Airport Restaurant & Retail Association

What Airport Restaurant & Retail Association does

Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA) is a U.S.-based nonprofit trade association founded in 2019 that represents companies operating food and beverage and/or retail locations in airports. Headquartered in Park Ridge, Illinois, ARRA positions itself as the only national association specifically focused on airport restaurants and retail, providing a collective industry voice on legislative and regulatory matters, including advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic around CRRSAA and ARPA relief funding.

ARRA's core offerings include a tiered membership structure with annual dues ranging from $1,030 to $103,000 based on member company sales volume (six tiers from Level 1 at under $5M in sales to Level 4a at over $3B); a Forum Series delivering live and recorded content with industry and government experts (video, audio, and transcript formats); advocacy services including federal-level representation and legislative/regulatory updates; and a Member Portal for member resources and communications. The association previously operated a COVID-19 Survival and Revival Forum series, which ran for 69 episodes over 20 months during the pandemic before being retired in 2022.

The business model is membership-subscription-based with no product sales. ARRA acquires members through direct outreach, industry event networking, referrals, and an online membership application reviewed by a Membership Committee. The Board of Directors rotates chair positions among senior executives from major member companies, including HMSHost (Bryan Loden, 2024-2025) and Areas USA (Carlos Bernal, 2026-2027). Strategic partnerships with ACI-NA, AMAC, and The Moodie Davitt Report support joint forums, advocacy, and co-organized events such as the FAB Conference. Named members include major airport concessionaires such as Paradies Lagardère, SSP America, HMSHost by Avolta, Areas USA, Delaware North, and smaller ACDBE-certified operators.

Name

Airport Restaurant & Retail Association

Legal name

Airport Restaurant & Retail Association

Website

https://arra-airports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA) is a U.S. nonprofit trade association, founded in 2019, representing airport food and beverage and retail concession operators through tiered membership dues, federal advocacy, and a forum series on industry issues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Park Ridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ARRA generates revenue through annual membership dues paid by qualifying companies. Dues are tiered based on company sales volume and are paid annually on the membership anniversary date. The primary contact of each member company can register additional employees to receive member benefits and participate in ARRA activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ARRA is a nonprofit trade association that represents companies operating food and beverage and/or retail locations in airports. It provides members with industry advocacy at the federal level, regular member-only forums featuring industry and government experts, an online Member Portal and Membership Directory, legislative and regulatory updates, and networking opportunities. Its offerings are delivered through a tiered annual membership program with dues scaled to member company sales volume.

Product overview

ARRA is a trade association for airport restaurants and retail businesses. The organization offers a unified membership program that provides networking opportunities, professional development, and industry representation. The core offerings include the ARRA Forum Series (featuring video, audio, and transcript formats), Advocacy Services with legislative and regulatory updates, and access to a member-only portal. The association previously operated the COVID-19 Survival and Revival Forum series, which ran for 69 episodes before being retired in 2022. The membership program is structured into six levels based on company sales volume, with corresponding annual dues ranging from $1,030 to $103,000.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ARRA Membership Program Tiered annual membership program for companies operating food and beverage and/or retail locations in airports, providing networking, industry communications, the online Membership Directory, live and recorded forums, advocacy representation, and resources covering all aspects of operating in the airport concessions business. Dues range from $1,030 (under $5M sales) to $103,000 (over $3B sales).
• ARRA Forum Series Recurring member-only meetings and forums featuring industry and government experts discussing topics important to the airport concessions business and the broader airport/aviation industry. Forums are produced in video, audio, and transcript formats and cover topics such as pandemic recovery, RFP processes, financing, labor challenges, and best practices.
• Advocacy Services National-level representation on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the airport concessions business, including legislative and regulatory updates provided to members.
• Member Portal Online portal for ARRA members providing secure access to exclusive member resources, communications, and membership management functions.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Moodie Davitt ReportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARRA co-organizes the Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference and related sessions with The Moodie Davitt Report. This collaboration has produced panel discussions on industry recovery, concessions status quo challenges, and other critical topics affecting airport restaurants and retail operators.
• Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerARRA collaborates with ACI-NA on industry forums and recovery discussions. ACI-NA representatives participate in ARRA forums to discuss airport perspectives on concessions, pandemic recovery, and industry challenges. Joint advocacy efforts during COVID-19 relief discussions.
• Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARRA and AMAC co-hosted COVID-19 Survival and Revival Forum calls, bringing together industry leaders, government officials, and concessionaires to discuss pandemic response and recovery strategies for airport concessions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Tax Free World Association (TFWA): TFWA is the global association for duty free and travel retail. International in scope, it competes with IAADFS for global duty free association leadership and offers an alternative forum for ARRA's retail-concessionaire members with global footprints. Its EMEA/Asia focus is a partial overlap with ARRA's North American remit.

Regional players

• American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA): ASTA represents travel advisors and the broader travel distribution industry in the US. While focused on travel sellers rather than airport suppliers, ASTA's advocacy on travel patterns and consumer behavior influences the demand environment for ARRA's F&B and retail concessionaire members.
• National Air Carrier Association (NACA): NACA represents smaller US passenger and cargo carriers. While focused on airlines rather than concessions, it engages in airport policy advocacy that intersects with ARRA's interests, particularly around airport costs, PFCs, and facility access that affect concession operations.

Broad incumbents

• National Restaurant Association: The National Restaurant Association is the largest US foodservice trade association, providing advocacy, research, and education to restaurant operators. While it covers the broader restaurant industry rather than airport-specific concessions, ARRA's F&B concessionaire members are part of the NRA's constituency, and the two organizations occasionally overlap on shared policy issues.
• U.S. Travel Association: U.S. Travel Association is the national non-profit representing all components of the US travel industry. Its broad remit covers airlines, hotels, destinations, and travel suppliers, making it a larger incumbent whose policy advocacy overlaps with ARRA's on issues affecting airport foot traffic and concession economics.
• American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE): AAAE is a professional association for airport executives and operators. While it focuses on airport management rather than concessions, AAAE's policy work on airport economics, FAA reauthorization, and infrastructure funding has direct downstream impact on ARRA's concessionaire members, making it a peer in policy advocacy space.
• Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA): ACI-NA is the trade association representing North American airport operators. While ARRA represents concessionaires and ACI-NA represents airports, they are explicitly partners (co-host forums, joint advocacy), and their constituencies intersect directly on concession policy, ACDBE rules, and terminal operations.

Direct peers

• The Moodie Davitt Report: The Moodie Davitt Report is the leading business intelligence publisher for the travel retail and airport F&B industry. It co-organizes the FAB Conference with ARRA and serves a highly overlapping audience. While it is a media/research firm rather than a trade association, it competes for ARRA's members' attention and engagement dollars.
• International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores (IAADFS): IAADFS is the global trade association for duty free and travel retail operators, directly comparable to ARRA's airport retail focus. While IAADFS is global and skews toward duty free retail, ARRA members operating duty free and travel retail stores also engage with IAADFS, making it a direct competitor for member mindshare in the airport retail segment.
• Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC): AMAC promotes the participation of minority and women-owned businesses in airport contracting. ARRA and AMAC co-hosted COVID-19 Survival and Revival Forums, and both organizations serve the airport concession community — AMAC with a DBE/WBE focus, ARRA with a broader operator focus. They are natural partners and partial peers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airport-restaurant-retail-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Airport Restaurant & Retail Association