U.S. National Parks saw a surge in demand during and coming out of the pandemic, and while that may be normalizing to a degree, they remain a major draw for travelers.
In this edition of HNN's podcast series looking at summer demand at hotels across the U.S.,
Michael Darrow, general manager of Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon, BW Signature Collection for Delaware North, said people wanted to visit outdoor spaces during the pandemic since they perceived them as a safer vacation than the other options available at the time.
It’s only recently that his hotel has started to see demand level off a bit, Darrow said.
“Just like every other hotelier out there, we’re trying to figure out what the new normal is in terms of demand coming out of COVID,” he said. “You know, what’s the future going to look like for us here in the National Parks and elsewhere?”
What’s posing the greatest challenge currently is learning where the ebbs and flows of business are going to be over the course of the year, Darrow said. It used to be that hotels near National Parks were busy from the moment they opened in the spring until the wrapping up of the summer season, but now there are more peaks and valleys throughout the six- to eight-month visitation period.
Though not yet back to its pre-pandemic peak, overall visitation is still pretty strong, he said.
The Squire Resort has seen a return of international travelers — which is a welcome development — and school groups will start up again over the coming months, Darrow said. These will offset the leveling off of family vacation travelers now that summer is ending.
There was a surge in international guests over the past two months, including many visitors from France and Italy in particular, he said. There are a lot fewer guests from Asia than from European markets, and that’s likely because of when each country loosened travel restrictions. To see international guests coming back to near pre-pandemic levels is encouraging, he added.
“It’s really nice to see that mix of different cultures and languages being spoken down in the lobby at check-in,” he said.
The Grand Canyon is the primary draw for visitors, but guests have made it clear they want other experiences while they’re there, Darrow said. The Squire Resort offers guests e-bike rentals, guided hiking tours, helicopter tours over the Grand Canyon, Hummer tours of the backcountry terrain of the Grand Canyon as well as many different dining options that complete the resort experience.
“So that when you do go into the park and you see the Grand Canyon and you can check that off your bucket list, we've got a couple more days’ worth of things that can keep you very, very engaged and enjoying the area when you're here,” he said.
These extra offerings help extend guests’ stays as the Grand Canyon is just the tip of the iceberg in what’s available around the area, Darrow said.
“Part of my goal is to be able to accurately convey the whole range of options to people during the booking process so they can see what's out there,” he said. “They can see that there is so much for them to do just beyond the Grand Canyon itself, and hopefully capture them for an additional night or two.”
For more from Hotel News Now's interview with Michael Darrow, listen to the podcast above, and subscribe to the Hotel News Now podcast wherever you find podcasts.