Glacier Park Inc. out as park concessioner

Glacier National Park’s longtime concessioner will be replaced starting next year.

The National Park Service selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts Inc. to provide visitor services in Glacier National Park for the next 16 years.

The decision announced Tuesday means an end to the concessions work for Glacier Park Inc., which has held the Glacier contract since 1981.

Glacier Park Inc. President Cindy Ognjanov said the news was a “big shock.”

“Obviously we’re very disappointed. We thought we had a good proposal,” Ognjanov said. “We do wish [Xanterra] well.”

The park concessions contract is worth approximately $18.5 million in yearly gross receipts, according to a news release from the park service.

The new contract is anticipated to begin in January 2014.

Xanterra now will be responsible for concession operations at five lodging locations, 10 food and beverage locations and eight retail locations, plus road-based tours, Red Bus maintenance and other services in the park.

This fall, Xanterra is expected to work with Glacier Park Inc. during a transition period.

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

According to Acting Glacier Superintendent Kym Hall: “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 percent 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 percent and a Red Bus Rehabilitation Reserve equal to 2.5 percent of annual gross receipts.  

The contract requires replacement of most 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 outside of the park.

The competitive process for the concessions contract began Dec. 11, 2012 with the release of a prospectus. All offers had to be submitted by April 16, 2013.

The deadline for submitting bids had been extended for a month because of modified conditions for refurbishing the fleet of 33 historic red buses that have been on the park’s roads since the 1930s.

An evaluation panel of National Park Service and technical experts outside Glacier National Park analyzed the proposals and selected Xanterra.

Glacier Park Inc. owns four properties near Glacier Park — St. Mary Lodge and Resort at St. Mary, Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier, Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish and Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Park, Alberta, Canada — and will continue to operate those facilities, Ognjanov said.

Ognjanov, who has been with Glacier Park Inc. for 20 years, plans to retire Dec. 31. Ron Cadrette, vice president and general manager, will take her place once the transition is complete.

Glacier Park Inc. is part of the publicly held company Viad.

According to a statement from Andrew N. Todd, president and chief executive officer of Xanterra, "Glacier National Park has long been one of the National Park Service’s crown jewels, and all of us at Xanterra Parks & Resorts are privileged to be granted the opportunity to take the helm of the park’s concession operations and expand our partnership with the National Park Service."

Todd continued: "With decades of operating concessions in Glacier’s neighboring regions — Yellowstone National Park to the south and Crater Lake National Park to the west — we have developed a deep appreciation for the breathtaking beauty of this part of our country. Glacier National Park is known for its soaring mountains, crystal clear lakes, alpine meadows, pristine forests and more than two dozen glaciers. We look forward to commencing our operations at Glacier and implementing our award-winning sustainability programs and serving the many park visitors."