Mark This! is a podcast in which we peel back the corporate curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs, and projects that are happening all over Aramark’s varied lines of business. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them--building opportunity, building innovation, and building community.
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Mark This! Podcast, Episode 9, Destinations
Host: Heather Dotchel, Corporate Communications
Guests: Bruce Fears, President, Aramark Destinations; Lisa Cesaro, Senior Director of Marketing for Destinations
It's time to Mark This! A podcast in which we peel back the curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs and projects that are happening all over Aramark's varied lines of business. I'm Heather Dotchel. As a member of Aramark's Communications Team, I see and hear all about the amazing things that are happening across our company. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them, building opportunity, building innovation, and building community mark. Mark This! provides a space in.
It is officially summer vacation season, and that means that our teams across the United States are gearing up to provide the perfect balance of the familiar and the unexpected to make your Destinations hospitality experience unforgettable. Our Destinations business provides activities, experiences, and places to stay within some of America's greatest national parks and protected lands. Bruce Fears, President of Aramark Destinations, and Lisa Cesaro, the Senior Director of Marketing for Destinations, are joining us today to explore the wilds and cast a bit of light on your next great adventure. Hello to you both. Bruce, can you start out, introduce yourself to our audience, and let us know how you came to head our glamorous Destinations business?
Yes. Thank you, Heather, for having us today. You're right. The summer season is right around the corner, and our team is working round the clock to welcome our millions of park guests that we'll be getting this summer, this exciting time of year, and we're anticipating a very busy summer. Just to give you a quick background on myself, I grew up in the National Park business. My dad was a National Park Concessioner. My first job was in Shenandoah National Park as a busboy. I was 14 years old. I worked in the park during high school and college, and when I graduated, Aramark offered me a job to be an assistant manager at one of the lodges. Little did I know that it was going to be my life's work. I spent my entire career working in national parks, and I'm very fortunate to be the President and CEO of Destinations the last 18 years.
Lisa, how about you? Could you please give us your brief bio and your journey to your present position?
Yes. Thanks for having me on the call as well. I actually come from an operations background, and I started when I was in college working for hotels. I worked for Marriott for a while. I worked for the Ritz-Carlton brand for many years. And then as I got into my marketing career, I worked for some different agencies, and I heard about this great opportunity in Yosemite. I actually lived and worked in Yosemite, leading their marketing and sales for about 11 years, and then now I'm on the National Marketing for all of Aramark Destinations. So don't tell anyone, but I think I have one of the coolest jobs in our company, so glad to be here.
Well, we are glad to have you both. Bruce, let's hear a bit about the scope of our Destinations business. I think it is one that people don't realize that Aramark is an expert in. Where are we and what do we do?
Yeah, Heather. In Destinations, we operate in two distinct segments, one being our Conference Center business and one being Parks and Attractions. We're one of the largest operators of conference centers in the US, and we have 18. We actually have two in Canada. And we manage hotel rooms, food and beverage facilities, and property management and technology in those operations. Our conference centers are mostly located in educational environments and college campuses, as well as government and corporate training centers.
The other segment we have is our Parks and Attractions business. We have 47 locations with over 100 individual properties, and they're located throughout the country, national parks, state parks, national forest service areas, visitor centers and major attractions. We manage lodging, food and beverage, retail, transportation, campgrounds, and we love recreation. We do boat tours, rafting, houseboats, interpretation, horseback riding, snowmobiles, ice skating, mountain climbing. When it comes to recreation, we're like the one source everybody can come to. Our goal in all our locations is to create authentic experiences and create lifelong memories for our guests.
So basically, just a tiny, tiny stable of hospitality services and activities.
Lisa, when you take a look at the scope of this, how do you approach the opening of each season from a marketing perspective?
That's a good question. I think for us, what we do a lot, though, is we do have seasonal openings, but a lot of our operations and even national parks are open year round. So the marketing engine is happening 24/7, 365 days a year. But in terms of really for the opening, which is where we're at now for most of our operations, so making sure they're set up for a great season, and what are their need periods? Is there's some marketing that we can do to help support that. What about their on property collateral to the guests? Do they have everything that they need that set them up for a great season? So what's really important about my role too is just making sure that the operators in the field are set up for success. I try to spend as much time as I can in the field, understanding their needs, understanding the regional marketing for the destination, if you will. So that's really important to me in the relationships.
And I would say we have a pretty interesting business, too, as a lot of our marketing is direct to the consumers. So just to give you a little bit of background, what we do a lot is digital marketing is a big focus for us, one of it being our email campaigns. We have millions of visitors, if you will, and guests in our email database for our multiple properties. So it's pretty extensive our reach, and we have a really strong presence on social media direct to the consumer too.
