HOUSTON — Dedicated service for more than two decades and a level of excellence recognized by industry experts earned Randy Goodman, the Director of Concessions for the Houston Airport System, the 2017 ACI-NA Concessions Person of the Year award.

Goodman, who came to the Airport System in 1994 as the sole person committed to the concessions programs at both George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports, was honored during a gala dinner at the 2017 ACI-NA Business of Airports Conference in Palm Springs, Calif. More than 550 commercial management, business diversity, human resource, and finance representatives from the North American airport industry attended the conference.

Goodman and his team were honored for leading innovative concepts, collaborative strategic planning, and continuous improvement in the re-imagining of the concessions program at Bush Airport, resulting in the opening of 86 new food and beverage, coffee, retail, and duty-free facilities. His team also recently replaced all of the retail concessions, and added new restaurants and a duty free store at Hobby Airport to support the airport’s newly commissioned international concourse, resulting in the opening of another 28 new facilities.

“This effort started with disciplined, thoughtful, and collaborative planning led by Randy,” Houston Aviation Director Mario Diaz said in his nomination letter. “Working with a leading consulting firm, incorporating industry best practices, and involving the local business community, Randy structured the new concessions programs to provide customers with increased concept variety and quality. The restaurants include a greater presence of locally notable chefs and restaurants, such as Hugo Ortega's Hugo's Cocina, Tony Vallone's Tony's Wine Bar, Marcus Davis' The Breakfast Klub, Bryan Caswell's El Real Tex Mex, and Ricky Craig's, Hubcap Grill. The retail program features a mix of higher-end stores, such as Tumi, Michael Kors, Chanel, M. Fredric, and Hugo Boss. For the airport and concessionaires, the program provides more opportunities for more concessionaires and ‘win-win’ business terms providing attractive returns on investment for concessionaires and market rent for the airport.”

In addition to oversight of the program, Goodman established a secret shopper program to independently assess and score concessionaire presentation, personnel, and customer service delivery. In conjunction with customer service training and rewards, passenger approval ratings have increased dramatically over the years. In 2014, Airport Revenue News (ARN) named Goodman its Property Manager of the Year, an award voted by industry peers.

“In the industry, Randy is known for his leadership and expertise in airport concessions,” ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke said of Goodman, who has played an active role on several ACI-NA Committees including serving as the 2016 Chair of the ACI-NA Commercial Management Committee. “ACI-NA is pleased to recognize his work to enhance the passenger experience through a quality concessions program at the Houston Airport System.”

As well as Goodman, the Hudson Group came away as big winners at the conference, earning three honors for properties it operates at Houston Airport facilities. The new World-Duty Free shop at Hobby Airport earned first place in the “Best New Duty-Free Concept” category. The new MAC shop at Hobby Airport earned second place in the “Best New Retail Concept” category, and Texas Monthly News at Bush Airport earned second place in the “Best New News & Gift Concept” category. Shady Lane Marketplace, operated by Paradies Lagardère at Hobby Airport, earned third place in the “Best New News & Gift Concept” category.

Overall, Portland International Airport is the winner of the Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence in the 2017 ACI-NA Airport Concessions Awards. A complete list of category winners can be found at this link.