2025 Concessions Consulting Services RFP V2.pdf

M E T R O P O L I T A N K N O X V I L L E

A I R P O R T A U T H O R I T Y

Request for Proposal Airport Concessions Consulting Services for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority

Issue Date:

June 15, 2025

Proposal Due Date:

July 7, 2025

METROPOLITAN KNOXVILLE AIRPORT AUTHORITY

P.O. Box 15600

Knoxville, TN 37901 Phone: (865) 342-3001

Concourse Furniture Procurement

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Table of Contents I. Notice (Advertisement)

II. Minimum Requirements with Scope of Work

III. Format of Proposals

IV. Selection Timeline and Evaluation Criteria

V. Terms and Conditions; Contract Requirements

VI. Contract Requirements

I. Notice (Advertisement)

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA) is accepting Request for Qualifications for General Aviation Consulting Services and may be accessed at https://flyknoxville.com/airport-authority/procurement/.

A Request for Qualification (RFP) package will be available for download in electronic format on Sunday June 15, 2025, at https://flyknoxville.com/airport-authority/procurement/

The proposal must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM local time on Monday July 7, 2025.

The bids will only be received by secure online network BidNet Direct (www.bidnetdirect.com).

II. Minimum Requirements with Scope of Work

a. Summary

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (“MKAA” or “Authority”) owns and operates the McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) and the Downtown Island Airport (DKX). MKAA is seeking proposals from interested, qualified parties with expertise in providing Airport Concessions consulting services to perform the requirements set forth in the scope of work related to the concessions area, including but not limited to: food and beverage, retail, specialty retail, vending, and other passenger amenities services for the Authority.

MKAA intends to issue an agreement based on the results from the RFP process.

b. Minimum Qualifications

The qualified and responsive offeror must meet all minimum qualifications listed below.

Should an offeror fail to meet one of the minimum qualifications identified, the offeror will be disqualified as non-responsive.

i. The Respondent must demonstrate three (3) years of Airport Concessions consulting experience at a small or medium hub airport, as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (hereinafter FAA).

c. Scope of Services

The consultant must provide airport concessions consulting services on an as-needed basis including but not limited to the following:

https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fflyknoxville.com%2Fairport-authority%2Fprocurement%2F&data=05%7C02%7Csherry.self%40tys.org%7C941b6e7e6ea44df5fae708dd582f567f%7C6eef98984e0145ac8fbd32d9a9bdd744%7C0%7C0%7C638763682886747440%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WpXshYASlOHU0Y0HjNR4j%2By7AJaqXQheGqXt7ZwoOCo%3D&reserved=0 https://flyknoxville.com/airport-authority/procurement/ http://www.bidnetdirect.com/

i. General Requirements

• Advise MKAA about airport concessions best practices and current and future trends, including food and beverage, retail, specialty retail, vending, passenger services, and other concession categories (shoe shine, terminal advertising and other ancillary passenger services);

• Assess present concessions and make recommendations to modify existing locations and/or concepts;

• Assess current services offered and make recommendations for future concepts and enhancements;

• Review and analyze program financials, including but not limited to gross sales reports, sales per square foot, sales per enplaned passenger, etc...;

• Provide consulting services to meet unanticipated needs as circumstances require;

• Provide concessionaire negotiation services, as requested;

• Support MKAA staff throughout any concessions solicitation processes including the development of solicitation documents;

• Assist in developing tenant performance standards, design standards and other related materials, as necessary;

• Provide input into the production and implementation of a concessions management plan;

• Review and analyze existing and potential concession space in terms of location, size, tenant adjacencies, passenger demand and business potential (highest and best use);

• Identify any space constraints, support space requirements, and other planning elements to ensure all spaces are appropriately located and sized;

• Conduct market research and benchmarking of peer airports;

• Assist, as requested, in the outreach for potential Airport Concessions

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBE);

• Make presentations to and answer any questions presented by airport leadership and its board of commissioners;

• Conduct other concession related analyses, as requested.

