The National Park Service is seeking a concessionaire for Peaks of Otter Lodge/NPS file

The National Park Service recently released a prospectus seeking proposals to operate lodging, food and beverage, and retail services at Peaks of Otter Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

The lodge, located in Virginia at milepost 86 along the northern section of the 469-mile parkway, is one of two remaining national park lodges on the parkway. The other is Pisgah Inn at milepost 408 in North Carolina along the southern section of the parkway. Two smaller parkway lodges, Rocky Knob Cabins and Bluffs Lodge, closed over a decade ago when the Park Service was unable to attract a concessionaire.

Peaks of Otter Lodge is composed of three two-story buildings with 60 nearly identical guest rooms plus three ADA accessible rooms. First-floor guest rooms each have a patio while second-floor rooms enjoy a balcony. Most rooms offer views of 24-acre Abbott Lake, a manmade lake named for Stanley Abbott, the first resident landscape architect of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A restaurant, lounge, and gift shop are in the building with the registration desk. Operation of two other retail stores is included in the contract; one at the nearby Park Service campground and the other adjacent to the Park Service visitor center that is a short distance south on the parkway.

The 10-year contract is to begin January of 2025. The Park Service forecasts first-year revenues of $3.4 million to $4.2 million, derived approximately half from lodging based on an occupancy rate of 74-76 percent.  Food and beverage service is estimated to provide 39 percent of revenues, while retail will account for the remainder. The concessionaire is also authorized to offer shuttle service to near the rocky summit of 3,875-foot Sharp Top Mountain. The Park Service estimates this could generate an additional $55,000 in annual revenues.

Park Service estimates an initial investment on the part of a new operator of $1,775,000, mostly for personal property such as furniture, much of which would most likely be acquired from the existing concessionaire. Smaller outlays will be required for inventory, start-up costs such as the hiring and training of employees, and working capital. The prospectus indicates $776,000 of deferred maintenance must be addressed during the first two years of the new contract. A minimum franchise fee of 1 percent (a bidder can offer a higher fee) and a component renewal reserve of 3 percent (a fund to keep things working properly) of gross revenues are included in the prospectus.  Both requirements are quite low compared with most Park Service lodging contracts.

Parties interested in submitting a proposal must notify William Gordon of the NPS regional office of their interest by contacting [email protected] by 2 p.m. EST on August 5.  Formal offers for operating Peaks of Otter must be received by concession specialist Laura Nelson at (828) 348-3407 or [email protected] by 2 p.m. EST August 23. The Park Service is offering a site visit on June 26, 2024.  Registration for participation is required at least one week prior to June 26 by contacting concession specialist Laura Nelson at the email address above.

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot).  Visit them at blog.valdosta.edu/dlscott.