Plaza Premium Group: Making the customer’s journey better

If you’ve only ever considered an airport as a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else, you might want to have a chat with Mei Mei Song and Pascal Belanger of Plaza Premium Group.

Song, Plaza Premium Group’s Chief Transformation Officer and Belanger, the company’s Senior Vice President Americas, were in Toronto yesterday (June 11) meeting with a select group of travel trade types to talk about how Plaza Premium Group’s lounges have been transforming the airport experience by providing travellers with the comfort, personalization and meaningful experiences that they’re seeking.

And that all started with company founder, Song Hoi See and his vision of creating independent airport lounges and providing seamless connectivity and comprehensive services to all types of travellers.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it seems to be working fairly well.

Today, Plaza Premium Group has four lines of business: Airport Lounges; Airport Hotels; Airport Food & Beverage; and Airport Services and the company has 1,600 touchpoints in 60 countries around the world.

Here in Canada, it has 18 lounges at five of the country’s major airports – Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Toronto. And yes, it plans to grow that business to additional airports in Canada.

Belanger said the company would like to expand “where we can” in Canada, explaining that of the eight major airports in this country, Plaza Premium Group has lounges in five of them, before observing that it is looking at the other major hubs – Ottawa, Calgary and Halifax.

Right now, the company is renovating its facilities in Vancouver and Toronto and starting on Montreal and as far as when it would expand, he said that comes down to opportunity and the airports themselves.”

As for what’s driving Plaza Premium Group’s growth, Belanger will tell you is that: “People are looking for a different experience; a better experience; experiences that are curated for them.”

He explained that that’s why PPG spends a lot of time listening to its partners so it understands what those travellers want now, and [what they’ll want] in the future.

One of the first things he points out in this respect is that people want “end-to-end handling,” they don’t want the airport experience to be painful.

The other thing he’ll tell you is that the opening of its first Plaza Premium First lounge for international travellers in Vancouver “is a game changer” for the company.

“People are looking for less mass and more pleasure. They want to spend time in the lounge – they like the experience,” he said.

As for how airport lounges have change, Belanger made it clear that: “It’s not just free food anymore, it’s the degree of experience.”

That’s what people are looking for in an airport lounge.

Said Belanger: “You can have this big, beautiful lounge, but if you remember the customer by name, that’s what makes them feel special,” he said.

Technology has certainly helped Plaza Premium Group meet the expectations of travellers, developing a range of back-end capabilities that help it “remove the friction,” but Belanger emphasized that “it’s still a people business,” because “human beings bring a different touch.”

And he observed: “It’s about making the customer journey better and less stressful.”

Mei Mei Song agreed, explaining: “We look at how we can craft the experience because we’re here to make your travel better.”

And to do that, Song said that Plaza Premium Group is constantly thinking of ways to design its lounges and programs in a way that takes into account the many different travel personas.

In this respect, Song points out that people travel one way when they’re travelling on business, but they travel differently when they travel with their kids.

She also made it clear the Plaza Premium Group wants to “change the way people experience the airport. Why rush? Why can’t you enjoy the experience?”

To that end, the company’s Your Destination Before Departure program features locally inspired menus, curated art exhibitions and traditional attire that provides travellers a more enriched experience.

“Travel is a lifestyle and should be seen as a pleasure,” Song said. “We’ve weaved the whole journey together with all the services we provide and that’s what the Art of Travel is all about.”

For more, check out the June 9, 2025 issue of Canadian Travel Press featuring an interview with Plaza Premium Group’s Mei Mei Song.