Tampa International (TPA) is laying the groundwork for a complete overhaul of its concessions program as the airport prepares for the 2015 expiration of a master concessionaire lease held by HMSHost Corp.
“We are going to have multiple packages for food and retail, and we’ll have multiple operators here at the airport in the future,” says Bhavesh Patel, TPA’s director of airport concessions.
Local flavor and a sense of place are front and center in the airport’s vision for the new program, Patel says.
“Our goal for the new program is to implement a robust, industry-leading concessions program,” he says. “We want to have an open and transparent process, and we really want to create opportunities for [Airport Concessionaire Disadvantaged Business Enterprise] and local businesses in our airport.”
Patel says the number of concessions packages hasn’t been finalized.
“That’s the last piece before we go out to the market,” he says.
He anticipates the requests for proposals will be released in the third quarter of 2014, with a phased rollout of the new concessions between 2015 and 2017.
Patel says the new concessions program will have a balance of pre- and post-security locations, as well as a mix of concessions types. Concessions spaces will have new infrastructure and utilities, he adds.
TPA is holding a series of outreach events. Patel says that its two Concessions 101 informational and networking events attracted more than 100 attendees, as did the subsequent Concessions 102 event.
“We will continue to do outreach between now and the time the solicitation is on the street,” he says.
