Grand Canyon Lodge on North Rim Of Grand Canyon National Park/David and Kay Scott

The National Park Service is in the process of soliciting bids for the concession operation at Grand Canyon’s North Rim.  The concession, currently held by a subsidiary of Forever Resorts, is separate from South Rim concessions now being operated by Xanterra and Delaware North.

The contract includes operation of North Rim lodging, food service, retail, a service station, and more.  While most NPS lodging contracts span 10 years, the North Rim contract will require a substantial amount of investment spending and be for a term of 15 years.

The contract contains several interesting components including initiation of a new passenger shuttle offering regular service between the main lodge and a general store near the campground.  The concessionaire is required to renovate the general store’s kitchen and enlarge the food service area at an estimate cost of over $400,000.  The change will decrease the store’s retail space, but NPS estimates the new shuttle service will result in an increase in customer traffic and spending that will more than offset the reduced retail space.

The concessionaire will also be required to reconfigure the main lodge registration area including moving administrative offices from behind the registration desk to the basement of one of the lodge’s two motel units.  The basement of the second motel unit is to be converted to hostel rooms.  Both basements are currently utilized for storage.  The cost of motel upgrades and renovations is expect to cost $2.8 million.

Another major concessionaire expense will be upgrading four employee dorm buildings with new bathrooms and installation of a fire suppression system.

Total investment in North Rim construction projects is estimated at a little over $6 million, with the remodeling of employee dorms and motel renovations consuming nearly two-thirds of this.

Although the North Rim has a relatively short season of mid-May through mid-October, its 219 lodging units (179 cabins plus 40 motel rooms) are nearly always filled.  When scheduling our summer lodge road trips, our first task is trying to pin down a room at the North Rim.  Reservations at the other lodges then follow.  When we can’t get a North Rim room we typically stay in Kanab.  The North Rim lodging is the toughest ticket in national park lodging.

NPS estimates an initial outlay on the part of the winning firm of approximately $3.5 million.  In an illustration of how parks are increasingly relying on park visitors to help fund their budgets, the contract stipulates a minimum franchise fee of 10 percent.  Based on estimated 2020 revenues of $13.1 million to $14.4 million, NPS would garner approximately $1.37 million in fees in the first year of the contract.

Closing date for proposals is March 14, 2019.