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| Punderson Manor Lodge and Conference Center is located in the 741-acre Punderson State Park in Newbury, Ohio. |
REPORT FROM THE U.S. —Hoteliers operating hotels within national or state parks face many challenges, including preserving and protecting the environment. But sources said the biggest challenge is staffing the properties.
“Some of the property locations are beautiful but remote,” said Regional VP at Forever Resorts Rod Taylor, who oversees properties in the Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Nevada. “This reduces the labor pool and creates logistical issues like housing, transportation and providing basic comforts to the staff.”
Urban locations don’t have to think about housing staff onsite, said Jon Streit, executive director of operations for Xanterra Parks & Resorts on the South Rim; he oversees operations at six hotels on the floor of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
“We house 98% to 99% of our employees at our properties,” he said.
Staffing a hotel within a state park can be just as cumbersome, according to Greg Woodland, the regional director of operations for five Ohio State Park Lodges operated by Xanterra. Woodland, who is also the GM at Punderson Manor Lodge and Conference Center in Newbury, Ohio, said although the labor pool is small most of his employees have been with the company for more than 10 years.
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Jon Streit Xanterra Parks & Resorts |
Once the hiring is done, employees go through various mandatory training exercises such as hiking safety, CPR certification and first aid, Streit said.
Woodland said his properties are moving forward with a “national interpretive” training program, a program that will allow his employees to interpret the area surrounding the hotel and communicate it with guests.
For example, “we can talk about our lake and say it’s the only glacier lake in Ohio,” he said. “We just sent six people to a weeklong (interpretive) training exercise last October.”
He added that his employees also go through alert, lockdown, inform, counter, escape training, or ALICE training, an active shooter and violent intruder response program. “We probably take them a little more seriously because help could be 35 minutes away,” he said.
Hotels within national and state parks also incur additional fuel, freight and supply costs that properties in urban locations may not, sources explained, specifically when it comes to vendors and renovations.
Renovation challenges
Renovations at hotels within national or state parks have to go through a chain of command before getting approved, sources said.
“Renovations in a national park are handled like a homeowners association would handle home renovations with an enhanced review of resource preservation,” Taylor said. “Some parks have historic buildings, which are protected through policy and not only renovations, but repairs as well, are performed under the guidance of park policies thus maintaining the integrity of the facilities and their historic value.”
Renovations are “a little more difficult because you’re bringing contractors in from a minimum of 90 miles away,” Streit said. “You have to house them as well.”
Streit said his properties at Grand Canyon National Park go through renovations on a seven- to eight-year cycle and typically take place during January through March when visitation is lowest and guest disruption is minimal.
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Greg Woodland Xanterra Parks & Resorts |
Woodland said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has “standards and desires they want at the property and that’s not always in line with the corporate office (Xanterra).”
Trying to serve “three masters,” the guest, the hotel and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is Woodland’s biggest challenge, he said, which can be taxing when having to do repairs or renovations at his historic property.
Additionally, when doing repairs and renovations at historic properties, there are Americans with Disabilities Act issues that need to be considered, Woodland said, adding more rules to the process.
Getting projects approved is not the only renovation challenge; renovation costs go up due to the remote locations and need for sustainable supplies, Streit said.
Sustainable measures
For hotels located within national or state parks, the need to protect and preserve the environment is heightened.
At Punderson, Woodland said the garden on property serves as a source of food for the kitchen staff. The property also recently implemented a straw-less program and are in the process of coming up with a new recycling program. Other sustainable changes at the historic property include modern conservation shower heads, low-flush toilets and industrial size soap, shampoo and conditioner bottles.
“Where we can, we order Ohio products and use locals to save on the trucking, if you will,” Woodland added.
There are commitments to preserve the Grand Canyons historic buildings, Streit said, adding that all properties have a linen reuse program, recycling, bulk amenities and water conservation measures throughout.
Streit worked with park services to install water filling stations and stopped selling bottled water on property.
“We encourage visitors to bring their own water bottles,” he said. “We also have a corporate initiative that by the end of 2015, 50% of our food items will be sustainable.”