Practical strategies for driving ancillary revenue at airports

In our webinar, ‘Reimagining Airport Value: Actionable Tips for Maximising Revenue in an Evolving Market’, we brought together two industry experts to discuss practical, actionable strategies for airport revenue growth. 

Mathilde Burtin-Bell, Head of Commercial Services for Ancillaries & Marketplace at CAVU, and Albert Jan Prevoo, Captain of the FTE World Ancillary & Retailing Working Group, shared insights on everything from pilot testing to partnership models. 

Testing new ideas without breaking the bank 

CAVU: Many airports want to innovate commercially but are concerned about unnecessary risks. What is your process for designing low-risk pilots that test new commercial ideas, and how do you measure whether it is worth scaling? 

Mathilde: “We started covering this in the first webinar, but I break it down into four steps for a low-risk pilot. You can start as small as you want. 

“We often think, ‘What is the biggest thing we could do?’ but begin small. During the design process, define your hypothesis. Is it driven by a commercial goal or a customer need? 

“What problem are you trying to solve, and what commercial goals are you aiming for? For example, one objective might be to reduce the number of touchpoints a customer must go through to buy multiple products, removing friction to make buying easier. 

“Ultimately, we’re trying to address customer challenges. From a commercial perspective, we might aim to increase transaction value. So, consider both sides: what you want to achieve commercially and what problems customers face. 

“If you’re not solving a real pain point, the pilot’s unlikely to work. You should also set clear success metrics up front. Decide what success looks like for the pilot and how you’ll measure it. That measurement will tell you whether the idea is worth scaling.” 

Albert: “Profiling is so important. This applies to car parking as well. We were talking earlier about dynamic pricing. 

“I’ve seen conversations where everything is judged against discounts or a driver rate. As soon as the price moves a certain way, people say ‘it’s too cheap’, but is it really? 

“Great value doesn’t mean everything has to be cheap. That’s a common misconception. Instead of making decisions based on assumptions, let the customer inform your process. 

“With digital transformation, you can see what people engage with, what they ignore, what price points resonate, and what do not. Putting the customer at the centre of that approach is key to unlocking true value. 

“If you have the data, make sure you use it to your advantage.” 

How to build partnerships that work 

CAVU: Success depends heavily on the strength of airport partnerships with commercial partners. If a partnership is one-sided, it can hold success back. What should an airport look for in a partner, and what steps can be taken to make sure the relationship is mutually beneficial? 

Mathilde: “Strategic alignment on passenger experience and commercial goals is extremely important. You need to work together to deliver shared outcomes. 

“When forming a partnership, consider whether the partner has a proven ability to operate and scale in an airport environment and whether they can show relevant success stories. 

“Also consider their willingness to co-invest. Co-investment shows a business commitment to innovation, data and infrastructure. For example, with our booking platform, we have a client board where partners feed in innovation ideas and explain what they see and need. That shows real partnership. 

“Being a partner rather than only a service provider is where you unlock value. Transparency and reporting are essential. Data matters, so agreements on reporting and performance metrics must be clear. 

“Communication and collaboration are critical, and the airport needs to feel it is on a journey with the partner. 

“Finally, cultural fit should not be underestimated. We look at financials and success stories, but we must also ask: do we see ourselves working together? Do we share the same mindset and the same direction? That is very important for long-term success.” 

Albert: “I totally agree. Many airports still use long-term contracts that are effectively transactional. If the relationship is more of a partnership, you need a clear idea of joint benefits. 

“But talking about joint benefits also implies sharing joint risks. I’ve experienced that moving from fixed guaranteed payments to hybrid, performance-based models changes behaviour. 

“Partners become more like co-owners. When we moved to those hybrid forms in retail and brand partnerships, partners were more willing to invest in improving customer experience. 

“If you invest in joint development, you need to understand the outcomes and to share data and insights. That led us to create shared dashboards so both parties had a clear view of customer behaviour. 

“With that understanding we could optimise timing and placement of products and services and plan better campaigns. 

“This collaboration also changed how teams worked. Instead of only reporting quarterly results, we adopted cross-trained teams. 

“When the airport commercial team and retail partners worked together, and the parking team understood lounge operations, they were better able to design bundles. 

“When lounge staff and retail partners understand passenger flow patterns they can also adjust capacity and staffing, creating operational efficiencies and additional benefits. 

“I also like what Mathilde said about setting aside an innovation budget. It moves the relationship beyond current business and provides a foundation for ideation on how we can improve together. 

