Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware North, a privately-held
hospitality company, has acquired adventure travel company Yellowstone
Vacations.
The acquisition was finalized earlier this month, after
which Delaware North began operating Yellowstone Vacations as well as its
Buffalo Bus Touring Company, Rendezvous Snowmobile Rentals and Big Sky Car
Rentals. All of the acquired entities operate in Yellowstone National
Park.
Delaware North will market its four West Yellowstone lodging
options -- the Holiday Inn West Yellowstone, Gray Wolf Inn & Suites,
Yellowstone Park Hotel and the Explorer Cabins at Yellowstone -- through the Yellowstone
Vacations brand as well as on YellowstoneVacations.com.
"Now, more than ever, travelers want the convenience of
planning their entire vacation in one place. With the acquisition of
Yellowstone Vacations, Delaware North can now offer that all-inclusive
experience and curate unique vacation itineraries for visitors to this
incredible national park," said Jim Houser, Delaware North's group
president.
Delaware North also operates 12 general stores in
Yellowstone National Park under a contract with the U.S. National Park Service.
Yellowstone Vacations sells various tours and activities in
Yellowstone National Park, ranging from snowmobile tours and rentals in the
winter to guided tours of the Old Faithful geyser and Firehole Canyon in the
summer.
Delaware North has been on a growth spree this year, having added
25 new cabins at the Lodge at Geneva on Lake Erie in Ohio; begun operating
Honey Creek Resort on Rathbun Lake in Iowa; acquired Sea Crest Beach Hotel on
Cape Cod, Mass.; opened the Westin Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y.; acquired the Rocky
Mountain Park Inn and Trendz at the Park in Estes Park, Colo.; and opened a new
attraction, Heroes & Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
presented by Boeing, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida,
which Delaware North operates for NASA.
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Correction: Most of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming. An earlier version of this report referred to the park as "Montana's Yellowstone National Park."