO Song Hoi-see was named Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year and 2018 Master Entrepreneur of the Year in Malaysia. Currently, Plaza Premium Group employs more than 5,000 people and serves more than 20 million passengers annually. By continually innovating and striving to exceed travelers' expectations of airport experiences, the group is growing exponentially at the world's leading international airports. For more information: www.plazapremiumgroup.com. Connect with us: Linkedin @plazapremiumgroup, Twitter @PPG_worldleader and WeChat @PlazaPremiumGroup