So we operate kind of how you look at it. Especially for a lot of our parks and attractions, we really operate also as a destination marketing organization. We're just not marketing a hotel. As Bruce was saying, we do everything. We're doing that whole destination experience, whether it's eating at a restaurant, going snowmobiling, going rock climbing in Yosemite. So it's a lot of fun, and it's definitely year round the marketing efforts, but for us, ramping up for opening season, just making sure we're set up for success and finding those opportunities that we can help drive revenue and really just increase that experience for the guests too, while they're there.
Let's take the focus then down on these summer months that are ahead of us. Bruce, when you think about our portfolio of destinations, what would you list among the best places to visit in the summer months?
Well, that's a hard question, Heather, and I get that question all the time. But I have to say all our locations are just unique and they're wonderful. It depends on what part of the country you want to visit and what you want to do when you get there and how much time you have. If you're headed to the Southwest, we have a lot of properties in the Southwest, and what I would do, I would go on what I call the Grand Circle Tour. I'd go to Bryce Canyon and the North Room of the Grand Canyon. I'd go to Lake Powell, and then I'd go to Mesa Verde.
If you're headed to California and Nevada, you definitely got to have to go to Yosemite, Hearst Castle, Asilomar, and Lake Tahoe. And then if you're going up to the northwest, there are Olympic properties. We have five hotels up there as well as Crater Lake. Rocky Mountain area, again, we have Pikes Peak, Signal Mountain Lodge, and the Tetons or Togwotee Mountain Lodge in Wyoming. And also Alaska. In Alaska, we have two big operations up there at Denali and Glacier Bay.
And then if you want to go down to South Texas, we've just taken over a great park there, Big Bend, and we have an operation inside the park as well as outside. And if you want a hike, bike, sight see, river running, houseboating, camping, we have something for everyone. Again, a lot of recreation in all these parks. But I will say this. If you've never been on a houseboat vacation at Lake Powell, you're missing out. It's an incredible, memorable experience. Once you do it, I guarantee you'll be hooked to do it again. And this year is especially special, because we have over 70 feet of water coming into the lake.
So the houseboats have always sounded fascinating to me, and prior to that it was a very diplomatic, "All of them were my favorites" parent answer, Bruce. It was impressive. Lisa, I'm going to try to trap you into a little something then here as a counterpoint. Rather than singling out a favorite destination, what's your favorite activity to do at various destinations?
Well, that's a good question. You know what I think is really, it's definitely becoming more popular in the media. You see different articles about it, but I think what we really have is unique is we operate in a lot of international dark sky locations. So especially if someone that's coming from the city, they might not have really seen the Milky Way in their life before. So if you go to numerous of our parks, whether it is Lake Powell or Yosemite, Crater Lake, a lot of them have amazingly protected dark skies. So you could just be out there, you know, finish dinner at the lodge, you go outside and you just look up at the sky and you marvel with what you're seeing. And a lot of them even have guided stargazing programs. So I think that's just something really spectacular.
I remember my first time doing that in Yosemite at Glacier Point. I was blown away at how impressive the view is of the Milky Way, and you can see comets, you can see just so many different things, Perseid meteor showers going by, and it's just really one of those unique experiences that you can see at a lot of our locations too.
That is a fantastic answer. I love that.
Lisa, what can guests expect when they enter the parks?
I think Bruce and I were talking about this. What's great about our parks is we think of it the whole experience. When you're going to, let's say, a place like Pikes Peak, one of our attractions there in Colorado. It's at a really high elevation, beautiful overlook. We operate a retail component there, but what we do there is we also make these amazing donuts, and it's become a memory of people at Pike's Peak. And even at a place like Becky's Cafe up near the Union Creek area by Crater Lake, they make world renowned pies.
And so a lot of our guests are realizing that it's not just the destination they're experiencing, it's the full experience of what we're doing, whether it's the food and beverage with signature items, whether it's retail items that they can take something away with them. It's like a really cool t-shirt from Yosemite or a refillable water bottle from one of our locations.
So we're trying to think of that whole experience from prior to the arrival when they're actually engaging maybe with us on the marketing level with email communication, social media. But then when they get there, what does that look like when they're welcomed at, let's say, the iconic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. Maybe they're listening to the piano play in the lobby, and then they're having this great cocktail in the bar, and then they're going on a guided hike, and then they're taking souvenirs for their family to take home with them. So we touch all those touchpoints, and I think our team does a really good job of trying to look at creative ways of how we can make that better each year.
Lisa, and then Bruce, I'll follow up with you after too. So what is new about our 2023 summer season? What new experiences, activities, tours are going on that might be just outside the norm for our guests or are things that we haven't offered previously?
Yeah, that's a good question. Within Aramark, you probably know about this, it was really a big acquisition for us was last April. Just a little over a year ago, we acquired 12 different locations that were formerly managed by a company called Forever Resorts. And so I think what's unique about this year is this our first full year in operation of those locations. So we're kind of continuing to enhance those amenities in those lodges.
