Airport Experience® News - Conference 2023

there was a three-to-four-month timeline for companies to complete construction. But when one of the companies started planning it out, it was going to take four to six months to get the crane necessary to place the rooftop. “That’s the kind of thing that is going to be disruptive and that’s what’s working its way through now,” he says. That’s significant for all operators, but particularly for smaller ones going against larger players. Greg Plummer, CEO of Concord Collective , opened eight restaurants last year at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) . Some of those were being redeveloped following its acquisition of contracts from SSP America. He was hearing from construction companies that costs were up as much as 60% due to inf lation and a lack of necessary labor. “One thing we consistently see is the cost of construction going up here,” he says. “But we also see things are really delayed as a result of you only have so many people and the bandwidth to be able to accommodate you is not always there.”

Labor Still Laborious Overall, Lopez from Areas agrees with others. Sales are up. Traffic numbers have been good, although inflation has raised concerns that could fall off at some point. “We have the travelers, we have the sales, we are focusing more on how can we save,” she says. One area where that isn’t possible right now is on wages, Lopez says, adding that those costs have increased by around 40% compared with a few years ago. Coupled with pricing caps at many airports, labor costs make for a big challenge. “We cannot increase our prices like the street restaurants can do at any time,” she says. Labor costs are a significant – but also legitimate – issue for companies operating at LAX, especially given the high price of living, adds Plummer. He’s trying to create a culture focused on retention through providing opportunities for advancement and making people proud to work for his company, which operates 13 locations. He’s competing with many large prime operators with more resources.

Above: Paradies Lagardère dealt with supply chain challenges by better anticipating its needs earlier, adjusting the timing and size of inventories and shifting sourcing from import to domestic where possible.

“We want to put our best foot forward so that we can take advantage of whatever the situation is,” Plummer says. “If we have more passengers, great. But if we have the same level of passengers, we still need to do our job. And that’s what I’m trying to get our team wrapped around.” Labor costs and, specifically, the recruitment of new workers pushed Marshall Retail Group/InMotion to add staff dedicated solely to recruiting, McOwan says. Hiring has levelized, he says, at least in that companies aren’t having to pay candidates solely to come interview. And a recession could drive more people into the available workforce, he adds. The new team of recruitment staff are looking at finding places in new ways, such as through social media channels. Realizing the changes in the market, MRG is trying

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