Category Archives: News & Updates

National Park Service Selects New Operator for Everglades National Park

New contract will expand and improve visitor services including a new restaurant and lodging at Flamingo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 2, 2017 
General Park Information:  305-242-7700
Media Queries: Denese Canedo, Denese_Canedo@nps.gov, 786-481-7592

HOMESTEAD, Fla – Get ready for new ways to experience Everglades National Park! On May 30, 2017, the National Park Service selected Everglades Guest Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guest Services, Inc. (Guest Services), to provide visitor services in the park’s Flamingo district. The contract requires construction of 24 cottages and 20 eco-tents by December 2019, but authorizes a total of 40 cottages and 40 eco-tents. Apart from campsites, this will be the first expanded overnight accommodations in the park since 2005, when the previous lodging complex was removed due to severe damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma.

Under the new agreement, Guest Services will manage all visitor services in Long Pine Key and Flamingo, including campgrounds, boat tours of Florida Bay and Whitewater Bay, a new restaurant co-located with the cottages, and retail. The new accommodations will be environmentally friendly, affording a sustainable visitor experience. The 20 year term of the contract will enable the new operator to invest in needed visitor services and make customer service a priority.

Superintendent of Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, Pedro Ramos, expressed excitement about the new contract: “Guest Services has a long history of serving our national parks and the millions of visitors that come out to visit them. We are thrilled that we can now move forward with Guest Services to revitalize Flamingo and offer quality services that will enhance the visitor experience at Everglades National Park.” Ramos also expressed his gratitude to Sammy Hamilton and Everglades National Park Boat Tours for over eight years of providing services to the visitors of the Flamingo area.

Gerry Gabrys, CEO of Guest Services, Inc. similarly shared his enthusiasm by stating, “2017 has been a very special year for our organization as it marks a ‘Century of Service’ since our founding in 1917. When we received this tremendous news from the National Park Service, our Centennial Celebration became even more special. We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to steward and enhance visitor services within the Everglades – truly one of America’s most iconic National Parks!”

Flamingo is accessed by water, through Florida Bay, or a 45-minute scenic drive through the park. Visitors will be able to walk out their cottage door, and within minutes have the opportunity to see crocodiles, alligators, manatees, sawfish, sea turtles, dolphin, tarpon and more. Flamingo is also a world-class birding and fishing paradise, with rich history of peoples and industries from the Calusa & Tequesta Indians, Guy Bradley and the Audubon Society, to Henry Flagler and agriculture.

Guest Services was selected under the provisions of the 1998 Concessions Management Improvement Act. Guidelines used to evaluate proposals can be found online at: http://www.nps.gov/commercialservices. More information about the company is available at www.guestservices.com.

For more information about Everglades National Park, visit http://www.nps.gov/ever or call (305) 242-7700.

– NPS –

The National Park Service has more than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 417 National Parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

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Food Management Magazine Ranks Guest Services, Inc. as the #1 Company To Watch in 2017

Guest Services experienced a surge in new business across its markets over the past year, highlighted by major contract wins with the National Park Service, Florida State Parks, Missouri State Parks, and a ski and golf resort in the Upper Midwest. Growth was augmented by the acquisition of Boston Outdoor Recreation, a marketer of non-motorized watersports services. The company also increased its market share in the senior living segment via new partnerships in Tennessee, Florida and the Pacific Northwest.

Those successes served to kick off centennial year celebrations throughout 2017 for the firm, which was founded in 1917.

In 2016, Guest Services introduced a series of national brands such as Starbucks, Five Guys, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Red Mango in several of its accounts and added a series of new proprietary concepts. These include Local Roots (allergen-free, locally sourced, organic cuisine), Qi Bao (pho and stir-fry), Wedge (display and made-to-order sandwiches), Borders (self-serve regional and international cuisine), Pigs ‘n Pickles (barbecue), Green Works (tossed-to-order salads), Cracking the Coconut (curries), Olives (pizza, calzones, strombolis and pasta), Tejas (Mexican) and Nature’s Table (salad bar).

