TPA Concessions team wins top national honors at 2021 ACI-NA Airport Concessions Awards

Director of Concessions Kate Webb and the entire Concessions team were recognized for their innovation and dedication during a challenging year of re-opening and reimagining shops, restaurants and services.

It’s well known around TPA but Airports Council International just made it official: Tampa International Airport has one of the most talented and innovative Airport Concessions team in North America.

TPA Director of Concessions Kate Webb was honored by ACI-NA this week with the prestigious Large Hub Heroes Award, given each year to an employee who has had a positive impact on peers, concessions partners and the overall airport program. Over the challenging past year and a half while responding to the impacts of COVID, Kate helped shepherd one of the strongest concessions re-openings of any airport in the country. She also championed programs such as a COVID-19 Wi-Fi survey, the TPA to Go mobile ordering and delivery service, numerous hiring day efforts to restore staffing in TPA’s shops and restaurants and a concessions employee recognition program called I AM TPA.

That recognition program also won top honors for Best Employee Recognition Program by an airport. I AM TPA was launched by TPA’s Concessions team to applaud, recognize and encourage concessions employees who showcase Tampa International Airport’s service values and exceed customer expectations. Concessionaire General Managers and Concessions leaders nominate frontline and back-of-house employees based on customer feedback and direct observations through an online nomination platform, then those employees are awarded with certificates, gift cards, lapel pins, digital signage recognition and other tokens of appreciation.

“While others stayed home for months, these employees showed up to work every day and smiled underneath their masks so that the passengers who travelled felt at ease,” the Concessions team said in its award submission. “We know that frontline employees who feel valued and appreciated represent TPA to the public in the manner our guests expect.”

Kate and the Concessions team were named at Monday’s virtual ACI-NA Airport Concessions Awards, followed by accolades from TPA leaders.

“All of us are so proud of the incredible work our team does every day to care for our travelers and provide the best customer experience in the industry,” said Chris Minner, TPA Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications, who also oversees Concessions.

The Concessions team also recently won a Creative Loafing Best of the Bay Award for the TPA to Go program, which the publication praised for being an ingenious post-COVID era innovation.

For more on the ACI-NA Airport Concessions Awards, go to https://airportscouncil.org/press_release/airports-council-announces-winners-of-2021-airport-concessions-awards/.