III. Format of Proposals

Proposal

All proposals must be on Company Letterhead and the Proposal should contain the following for evaluation:

Qualifications and Experience of Respondent (15 Points) Respondent must submit information that substantiates that the Respondent meets the minimum qualifications of this RFP and all the requirements of the scope of work, including the following:

• Describe the experience the Respondent has providing similar services, including the number of years in providing similar services;

• Describe why the Respondent is the best qualified to perform the scope of services;

• Describe the Respondent’s experience and reputation in the airport concessions industry, depth of qualified resources, and availability of resources;

• Discuss where/how you obtain data and demographic information and how you utilize that data to forecast industry trends, changes in passenger demographics and traffic patterns and explain how your review and interpretation of this data has impacted recommendations you have made to other airports;

• Discuss your experience specific to airport food and beverage programs;

• Discuss your experience specific to airport retail and specialty retail;

• Discuss your experience specific to airport passenger services and miscellaneous concessions programs (e.g.; shoeshine, advertising, spa, club lounges, etc.);

• Discuss your firm’s experience benchmarking airports;

• Identify at least three (3) airports where your firm has conducted concession program analysis. When did these analyses occur? What was your firm’s implementation process and the resulting impacts to the program.

Qualifications and Experience of the Primary Consultant (15 Points) A. Respondent must include a statement detailing the background, experience, and qualifications of the primary consultant, including the following:

1. Number of years and type of experience providing the following at a small or medium hub airport as defined by the FAA:

a. Benchmarking and financial analysis in retail, food and beverage, and miscellaneous concessions operations;

b. Concession space planning;

c. Retail, food and beverage and miscellaneous concessions consulting;

d. Assistance with the solicitation and selection process.

B. Provide a list of clients the primary consultant has provided airport concessions consulting services and include the following:

1. Provide examples of three (3) projects that were completed in the last five (5) years.

Include a brief description of the scope of work, the timeframe of the project, the budget and the completion date.

a. Discuss the end results, whether the project was completed within the client’s timeline and budget.

b. Discuss any lessons learned from each of the projects.

Approach to Scope of Services (45 Points) Discuss your firm’s understanding of the airport concessions industry and how you approach the individual needs of each airport from the rest of the industry.

• Describe its approach to the scope of services to satisfy the requirements in the Scope of Work using a narrative, including detailed approach and methodology for the following:

a. Feasibility studies

b. Market analysis

c. Master plan study

d. Operational reviews

e. Space planning

f. Program analysis

g. Benchmarking

• Discuss how you intend to manage this contract with MKAA, which calls for services on an as-needed basis.

• Describe how you manage client expectations.

REFERENCES (10 Points) Respondents must provide at least three (3) current professional references from different firms/organizations for which this type of service has been provided. Reference points will be awarded based on projects with similar size and scope of work. A qualified professional reference is not just one who provides a good review in general but is one that is able to provide positive feedback on the Respondent’s work experience specifically regarding a project of the same or very similar scope or size as the subject of the present RFP. Reference scores are greatly affected by provision of references for whom incomparable services were performed and do not respond timely to contact attempts from City personnel. Failure to provide references with similar scope, successfully performed projects may be grounds for disqualification.

(Name) (Address) (Phone)

(Contact) (City/State) (Zip Code)

Email:

Fees (15 Points) Proposed Staff and Fees – add additional rows if necessary

Submit Fee Schedule

Items No.

Description Price Per Hour Extended Price

1. Primary Consultant

2. Support Staff

3. Other Consulting Services

Submission Procedure

The proposal must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM local time on Monday, July 7, 2025.

The bids will only be received by secure online network BidNet Direct (www.bidnetdirect.com), RFP_F-MKAA-0000000003.

All submittals received after the designated time will not be considered.

http://www.bidnetdirect.com/

IV. Selection Timeline and Evaluation Criteria

Selection Timeline

Notice Publication Dates June 15, 2025 – July 6, 2025

Last Day for Questions June 26, 2025

Answers Published July 1, 2025

Proposals Due July 7, 2025 by 4:00 PM EST

Interviews as Necessary July 21, 2025 – July 25, 2025

Notification of Selected Proposal August 25, 2025

Evaluation Criteria

Respondents may be selected for interviews and presentations by an MKAA selection committee based upon review of the proposals provided in response to the RFP. In evaluating each bidder, consideration shall be made utilizing the following criteria. Deficiency in any of the areas listed below may be adequate cause for bid rejection.

The most qualified Respondent will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. 0-15 Points: Overall Qualifications and Experience of the Respondent

2. 0-15 Points: Qualifications of the Primary Consultant

3. 0-45 Points: Method of Approach

4. 0-10 Points: References

5. 0-15 Points: Fee Schedule

An evaluation committee will review all responses and recommend the proposal that is in the best interest of the MKAA.

