Chemical spills, a ceiling collapse, indoor bears. Employees and park superfans blame the hospitality company Aramark.
Aramark’s contract in Yosemite, worth approximately $2 billion over 15 years...
... park insiders say the industry still holds considerable sway. Yosemite is among America’s most lucrative and popular parks, with almost 4 million visitors accounting for roughly $140 million in annual concessions revenue. The NPS has a $3.5 billion annual budget, a $21 billion maintenance backlog and little power to punish a disappointing contractor. “If you kick them out, then what do you do?” asks Jon Jarvis, who ran the park service during the Obama years. “We don’t have rangers to change bed linens.”
