U.S. national parks are among the country's highest-profile facilities. Many also are among the most vulnerable, given their age, their building materials and the extreme weather conditions in their locations. Recent problems with the maintenance and operations of facilities at Yosemite National Park highlight the challenges and expectations involved in ensuring their safe, reliable operation.
Failures on the part of an Aramark subsidiary contracted to run visitor services in Yosemite National Park have led to the deterioration of historic structures, resulting in injuries to a visitor and a staff member, according to U.S. Department of the Interior records.
Reports of the deficiencies come from a 2023 National Park Service (NPS) report on the subsidiary, Yosemite Hospitality, which is contracted to operate and maintain hotels, restaurants, gift shops and other attractions in the park since 2016, according to SFGATE.
NPS initially awarded Yosemite Hospitality a satisfactory rating overall. But complaints about the contractor’s services, which included a visitor falling from a porch after a poorly maintained balcony railing broke, as well as the partial collapse of a dining room ceiling during meal service, led Superintendent Cicely Muldoon to revise the grade to marginal.
In March, another Aramark subsidiary, Crater Lake Hospitality, received an unsatisfactory rating for 2023, following marginal ratings in 2022, 2021 and 2019, leading NPS to cancel that contract.
Yosemite has stopped short of firing its service provider, whose contract extends through 2033. Instead, NPS will work with Yosemite Hospitality to determine next steps in meeting contractual requirements while conveying significant concerns about the contractor’s performance, specifically calling out the injuries that have resulted from the deterioration of historic buildings.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
