The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors last week named MarketPlace Development to lease, market and manage the food and beverage and retail concessions at both Washington Dulles International (IAD) and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA).
MWAA revenue development manager Kathleen Verret says final contracts are being executed, with the goal of a changeover to the new program on January 1. “We’re going to meet with MarketPlace to find out what transition period they need,” she added.
MarketPlace will replace Westfield Concession Management. This is the second attempt by MarketPlace to unseat Westfield at MWAA. An earlier RFP process also resulted in MarketPlace being named the winner, but Westfield protested and retained the management of the concessions while a second round of bidding took place earlier this year.
Verret declined to name other bidders in the process, although public documents state that three proposals were received and evaluated by a five-member evaluation committee. The document says MarketPlace Development ranked first in all three assessment categories: financial offer, development and implementation plan, and property management. The contract term is five years with two two-year options for renewal.
Verret says MarketPlace will be expected to “add freshness to the program,” but she declined to discuss any specifics about its bid until final contracts are signed.
The request for proposals asked for a balanced mix of food and retail concessions. “The passengers at the airports must be provided quality, street-priced food service with trained and courteous service personnel in restaurants offering a wide variety of food service items, including national and local brands, sit-down restaurants, quick-service restaurants, fast food, snack food, and bars,” the RFP said. “Passengers shall also be provided with a good mix of quality retail shops, including, but not limited to newsstands and convenience shops, shops selling local or locally-themed merchandise, and regional and national-branded concepts.”
