“If I Knew Then …”

​A Conversation with Meghan Woods
Director, Business Development
Paradies Lagardère

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Meghan Woods admits her experience at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport was “kind of in a bubble.” But the holistic approach to airport management she learned there informs her insights to the airport-concessionaire business relationship. It’s an understanding of the overall airport messaging with a view to communication, assistance, and working collaboratively together. It’s the sense of partnership that grew in the pandemic and continues today.

​Meghan adds a twist to the usual understanding of the current post-pandemic crunch of RFPs on the street. Rather than a pent-up need to issue RFPs that were put on hold, she suggests airports are modernizing their facilities to remain innovative and creative. She observes Covid gave both airports and concessionaires a chance to step back and look at what we were asking for. What we thought may have been a good solution, may not be the best given shifts in travel patterns: “now that our airport is changing, the demographic is changing, the needs of the customers is changing, should we also be a little bit more flexible in how we’re developing our programs?”
 
Here are three key takeaways from our conversation with Meghan that everyone in our industry – concessionaires and airports – will appreciate:

1. Knowing what we know now, it’s important to update contract language to be a little bit more creative and flexible, including parameters that are not just protective of the airport, but also of the concessionaire (and their ACDBE partners).
2. Flexibility in concession agreements and operations is becoming increasingly important to allow changes over time as airport passenger demographics and needs evolve. This includes potential changes to concepts or offerings within a lease term if initial offerings underperform. 
3. She urges airports to learn the margins of the business. Concessionaires need to better understand airport governance. And each side needs to set clear expectations.

 
These are just three takeaways. Meghan offered many more insights regarding partnership, governance, and learning the margins. We invite you to watch, listen to, or read our interesting and informative conversation at the following links:

Watch the Video

Listen to Audio

Read a Transcript

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​MEET OUR GUEST

Meghan Woods
Director, Business Development
Paradies Lagardère

​Meghan Woods is an accredited airport executive living her life one sky mile at a time. She currently serves as a Business Development Director for Paradies Lagardère where she is responsible for expanding the company into new territories and retaining existing relationships. Formerly the properties manager of the Savannah-Hilton International Airport, Meghan has had the unique experience of working on both sides of the airport world. Meghan’s more than a decade of experience in the industry has made her an expert on risk management, contracts and leases, executive affairs, and ultimately, becoming the go-to person to transform an airport layover into an exciting terminal where travelers can eat amazing cuisine and experience local culture. Meghan received her B.A., from Clark Atlanta University, and two masters’ degrees from Savannah State University.