V. Terms and Conditions; Contract Requirements

DBE Program

Firms shall comply with MKAA approved DBE Program (available at www.flyknoxville.com) to ensure disadvantaged business enterprises as defined in 49 CFR Part 26 have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts and shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or sex in the award and performance of DOT assisted contracts or other contracts defined by

MKAA.

Response Costs

All costs incurred in preparing the response to the Request for Proposal (RFP), participating in the RFP process, and negotiating with MKAA, whether or not an award is granted, shall be solely the responsibility of the Respondent. All materials and documents submitted by the Respondent in response to the RFP will become the property of MKAA and shall not be returned to the Respondent.

Right to No Award or Partial Award

Award will be made to the Respondent(s) with the most qualified and/or responsive proposal which may or may not be the lowest cost (if applicable), if awarded. MKAA reserves the right to reject all responses, reject portions of any response, or accept the response(s) deemed most advantageous to MKAA. In addition, MKAA reserves the right to modify the terms of the RFP at any time. MKAA will provide the Respondents with written notice of cancellation or modification.

Rejection of Responses / Cancellation of RFP

MKAA reserves the right to reject any or all responses to the RFP, including, but not limited to, any response containing exceptions to the minimum requirements and/or specifications or fails to meet the minimum requirements and/or specifications in whole or in part.

Responses containing terms and conditions other than those specified herein may be considered nonresponsive. Partial or incomplete responses may be rejected. MKAA reserves the right to reject responses or penalize Respondents who do not follow the requirements of the RFP and, likewise, to waive any informalities, technicalities, or http://www.flyknoxville.com/ omissions therein. Responses having any erasures or corrections shall be initialed in ink by the Respondent. Unsigned responses will be considered nonresponsive.

Also, MKAA reserves the right to reject any response when a parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or predecessor in interest of the Respondent has pending litigation or claims with MKAA, or if any response includes a proposed subcontractor or supplier having pending litigation or claims with MKAA, if MKAA determines, in its sole discretion, such litigation or claims may adversely affect the ability of the parties to work efficiently and effectively under any purchase order resulting from the RFP, or for any other reason as determined by MKAA.

MKAA further reserves the right to cancel the RFP process at any time.

Explanation by Addendum Only; Questions and Clarifications

Every request for interpretation, questions or for additional information regarding the RFP shall be made in writing. All questions will be submitted electronically via BidNet and answers will be distributed as an Addendum.

All inquiries must be received before June 26, 2025 - 4:00PM EST. Questions by phone will not be accepted.

Should an Addendum be issued, the Respondent must acknowledge receipt.

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority is not responsible for any electronic communication failures or material delivery delays. MKAA reserves the right to reject all submittals without cause.

No-Contact Policy

The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of MKAA has imposed a no-contact policy on the selection process. The no-contact policy is intended to prohibit any Respondent from engaging in any direct or indirect lobbying of any Board Member, MKAA staff member, other persons or organization who may be involved in the RFP process. The no-contact policy is effective between the date the RFP is issued and the date of execution of any agreement resulting from this RFP. Questions submitted in writing for clarification of the information contained in the RFP are not prohibited by the policy.

Insurance

The Respondent shall furnish and keep in force for the life of any agreement resulting from this RFP insurances policies reasonably requested by MKAA, including, but not limited to, Workmen's Compensation Insurance for all workers employed on the job. The Respondent shall provide a certificate of insurance as required by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. All insurance companies must be licensed to do business in Tennessee and the MKAA, its commissioners, its officers, and its employees must be added as additional insured on all policies.

Title VI Solicitation Notice

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders or offerors that it will affirmatively ensure that for any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, all businesses will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and no businesses will be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency), creed, sex , age, or disability in consideration for an award.

Certification Regarding Debarment

By submitting a proposal under this RFP, Respondent certifies that neither it nor its principals are presently debarred or suspended by any Federal department or agency from participation in this transaction.

Certification Regarding Trade Restriction

By submitting a proposal under this RFP, Respondent certifies that with respect to this solicitation and any resultant contract, Respondent–

1) is not owned or controlled by one or more citizens of a foreign country included in the list of countries that discriminate against U.S. firms as published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR);

2) has not knowingly entered into any contract or subcontract for this project with a person that is a citizen or national of a foreign country included on the list of countries that discriminate against U.S. firms as published by the USTR; and

3) has not entered into any subcontract for any product to be used on the Federal project that is produced in a foreign country included on the list of countries that discriminate against U.S. firms published by the USTR.