In 2017, Guest Services plans to roll out an enhanced nutritional program led by Corporate Nutritionist Judy Caplan, who previously served as founding director of nutrition services at Canyon Ranch Resort & Spa and has also been a media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Guest Services Chefs

100 Years and Counting: Our Legacy, Our Reputation, Our People

Tricia Rickard joined the Guest Services corporate team twice. First in 1986 as an admin when boxy word processors and eight-by-eight floppy disks were the latest rave in technology, way before the internet revolutionized everything. She left in 1998 and returned again in 1999 to become the Intranet Webmaster, a position she still holds 17 years later.

For Tricia, Guest Services provides that sense of being “home” and her co-workers are just like family. At Guest Services, “we’ve all gone through life together.” And when you go through life together, “you’re comfortable with one another and you value each other, which makes for a more productive work environment.” And she would know. Through the birth of her daughter, a wedding and several funerals, her Guest Services family has stood by her side.

“We’ve all gone through life together. And when you go through life together, you’re comfortable with one another and you value each other, which makes for a more productive work environment.” – Tricia Rickard, Corporate Webmaster

 

The Guest Services family includes more than 4,000 employees, each providing the best in food operations, hospitality, and recreation management services for more than 35 million people annually at more than 300 unique sites nationwide. With over 100 employees who have been with the company for more than 25 years, Guest Services is proud of its legacy of investing, honoring, and maintaining positive relationships with their team.

In 1988, Guest Services had enough employees reach or surpass the 25-year benchmark that they began the Twenty-Five Year Club – a tradition they continue to this day. “There was [even] one person who had been with the company for over 60 years,” recalls Tricia. “The Twenty-Five Year Club Dinner grows every year. With so many people who reach that level, you know there is just something special that makes people want to stay.”

When People Are The Bottom Line

How does a 100-year old company keep employees around for entire careers?

For Troy Cardwell, Managing Director of The Marbella at Pelican Bay, it comes down to one thing: finding people that love to work with people. “I like leading people who like to take care of people and truly enjoy what they are doing,” he says. And Troy has been taking care of people at Guest Services for more than 16 years.

“The traditional values of Guest Services are a reflection of my personal values,” says Addis Worku, a district manager of the National Mall parks in Washington, D.C. and a 25-year tenure employee. “They value hard work, respect, and ethics. I cherish these, too, as my personal values.”

“The traditional values of Guest Services are a reflection of my personal values.” – Addis Worku, District Manager, National Mall Kiosks

Surviving the bumpy road of business through the past century is an achievement in and of itself – especially when it comes to keeping tenured employees. Throughout America’s economic downturns, when most companies put the bottom line above employees, Guest Services put its team first. “During the tough times, when the economy was in bad shape, Mr. Gabrys said to us ‘we’ll get through this without laying people off. We’ll just have to buckle-down,’” recalls Tricia.

Back in 2001, after September 11, Troy was working at a luxury property in Washington, D.C. when he watched the hotel occupancy rate drop from 80% to 3% overnight. The entire industry was suffering and suddenly everyone needed to find a new job. Instead, Troy was hired by Guest Services that same year. “That changed my life,” he said.

Through Good Times, Through Bad Times

A few years ago, Tricia was taking her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer, back and forth between doctor appointments. During a stop in the Guest Services’ cafeteria, several executives sat down to talk with her mother. Her mother was surprised at the gesture. “That would not happen at my company,” she later remarked. When her mother eventually passed away, a lot of folks who knew Tricia at Guest Services also attended the funeral. “To work with people who care enough about you to come to a funeral and support you, that means a lot,” she says.

And that applies to the good times, too. When Tricia married her husband, present and past friends from work were there to celebrate, joking, “We weren’t sure if it was a wedding or a Guest Services reunion!”

When Jennifer Wallace, an award-winning managing director for several Guest Services properties, needed to take time off to attend to her father, it was never a question. “It’s these human interactions that are integral to guiding a sense of loyalty,” she says.
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Seventeen years later, Tricia still leads the company’s efforts to keep pace with technologies near-constant evolution as the company Webmaster. It’s a skill Guest Services has entrusted her with, investing and elevating her along the way. Just like it will and does with each of its 4,000 other positions.