Editor’s Note: Global airport concessions operator Areas announced this week it has agreed to acquire the Travel Hospitality Services (THS) division of Delaware North. Carlos Bernal, as CEO of Areas USA, will lead the integration of the company into Areas’ existing operations. The deal encompasses 237-Delaware North-operated concessions in 22 U.S. airports. Together those concessions generate more than $500 million in annual revenue. The THS division employs approximately 4,000 people.
AXN’s Carol Ward spoke with Bernal – who led Delaware North’s Sportservice division prior to joining Areas in 2020 – about the upcoming merger of the two operators and what the industry can expect from a significantly expanded Areas USA moving forward.
Ward: Can you share a bit of background about how this all came about? What attracted Areas to Delaware North Travel Hospitality Services?
Bernal: When I first started with Areas, back in January 2020, my goal was to grow the company. We were going to do that in a couple of different ways. One was good to grow the company organically, and that’s obviously through an RFP process here in the U.S. We also wanted to look at acquisitions as they become available. We’ve looked at other opportunities but this one just made a tremendous amount of sense for us, and that was really kind of the driving factor. We share similar [approaches] to the business in terms of customer service and relationships and being innovative. We just felt it was a perfect marriage and an easy an easy fit for us.
Ward: I’m sure there are airports where your operations overlap? Is that going to be a significant challenge?
Bernal: No, I don’t think so. I view it as an opportunity to further enhance and synergize what we’re doing at those airports, to further the relationship with the airport CEO and staff and to improve the business. We’ll have more resources at our disposal to ensure we are able to do those things. There are five airports that we’re currently in together. We’re excited to bring both companies together in those five airports, and very excited to move forward and make new acquaintances at the other airports.
Ward: What about the new management structure? What will happen with Scott Socha (who currently oversees THS as well as other Delaware North divisions) and other key executives?
Bernal: Scott oversees multiple businesses [at Delaware North] – he’s not part of the deal. We’ll be introducing some [THS corporate] team members into our company, as well the 4,000 new team members [from throughout all THS operations]. We’re really excited about introducing them to our company and our culture, which we think is pretty special. That will complement the 2,000-plus team members we currently have.
Ward: When do you expect this deal to be finalized, and how long do you expect the integration process to take?
Bernal: The integration process in terms of planning is in the works. The actual close [of the deal] is to be decided. Clearly, we have to go through all the regulatory approvals. But in terms of getting ready, we’re knee deep into the network now and we’ll be well-prepared to be in business from day-one. We’re very well lined up in terms of culture, and we don’t have a lot of overlaps in the airports. We’re similar in our focus and how we take care of our team members and clients. It’s exciting. Even though there’s a lot of work still to be done, the level of collaboration and working together get to this point with the Delaware North THS team has been fantastic, and I only see that accelerating even more so as we get into integrating their business into our business. It’s the right the right time for us, and clearly, it’s the right time for Delaware North, as they’re looking to focus on other parts of their business.
Our long-term vision is to continue to be an active participant, growing the company and pursuing RPS and looking at other business opportunities as they present themselves. We’re not done yet.
