TripSavvy
Why Are So Many Hotels Opening Near National Parks?
May 10, 2021
If you analyzed the transaction data of hotels near Acadia, Arches, Badlands, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Carlsbad Caverns, Crater Lake, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountain, Joshua Tree, Mesa Verde, Olympic, Redwood, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Park in 2020, you would discover that hotel revenue is on the rise. According to Wombly’s recent report, by the week of July 27 through August 2, revenue at lodging places near national parks was up 78 percent compared to the 2020 average.
And now, hotel developers have caught on, opening new properties based upon customer feedback and booking trends. “We’re seeing a nearly 25 percent increase in bookings at our WorldMark by Wyndham resorts that are located near some of the country’s most beautiful national parks,” said Melody Bostic Brown, travel expert and spokesperson for Wyndham Destinations, the U.S.’s largest vacation ownership brand.
The National Park Service believes the growth in revenue for hotels near national parks is due to record visitation numbers. Even though 66 of the 423 parks were fully closed from March 24 to May 18, 2020, some parks like Yellowstone experienced the highest number of visitors ever recorded in September. The majority of these visitors were first-timers, which means they are most likely to stay in hotels.
The National Park Service also noticed that 15 lesser-known parks set record visitation numbers: Big Thicket National Preserve, Coronado National Memorial, Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site, Fort Caroline National Memorial, Indiana Dunes National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Monocacy National Battlefield, Niobrara National Scenic River, Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, Petroglyph National Monument, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, River Raisin National Battlefield Park, Saint Croix National Scenic River, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
