Glacier Park Inc. to Maintain Association with Glacier

Earlier this week Glacier National Park announced that they have selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. to serve as the new park concessionaire for the next 16 years. Park concessions have been operated by Glacier Park, Inc. for the last 32 years.

With the new contract, Denver-based Xanterra will now manage 500 rooms and cabins, and four restaurants with more than 500 seats, at the Lake McDonald Lodge, Apgar Village Inn, Rising Sun Motor Inn, Swiftcurrent Inn and the Many Glacier Hotel. They will also operate the Two Medicine Camp Store, public showers and laundry facilities, as well as Glacier’s red bus fleet.

Glacier Park Inc. will still be associated with the park, however. They will continue to own and operate the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier, St. Mary Lodge and Resort in St. Mary, Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton, Canada, as well as the 30-room Stewart Hotel near Lake McDonald Lodge.

Viad Corporation, the parent company of Glacier Park Inc., published these remarks in a press release:

Paul B. Dykstra, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Viad, said, "We greatly appreciate the opportunity to have worked with the U.S. National Park Service to provide an exceptional experience to Glacier National Park visitors for more than 30 years. Although we would have preferred to retain the concession operations as part of our Travel & Recreation portfolio, we will still have a strong business in the Glacier National Park area without the contract. And we will continue seeking additional opportunities to expand our Travel & Recreation operations in and around the National Parks as part of our 'Refresh, Build, Buy' growth strategy."

Of the 1,015 rooms currently operated by Glacier Park, only 480 are covered by the concession contract. Following the expiration of the concession contract on December 31, 2013, the ongoing Glacier Park business will include: Glacier Park Lodge (161 rooms in East Glacier, Montana); Grouse Mountain Lodge (143 rooms in Whitefish, Montana); St. Mary Lodge, Cabins and Motel (115 rooms in St. Mary, Montana); the Prince of Wales Hotel (86 rooms in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada); and the Stewart Hotel (30 rooms located adjacent to Lake McDonald Lodge, inside Glacier National Park).

Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Glacier Park, Inc out - Xanterra to take over in 2014

The National Park Service has selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. (Xanterra) to provide a variety of visitor services in Glacier National Park for the next 16 years.

The new park concessions contract is anticipated to begin in January 2014 and includes lodging, food and beverage, retail, transportation and other visitor services within the park. This fall Xanterra is expected to work with Glacier Park, Inc. during a transition period. Glacier Park, Inc. has held the current park concessions contract since 1981.

Acting Glacier National Park Superintendent Kym Hall said, “Our friends at Glacier Park, Inc. have successfully operated the concessions in the park for 32 years and we appreciate the services they provided and the working relationship we’ve established over the years.” Hall added, “I and the staff at the park look forward to forging an equally strong and successful working relationship with Xanterra in the future.”

The new contract includes a minimum franchise fee of 1% that will be returned to the government each year based on annual gross receipts. The contract also includes a repair and maintenance reserve of 2.35% and a Red Bus Rehabilitation Reserve equal to 2.5%, each respective of annual gross receipts. The annual gross receipts are expected to be approximately $18,500,000.

The contract requires replacement of much of the lodging furnishings throughout the park, remodeling selected guest rooms in the Many Glacier Hotel and Lake McDonald Lodge, improved food and beverage services at Heidi’s in Many Glacier and the Two Medicine Campstore, improved sustainable and healthy choice food options, the addition of two accessible tour buses to the Red Bus Fleet, and the provision of administrative and support facilities located outside of the park.

The competitive process for the concessions contract was initiated December 11, 2012 with the release of a prospectus. All offers had to be submitted to the bureau by April 16, 2013. An evaluation panel of National Park Service and technical experts outside Glacier National Park performed a comprehensive analysis of the proposals and selected the best responsive proposal based on factors identified in the prospectus.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. provides a variety of visitor services in several national and state parks across the country, including Crater Lake, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone and Zion National Parks, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com