Doing its part to get the world travelling safely once more and respond to evolving traveller needs, Collinson is launching the pilot of its new ‘Ready 2 Order’digital food and beverage (F&B)solution. Two of The Grand Lounge Elite airport lounges in Mexico City now live and a third lounge to follow soon, Ready 2 Order will see further pilot launches in October in India, USA, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Japan and the UK, and will be available to all lounge access programmes including Priority Pass.
Ready 2 Order will bring back the pleasure of enjoying complimentary F&B service at the airport lounge, as COVID-19 has led the majority of lounges to limit or remove self-serve buffets. With Ready 2 Order, lounge visitors can scan a QR code or tap an NFC-enabled device on signage at each table or seat within the lounge, to see a lounge-specific menu and make their selection. The order will be delivered directly to the table, or collected at an assigned pick-up point, depending on the individual lounge.
Ready 2 Order launches in collaboration with Collinson’s strategic partner Grab, the airport e-commerce platform and largest marketplace for contactless order and pay at airport restaurants.
Andy Besant, Director of Travel Experiences at Collinson, said: “We’re dedicated to getting the world safely travelling again. When travellers know they can access a safe, premium, contactless experience inside the airport lounge, they will feel more confident about the journey and be more likely to return to travel as routes open up. Indeed, frequent travellers are eager to get back to doing the thing they love, so it’s up to industry leaders to deliver new, innovative solutions that re-imagine the new normal and champion the safe and effective travel recovery.”
A recent survey from Collinson’s Priority Pass of 22,000 global travellers found that nearly 3 in 4 frequent flyers (71%) are ready to return to travel either immediately or within the next 3-6 months. The survey also found that almost 7 in 10 travellers are willing to pay for access to an airport lounge where social distancing is maintained, and the majority of travellers (57%) plan to use their airport lounge access more than they did before the coronavirus outbreak. 80% of travellers would like to see contactless services across the journey the next time they travel.
Along with elevating the safe and premium airport journey for travellers, Ready 2 Order offers additional benefits like reducing food waste and supporting social distancing, by removing the necessity of a dedicated buffet area to increase seating areas. A turn-key, end-to-end digital solution, Ready 2 Order enables airport lounges to add and manage their own menus and provide a great experience to travellers.
Rodolfo Salgado Leyva, CEO at The Grand Lounge Elite, said, “The unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have refocussed and strengthened our commitment to continue to provide our lounge visitors a comfortable, safe, first-class experience. Ready 2 Order represents an opportunity for us to innovate and leverage cutting-edge technologies to do things even better than before; so visitors can enjoy our delicious selection of complimentary food and beverages in a more self-managed, digital, contactless way. We’re proud to support Collinson and Grab to test-run this exciting solution in our award-winning lounges at one of the most important airports in Latin America.”
As Ready 2 Order is rolled out to more Priority Pass lounges in the coming months, they’ll be listed here; while on the individual lounge listing, those offering Ready 2 Order will display the icon.
