# Concession Recovery Fee > Concession Recovery Fee means a charge added to Airport Customer invoices or rental agreements, calculated as a percentage of Gross Revenues to recover **Term:** Concession Recovery Fee **Last updated:** 2026-07-29 ## Definition ## What a concession recovery fee means in a contract A concession recovery fee is a pass-through charge. A business that operates under a concession, for example a car rental desk or retail outlet inside an airport, must pay the host site for the right to operate there. A concession recovery fee lets that operator recover those costs by adding a corresponding charge to the customer's invoice, frequently calculated as a percentage of gross revenues. In contract terms, it is the mechanism that shifts a defined operating cost from the concessionaire to the end customer. ### Where the term appears The fee is defined at two levels. Upstream, it flows from a [concession agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/concession-agreement) between the operator and the host, which sets the underlying charges the operator must pay. Downstream, it is disclosed and passed on through the customer-facing contract, often a [rental agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/rental-agreement) or terms of hire. It is closely related to other cost-recovery charges an operator recovers, and if a customer refuses to pay, it may end up itemized in a [debt recovery letter](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/debt-recovery-letter). ### How it is defined or measured Contracts usually express the fee as a percentage applied to a defined revenue base, which makes the definition of that base critical. "Gross revenues" must be spelled out: does it include taxes, optional extras, or third-party charges, or only the core rental or service charge? The clause should also state how the fee is calculated per transaction, when it is applied, and whether it changes if the underlying concession cost changes. Because the fee tracks a cost the operator does not fully control, well-drafted clauses describe how adjustments flow through. ### Why the exact wording matters Pass-through fees attract scrutiny from customers and regulators, so wording carries real risk. If the fee is presented as a mandatory government charge when it is really a business cost the operator chooses to recover, that can amount to a misleading practice. The clause must therefore describe the fee honestly, disclose it clearly before the customer commits, and define the revenue base precisely so the amount can be checked. Vague drafting invites both disputes over the calculation and complaints about hidden charges. ### Drafting considerations - **Define the base.** State exactly what "gross revenues" includes and excludes, since the percentage is meaningless without it. - **Disclose clearly.** Present the fee transparently and separately, and describe accurately what it recovers rather than implying it is an official levy. - **Address changes.** Explain what happens if the underlying concession charge rises or falls, and whether the customer-facing fee moves with it. - **Support enforcement.** Keep records that let the fee be reconciled, which matters if collection later becomes contentious. The mechanism is most visible in transport and travel settings, but similar cost-recovery language appears across the [real estate](https://www.genieai.co/industry/real-estate) sector, where operators recover landlord and site charges through customer pricing. The principles overlap with those in ordinary commercial deals, where clear cost allocation between the parties prevents later disputes. In essence, a concession recovery fee is a disclosed pass-through of a defined operating cost. Its fairness and enforceability depend on an accurately described purpose, a precisely defined revenue base, and clear disclosure to the customer. The consumer protection rules within the law governing the contract will judge whether the fee was presented honestly, so precise and candid drafting is the operator's best protection. ## Context ### Relevant circumstances - Contracts regulating operations at an airport facility - Contracts in which revenue is tied to a percentage of gross revenue - Contracts where service or operations costs need to be recovered through customer fees ### Relevant sectors - Real Estate ## Relevant contract types - [Concession Agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/concession-agreement) - [Rental Agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/rental-agreement) - [Debt Recovery Letter](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/debt-recovery-letter) --- This is the Markdown representation of [https://www.genieai.co/en-us/define/concession-recovery-fee](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/define/concession-recovery-fee), provided for AI agents and crawlers. The HTML page is canonical. See [/llms.txt](https://www.genieai.co/llms.txt) for the full content map.