Airport Revenue News soon will begin soliciting nominations for its Best Airport & Concession Awards.
“We have been hard at work evolving the process to elevate the program,” says Ramon Lo, publisher of Airport Revenue News. “The nominating process will begin Aug. 25.”
ARN will distribute an email and launch a website detailing the changes to the awards process, important deadlines, list of categories and more.
In addition, ARN will partner with news and information media company USA TODAY on a series of consumer-voted awards, which will be branded as the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards; voting for these awards will be done exclusively through USA TODAY.
The USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, voted on by the news organization’s readers and the publication’s Road Warrior Panel, a distinguished group of people who travel 100,000 miles or spend 100 nights in a hotel per year, will be promoted on USA TODAY’s 10Best.com website and through email and various social media channels. Additionally, USA TODAY plans to provide promotional materials for use in finalist stores and restaurants to solicit travelers to vote. Voting is slated to commence later this year.
“Airports are important to the traveler’s experience,” says Travis Seward, vice president of 10Best. “We are excited that with the help of ARN, USA TODAY 10Best will be able to provide consumers with recommendations to make the best possible choices when traveling.”
Lo says ARN is honored to partner with USA TODAY.
“Airport dining and retail has evolved greatly over the past two decades to where the line between what is offered on the street and in the terminal is blurred,” he says. “The 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards make for a tremendous complement to the ARN awards. Where we once were an industry whose achievements were recognized solely by our peers, now our awards program will include a celebration of our industry as recognized by the traveling consumer. These are the folks who dine and shop in these wonderful environments.”
All winners will be revealed during the ARN Awards Banquet on the final night of the ARN 2016 Revenue Conference & Exhibition, which is March 6-9 at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas. Award recipients will be covered in ARN’s April issue, and USA TODAY also will provide coverage in a subsequent edition. Going into their 14th year, the ARN Best Airport & Concession Awards have recognized and celebrated the work of airports, concession operators and brands.