Plaza Premium Group Filled a Gap in the Market, and it Keeps on Growing

Nearly three decades ago, Song Hoi See asked the question: “Why are airport lounges only for first class and business class travellers?”

In his career as an investment banker in Hong Kong, the Malaysian-born Song enjoyed airport lounge privileges. But when he started his own business, they disappeared.

Song answered his own question in 1998, when he opened the world’s first independent airport lounges.

The first Plaza Premium lounges – in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur – were open to all travellers willing to pay, regardless of airline or travel class.

Song had done that rare thing – identified a gap in the market – and Plaza Premium Group (PPG) has spent the past 27 years filling it.

Today, PPG has operations in more than 60 countries and in 600 international and domestic airports. It serves 24 million passengers annually. And it’s not just lounges. 

The company operates 11 airport hotels, branded as ‘Aerotels,’ in various major cities around the world. It also offers a range of food and beverage services and delivers concierge-style services ranging from assisting unaccompanied minors to speeding people through sometimes challenging airport processes. Other aspects of the business include everything from limousines to luggage wrapping.

Song Hoi See’s daughter Mei Mei Song, PPG’s Chief Transformation Officer, told Travel Market Report Canada that changing the airport experience from “painful to pleasurable” is a key part of the company’s mission.

Mei Mei has been with the company for 12 years now, but in reality, her father’s work has been omnipresent throughout her life. “It’s a family business. Airports were our playground.”

Airport lounges date back to the 1930s, but were reserved for what airlines called ‘CIPs’ – Commercially Important Passengers. Sixty years later, as Song tried to sell his concept, airports were still convinced that lounge services were only for a select few.

Canada is a significant market for Plaza Premium Group. After Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, Canada was the next market to embrace Song’s concept, with the first Plaza Premium lounge here opening at YVR 21 years ago.

Today, there are 18 lounges in Canada, at five of the eight largest airports in the country. 

Pascal Belanger is Senior Vice President Americas for PPG. He worked at airports in Quebec and Manitoba before joining the company. 

“There’s been quite the revolution in travel,” Belanger said in a presentation to media and influencers at Toronto’s Anndore House hotel. “People are looking for a different airport experience, a better experience.”

Belanger said the pandemic that froze travel for up to two years has sped up that trend. “Things that were once very exclusive are now much more in demand. And that plays really well for what we do.”

In terms of Canadian expansion, Belanger said the other three of the top eight airports where Plaza Premium doesn’t have locations are a priority – that’s Calgary, Ottawa and Halifax.

There also opportunity in smaller Canadian airports serving 2-4 million passengers annually, Belanger said. And there’s still room for growth with existing customers too – PPG just opened a high-end Plaza Premium First lounge at YVR, the first of its kind in North America. It promises an “elevated” lounge experience, focused on fine dining and drinks, premium shower suites and relaxation areas.

“Ten years ago, free WiFi and plug-ins for charging were big attractions,” Belanger said. “Now they’re a given. And it’s not just free food anymore. It’s the quality of the experience.”

Mei Mei Song is proud of the products created by her father, and by what she and others at PPG are doing to take things to the next level.

“We created a category that didn’t exist. We want to be your destination before departure. Why can’t the airport experience be an enjoyable part of the trip.”