“Start small, but adopt a hybrid model. It signals that you are both in it together. There are examples of this working well, and I think it is the base for moving beyond purely transactional relationships.” 

Mathilde: “That performance-based model is important for both sides to feel like they are in a win-win relationship. It stops one side from feeling they are taking advantage of the other. 

“The difficulty with some long-term concessions and setups is how you incentivise long-term value creation. Structuring contracts with a mix of a fixed fee and performance-based elements over time tends to work well. 

“It rewards long-term thinking rather than short-term guarantees. Each product team also needs to understand how the other teams operate. That end-to-end flow and collaboration with partners creates interesting opportunities.” 

Albert: “And it’s about not trying to claim customer ownership or dividing the pie. It’s about growing the pie together. 

“Sharing insights and data means, for example, that a retailer who understands who is travelling and why can shift stock and create more relevant propositions. 

“I also think brands are an underused part of this discussion. Brands, especially in food and beverage and retail, deliver the content and messaging that retailers can use to engage customers. Brands can and should be more involved in these partnership conversations.” 

Mathilde: “Absolutely. It depends on the airport. We operate lounges and work with third-party airports, and the level of data sharing varies. 

“Some airports will share passenger forecasts and hourly footfall for the next three months. Others only share retroactive figures, saying, ‘Yesterday you had this many passengers.’ 

“The difference in what is shared and when it is shared is significant. The right data shared at the right time benefits everyone.” 

Technology as the foundation for growth 

CAVU: With the right tools, airports can make faster decisions, personalise experiences and optimise revenue. What should airports consider when they use technology to drive ancillary revenue? 

Albert: “I would summarise this as platform principles for revenue-driven technology. 

“First, a customer-centric architecture. Build around customer lifetime value, not product categories. Your tech should enable cross-selling naturally. 

“For example, if a customer books parking, the system should intelligently suggest relevant add-ons based on the travel profile, rather than a generic upsell. 

“The recommendations should inform, advise or recommend in a way that is relevant to the traveller. 

“Second, API-first integration. Any tech you buy must be able to integrate with current systems and future partners. I’ve seen airports invest heavily in optimising a product, only to find it cannot connect to a parking system or loyalty programme. Make sure your API documentation is clear and procurement is aligned before you make purchases. 

“Third, clear data collection and ownership. Define who owns customer data and what data is collected and agree how insights will be shared. That includes GDPR compliance and ensuring data is safe, secure and stable. Clear data governance upfront makes innovation faster and more feasible. 

“Fourth, revenue attribution transparency. Technology must show which touchpoints drive revenue, even across omnichannel journeys. If your platform cannot prove, for instance, that fast-track security customers spend 34 or 35% more in retail, you cannot optimise the experience. 

“You need a holistic view. And finally, start small and iterate. Don’t buy the most complex suite of solutions up front. 

“For us, the implementation rule is start connected, not complex. If a simple booking platform can connect three services effectively, that will beat a sophisticated app that works in isolation. 

“These are the key rules for a platform designed to drive revenue.” 

Mathilde: “I agree with the API-first point. Many providers still lack an API-first approach. Buying tech that is not future-proof will limit your return on investment. 

“Eventually you hit brick walls in growth. Tech is an enabler, not the solution itself. Integration across multiple products is crucial and ties back to omnichannel performance. 

“The tech must bring together touchpoints: booking, apps, and in-airport services. You need that single place to merge data so you can answer questions such as: if someone buys meet and greet, what is their propensity to buy fast-track? 

“What is their propensity to spend in retail? If you lack a platform that gives visibility, you will have siloed, duplicated passenger profiles: a fast-track passenger, a parking passenger, a lounge passenger, and a retail passenger, without understanding how they connect. 

“That is dangerous. Finally, tech should improve relevance and ease for the passenger, but keep human oversight. 

“Automation where possible is brilliant, but airports have context and people on the ground who add judgement and insight. Ask for a glass box rather than a black box.” 

Albert: “Many airports already sit on untapped potential across systems such as CRM, point of sale and other data sources. 

“These sources can be used to benefit everyone, but only if teams start talking to each other and use the data effectively.” 

Ready to transform your airport’s revenue strategy? 

These insights represent a fraction of the strategies discussed during the webinar. 

From Albert’s platform principles for revenue-driven technology to Mathilde’s partnership evaluation framework, the full conversation gives concrete tools to apply immediately. 

CLICK HERE to watch the complete webinar to discover and gain a breadth of insights to support revenue growth for your airport.