Collinson expands its portfolio of 'premium' services in Mexico

Collinson Group, a leading multinational company in offering the best experiences for travelers, announces its expansion plan that will allow it to continue growing and offering new innovative services in Latin America and the world. The commitment of the Collinson Group and its subsidiary Priority Pass with its members and also with its allies in the financial and travel sector; such as banks, credit card franchises (MasterCard, Visa and American Express), airlines, airports and the hotel sector; allows these in turn to scale the benefits to their customers by offering added values ​​through loyalty and rewards programs.

According to Mauricio Molina, Collinson's vice president for the Americas, the Company focuses on designing and offering products and services focused on its partners, to allow them to build lasting relationships with their clients.

Thus, Priority Pass announces that it plans to increase the number of VIP lounges around the world, adapting the food and beverage system to the “Ready2Order” methodology, in response to the challenge faced by traditional Food and Beverage (F&B) models. for the pandemic. This solution guarantees biosecurity in the halls of both visitors and service personnel, through a contactless ordering process.

The Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City has two VIP lounges adapted to this system: the Grand Lounge Elite and the Grand Lounge Elite (Lounge 19) located in Terminal 1. Globally, to date more than 100,000 orders through this solution and recently in Europe this system won the “FAB Superstars” award for innovation in its category, recognizing the effort to keep the sector active during the pandemic.

The company will gradually implement the service in 30 additional locations and the goal is to have all of them operating by next year. According to Molina, this expansion plan is part of a broader Priority Pass initiative to create premium experiences at airports.

As a way to support demand, both from customers and members, the multinational also launches a version of the 100% Digital program, which allows access to all additional travel experiences and services such as Duty Free purchases, ground transportation and assists among others; via the recently award-winning Priority Pass app, without the need for a physical card. Likewise, it reinforces the value that our partners deliver to their clients by presenting their brand in the Priority Pass application.

Mexico is the pioneer country in Latin America in the implementation of this strategic plan due to its solid participation in the market with 82% coverage of VIP Lounges, of which 79% are in international terminals and 87% in national ones . “Of the 30 busiest airports in the country, we have lounges in 25 of them and at this moment we are building two more lounges. Mexico is in the Top 5 of the countries with the highest number of visits in the world and it will continue to grow as we expand coverage, ”said Molina.

The company, with more than 30 years of experience, provides confidence and enriches the experiences of travelers through its programs and VIP lounges located at airports in more than 170 countries and 600 cities on five continents. At the same time it creates and manages its own spaces in the air terminals, with offers of assistance and tailored medical insurance, offers of restaurants, retail stores and spa to guarantee that travelers make the most of their benefits; so critical to the revival of the travel industry right now.

There are more than 1,300 'premium' experiences at airports around the world, many of them exclusive for its members, which makes Priority Pass have unmatched global coverage.

Ancillary services The new normal we face indicates that we will be exposed to testing for Covid-19 for a long time. With this in mind, Collinson Group, through its financial partners, benefits its cardholders with a fast, secure testing service with preferential rates.

Mexico is one of the first countries in the Region where it offers the possibility of conducting Covid-19 tests with preferential rates and will continue to expand the network of allied laboratories in order to scale this service to other markets and thus promote not only the acceleration of the reactivation of tourism and business trips; but also that all cardholders can monitor and guarantee their health at any time.

Interested persons will be able to schedule appointments for the Covid-19 test online, through the website. There you can choose the type of test you need, access the preferential rates and receive the results quickly and in a timely manner.

Likewise, prestigious companies such as iké, are adopting a different approach to provide better experiences to their customers with innovative products and services from Collinson. Specifically, the recent launch of Banco Santander's LikeU card, which has the option of activating the Premium Travel benefit with access to VIP Lounges through our SmartDelay program to alleviate frustrations when flights are delayed.

It should be noted that, at the beginning of November 2021, SmartDelay was recognized as the most innovative travel insurance product in the world by the prestigious Spanish organization ITIJ (International Travel and Health Insurance Conference). These awards are designed to recognize companies operating in the global health and travel insurance industry that are demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity, innovation in tough times, and leadership through best practices.

"All these novelties together demonstrate the effort we are making to meet the needs and desires of our affiliates with premium benefits and the best technical and operational support to continue expanding Collinson's business in Latin America," said Molina.