This certification concerns a matter within the jurisdiction of an agency of the United States of America and the making of a false, fictitious, or fraudulent certification may render the maker subject to prosecution under Title 18 USC § 1001.

Respondent must provide immediate written notice to MKAA if Respondent learns that its certification or that of any permitted subcontractor or subconsultant was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances. Respondent must require permitted subcontractor or subconsultant provide immediate written notice to Respondent if at any time it learns that its certification was erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.

Unless the restrictions of this clause are waived by the Secretary of Transportation in accordance with 49 CFR § 30.17, no contract shall be awarded to a Respondent or any permitted subcontractor or subconsultant:

1) who is owned or controlled by one or more citizens or nationals of a foreign country included on the list of countries that discriminate against U.S. firms published by the USTR; or

2) whose subcontractors are owned or controlled by one or more citizens or nationals of a foreign country on such USTR list; or

3) who incorporates in the public works project any product of a foreign country on such USTR list.

Nothing contained in the foregoing shall be construed to require establishment of a system of records in order to render, in good faith, the certification required by this provision. The knowledge and information of a contractor is not required to exceed that which is normally possessed by a prudent person in the ordinary course of business dealings.

Respondent agrees that, if awarded a contract resulting from this solicitation, it will incorporate this provision for certification without modification in all contracts with any permitted subcontractor or subconsultant. Respondent may rely on the certification of any permitted subcontractor or subconsultant that it is not a firm from a foreign country included on the list of countries that discriminate against U.S. firms as published by USTR, unless Respondent has knowledge that the certification is erroneous.

This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when making an award. If it is later determined that Respondent or any permitted subcontractor or subconsultant knowingly rendered an erroneous certification, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may direct through MKAA cancellation of the contract or subcontract for default at no cost to MKAA or the FAA.

Lobbying

Respondent certifies by submitting a proposal under this RFP, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that:

(1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of Respondent, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of an agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.

(2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, Respondent shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,” in accordance with its instructions.

(3) Respondent shall require that the language of this certification be included in any permitted award documents for all applicable sub-awards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all sub-recipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.

This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure

VI. Contract Requirements

Choice of Law. The laws of the State of Tennessee must govern the operation and enforceability of any agreement resulting from this RFP. Any action or legal proceeding arising out of or related to any agreement resulting from this RFP must be brought in the state courts of Knox County, Tennessee, or in the federal court in the district where the Airport is located.

Sovereign Immunity of MKAA. MKAA will not enter into any agreement which contains a clause requiring MKAA to indemnify, hold harmless, or defend any party. Also, MKAA will not enter into any agreement which contains a clause limiting its remedies against any party.

Indemnification. The Selected Respondent must agree to indemnify and hold MKAA, its commissioners, officers, agents and/or employees harmless from and against any and all lawsuits, damages and expenses, including court costs and attorney’s fees, by reason of any claim and/or liability imposed, claimed and/or threatened against MKAA, its commissioners, officials, agents and/or employees for damages because of any damages arising out of or in consequence of the performance of services by the Selected Respondent to the extent that such damages are attributable to the negligence of the Selected Respondent or its agents and/or employees.

Confidentiality. MKAA cannot agree to confidentiality provisions in any agreement resulting from this RFP due to open records laws.

Federal Aviation Administration Provisions. The Selected Respondent must agree to comply with Civil Rights provisions and any other applicable Federal Aviation Administration requirements in any agreement resulting from this RFP.

Non-Boycott of Israel. The Selected Respondent will certify that it is not currently engaged in and will not for the duration of any agreement resulting from this RFP engage in, a boycott of Israel as defined by Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-119. This provision shall not apply to any agreement resulting from this RFP with a total value of less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or to Respondents with less than ten (10) employees.

Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Any agreement resulting from this RFP incorporated by reference the provisions of 29 CFR part 201, et seq, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), with the same force and effect as if given in full text. The FLSA sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards for full and part-time workers.

The Selected Respondent has full responsibility to monitor compliance to the referenced statute or regulation. The Selected Respondent must address any claims or disputes that arise from this requirement directly with the U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division.