Collinson, a global leader in loyalty and benefits, today announced a significant investment in Grab, the airport e-commerce platform. Providing mobile order-ahead capabilities at airports across the UK and US, Grab allows travellers to skip the queue and increases the potential customer base for airport food and beverage and retail providers.
Collinson and Grab will work together to create new services for travellers and commercial opportunities for airport restaurants and retailers. The partnership is an exciting example of Collinson’s wider airport strategy to work with external partners to continue to grow and develop its market-leading airport loyalty proposition. Collinson will also support the acceleration of Grab’s roll out, leveraging its international footprint and relationships to expand to new markets globally. In addition to its financial investment, Collinson will take a seat on Grab’s Board.
Colin Evans, Founder and Chairman of Collinson, comments: “The collaboration with Grab is the latest in a series of investments in exciting, innovative companies that align with our existing product offering to deliver value to both parties. The partnership will allow us to extend and enhance the benefits and services we provide as part of our continued drive to discover opportunities to help today’s travellers make the very best use of their limited time in airports and travel hubs worldwide. By developing and working with world-leading services, we continue to accelerate innovation and deliver the most compelling experiences to travellers around the world.”
The investment reflects Collinson’s continued focus on transforming the airport experience for members of the loyalty and benefits programmes it operates, targeting increasingly digital, frequent travellers around the world. Collinson and Grab are already working to align their products to create a market-leading joint loyalty proposition, building enhanced experiences for travellers to increase loyalty. In the first instance, Grab will be introduced at a selection of UK and US airports to Priority Pass Members who have purchased their Membership directly through www.prioritypass.com, enabling them to order food and drink directly from the Priority Pass app for convenient pick up within minutes from a range of participating outlets.
Mark Bergsrud, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grab, adds: “We are excited to partner with Collinson and create engaging digital experiences in airport retail together. We are aligned in maximising value for our partners while enhancing the airport experience for busy travellers on the go.”
Since its launch in 2015, Grab has facilitated over one million orders and is growing rapidly. The service is now available in almost 30 airports and over 250 outlets directly through the Grab app and integrations with partners such as American Airlines, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport.
An advocate for airport loyalty, Collinson has over 30 years’ experience developing loyalty programmes in the travel sector and provides benefits and services to tens of millions of customers travelling through airports annually. The company is expanding the range of services offered and is the operator of Priority Pass – the world’s original and best-known airport experiences programme. Priority Pass offers discerning frequent travellers access to over 1,200 airport experiences in more than 500 cities across 143 countries, including a growing number of airport dining, retail and spa offerings.
About Grab:
Grab, the airport e-commerce platform, modernizes and simplifies the purchase of airport necessities, enabling travelers lacking the time or propensity to shop in the airport and collect en route to their gate. It leverages users’ travel information to curate the restaurant, retail and service options along their path through the airport, enhancing customer choice and eliminating extensive wait times. Grab further reduces the stress of airport travel by providing other day-of-travel resources, such as terminal maps and gate-to-gate navigation, all in one convenient app.