For example, we're doing a nice renovation up at our property just outside of Big Bend in Terlingua, Texas. It's going to be one of the coolest places to stay at when you're in that region. And I also think Big Bend is one of the underrated national parks out there. There's so much you can do there with rafting and hiking and just enjoying that beautiful scenery there. And Terlingua is a really cool town, and so our resort there is going to be a really great attraction.
So we're also doing some other things. Bryce Canyon National Park, we're looking to incorporate some eBikes for visitors to get around to the different viewpoints there at that park and just kind of help with having people not feel like they need to be in their car as much when they're in that park. So we're doing that around the board, different places. In Yosemite, they're looking at some new food and beverage offerings there.
So every property kind of will have something new this year, but I think just the continuous onboarding of these new properties is a really exciting time for us in Destinations. We're one of the largest park concession operators in the country, and we have such an amazing portfolio. I think I'm really excited to see what happens for us in the coming years as well.
Bruce, what strikes you that's new this year?
I think Lisa's hit on some of the highlights, but I think one thing, Heather, is people can see when they come out to visit us this year, we've had a ton of snow out West. If you drive through California, it's almost like driving through Ireland. It's beautiful. And Yosemite, you go to Yosemite this summer, you aren't going to see waterfalls like this ever. And rafting, we start off rafting here in May, and raftings will go for a long season. All our parks are really lush. And Lake Powell, we're just so excited about all the water we getting there. Lake Mead's the same way. Lake Mead's been down, so it's a great summer for people to visit.
Let's take a turn in a bit of our topic here. Bruce, one of the unique elements of the Destinations business is that many of the properties and the services we operate are somewhat remote. They're located in remote areas, requiring seasonal workers to live in onsite housing. What do you think the perks and opportunities for those employees are who take on seasonal jobs?
You've asked the right person here. Working at national Parks is an opportunity of a lifetime. I tell college students, you want a job, go home and work in a local business. But if you want an adventure, spend the summer in a national park. You meet people from all over the world. We have affordable housing for everyone. You actually learn a new skill you can take home with you. You get to explore and recreate in some of the most beautiful places on earth.
I have former employees, Heather, they've worked for me 30 years ago, and they come up to me and say, "Bruce, I worked at so-and-so park for the summer, and it was the best summer of my life." And so there's an experience that I really treasure. I know for myself, personally, I met my wife working in Shenandoah National Park 47 years ago, so it definitely was my greatest opportunities.
Lisa, you mentioned at the top of the podcast that you lived in Yosemite National Park for years until recently, but I understand you're now based in the Aramark offices in Phoenix, supporting the entire Destinations portfolio. What have you learned about the business during this transition?
That's a good question. I actually have a funny story about my time in Yosemite. I thought I was maybe going to be there two to three years. It sounded like just a good opportunity. Fell in love with the place, loved my job, and here I am still, but now overseeing multiple parks. So I think what Bruce mentioned earlier, I will always cherish my time in that I've got to live and work in Yosemite. It's going to be something I look back on fondly for the rest of my life.
But I think this transition's been really interesting for me. I'm really enjoying working on multiple locations that we have. If you add up pretty much every individual location under Destinations, it's around a hundred locations, so it's really impressive. Obviously, there's a lot going on and different partners we work with, different operators we work with. But I think my experience living and working in Yosemite and my operational background experience has really helped me in this role. I understand what's going on onsite, I understand the clientele that visits some of our destinations, if you will, and it's been really exciting. I've love my new role, and I've been in this role for about a year now. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish as a marketing team over the coming years. But yeah, it's really exciting and love what I get to do on a daily basis.
Bruce, can you cap our conversation by telling a few outstanding facts that many people do not know about our Destinations?
Yeah. Well, we certainly could go on for a long time about how outstanding some of our operations are and some facts, but just to give you a couple, Isle Royale we operate in Northern Michigan, right in the middle of Lake Superior, and Glacier Bay, which is in southeast Alaska, both of them are just great parks, beautiful. And the only way you can get to either one of those parks is on a boat or a sea plane. We're open for about 100 days, but they're just tremendous parks, and I encourage anybody if they have the chance to go to them.
And just a couple other things. We do operate one of the largest mountain climbing schools in the world at Yosemite, and we do [inaudible 00:17:34] rock climbing up to El Capitan, as well as we operate major transportation systems in Alaska and Yosemite. But I could go on and on about all the unique things we do. But those are just a few.
Well, hopefully this provides a bit of inspiration then for our listeners. Are you looking to book that next vacation? Looking to make every moment memorable? Simply want to dream about travel? Visit our newsroom on Aramark.com to access more information. A warm thank you to Bruce and Lisa for our summer plan teaser. And as always, I'd like to thank our listeners for tuning in to Mark This!
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