In Yosemite, Problems With Concessions Keep Piling Up

After a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation published in August uncovered years of safety and environmental problems at Yosemite National Park under the current concessions provider, Aramark, the company’s troubles have continued. Flooring issues at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel caused a visitor to trip and fall, food service has been discontinued at multiple locations in the park following concerns about rodent infestations, and the National Park Service has announced that the Wawona Hotel—where a railing collapsed under a visitor in 2023—will shut down indefinitely in December.

Yosemite officials are increasing their oversight of the global hospitality provider, which is required to maintain the park properties it operates. NPS is conducting an environmental audit of Aramark’s Yosemite operations this week, an agency spokesperson says. Typically, environmental audits occur every three to five years. That park officials are doing another audit just two years after the most recent one, in 2022, is a sign they’re taking the company’s previous failures seriously, says Jon Jarvis, who served as the agency’s director during the Obama administration.