housekeeper

server

guest service agent

front desk receptionist

room attendant

Xanterra

For me, a typical day at work is rewarding. Our goal at Xanterra is to provide legendary service to our guests 365 days a year. Wether I am at the front desk or the Concierge desk I have the unique opportunity to interact with guests and make a difference in their stay. I love the feedback from guests that suggestions I have made for stay worked out for their benefit, and helped them 'see' or 'touch' the most important places on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for the length of their stay. Another wonderful thing about Xanterra is when you make that personal connection with a guest. We are all milling about doing our jobs and guests are there enjoying the canyon. There are times when you are able to connect with a guest beyond the service of your job and relate on personal level to the special reason a guest is there. Many people come because it is on their bucket list, or they beat cancer, or continuing there journey in overcoming cancer, family reunions, locals coming up to enjoy from surrounding areas, every kind of hike trip you can imagine, and weddings- in which there is nothing ever so beautiful as a Grand Canyon Bride! Everyday is fraught with different opportunities. A 30 second walk out the door of the El Tovar, and their she is, the Canyon in all her glory, guaranteed to give you a glorious glimpse of her beauty, breathtaking, in all her elements!
I have learned that working in a place of beauty like this has opened my mind to the many wonders of world, which is people, and I am in awe of them all. Because we are an international location, you get to meet so many people and work with so many people, that being in a location such as the Grand Canyon, with people you love, is one of the greatest wonders of the world.
You will meet many people at the Grand Canyon and you will gain new friends in this diverse environment.
I love Xanterra's open door policy, and how managers work on a case by case basis with people, helping us to all grow within the hospitality industry.
Xanterra co-workers are a lot of fun. I have worked with many and some have become good friends beyond the job. We all come with a different reason for being here. Some just for a short while, some a couple of years, some long term, building a career, and some even retiring here.Generally, I like the interaction of different departments together and how we interact and try to support each other.
The hardest part of the job is like any other job on the front lines of hospitality: Smiling when you have been asked the same question for the 100th time that day! Seems easy, not always though. Also, the slow season, when hours decrease a bit.
The most enjoyable part of the job is making someone's day or trip with because you interacted with them! The guest will let your know.

My impression after working as a server at Xanterra Grand Canyon South Rim for 10 months was that the people at the top view their employees as completely disposable, and treat them this way. There were lower level managers who were incredible and had our backs, but they were not the norm. Many simple requests (like having enough water glasses and silverware to comfortably get through a shift) were overlooked while other less important needs were addressed and unusual service standards were strictly enforced (like despite one locating being casual dining - we'd get written up if we stepped on the floor without a tray in hand)- which made it seem that management did not know how to successfully or efficiently run a restaurant and did not care about our input. They also were always very understaffed or very overstaffed and didn't seem to take seasonal patterns into consideration- we would work sometimes 13 days straight in summer while struggling to get any hours in winter, while also struggling to get any reasonable time off requests approved. They'd also hire pretty much anyone - so while there were awesome people to work with - sometimes there would be staff who was terrible at their job, difficult to work with, and make getting through a shift successfully really difficult. There were also many awesome international employees who had signed contracts guaranteeing a certain amount of hours per week of work and those hours were not always met. Living conditions felt like low quality dorms but if you know what you are getting into and are prepared for it, the incredible location and low rent costs (about $80 taken from your paycheck per month) make it worth it. Also, since we had so many tourist guests (which was awesome!) there were a lot of large checks where we would be left with no tip - of course Xanterra doesn't have to add an automatic tip but as employees making low hourly money and surviving on tips this would have been very helpful and would show they cared for their employees- not knowing whether we'd get any tips through the shift was very stressful. Overall, working for Xanterra was very frustrating - as a company they seem to operate their restaurants terribly but because of their incredible locations they'll always make money - so they can pretty much get away with whatever. BUT I had the amazing opportunity to really explore the Grand Canyon, and many of my coworkers were so fun to work with and have become lifelong friends. If you are looking to live and work in an incredible place and feel strong enough to put up with less than ideal working and living situations then this is a good option! 

This company advertises that "It's People are their Most Precious Resource" this is FAKE NEWS. This is totally false and the CEO certainly never gave me the impression that he cared about anything except his huge salary.  The training here is like no other company in the Hospitality Industry that I have worked in, it was awful.  After working for benchmark companies like Marriott and Hyatt I was totally shocked at the ethics of this company and how false everything they promote really is.  Most of their staff have not even graduated grade school let alone high school and the training here is non existent.  SHOCKING to think that NATIONAL PARK SERVICE has not weeded out these atrocious CONCESSIONAIRES and found a way to work with TRUE to the Industry Companies like the ones mentioned above.
Most of the National Parks are beautiful places run by astonishingly awful Concessionaires who have no idea what leadership is or even how to lead. What is worse is that NPS is their OVERSEERER...and they are just as bad. They promote from within because no qualified candidate would ever work for a pitance of what they pay.  The owner, Multi Billionaire Phillip Anchutz, a Philanthropist, certainly does not give me the impression he lives up to that status. He may be a humanitarian on the Political stage or in the media but at the properties he runs I am shocked he is still owning anything.  
If you are into parties and lots of drug use then this is the place for you for NPS does nothing to fix any issues they just let it take its course.

With the onset of COVID19 the protocols set by NPS were Non Existent and the company really didn't care either.  One think that this company does exceptionally well is " THEY DON'T ENFORCE ANYTHING" and it is stated in their employee handbook, " We reserve the right at any given time to alter our rules and regulations" that right there tells me the violate their rules when ever they want to and that is unacceptable.

This company is losing so much revenue and could easily triple it but the owner is quite happy to make no money, I guess.  Such poor planning for the future and no introspection.  Phil should stay with the NBA and stay out of the Parks.  

My advice to anyone who is coming here: Read the bio on the company, check out Xanterrible.com it might illuminate some things, if you want to hike the Canyon and crank out a thousand miles doing so work here for 6 months then jet.  There is no future with this company, I worked at another so called Premiere Location and it was worse than the Canyon.

This company is perennially short-staffed, which brings a host of problematic issues to the everyday operation. Turnover is extreme, employees are overworked during busy times, and get hours cut in slower times.  Housing, food and pay are substandard.  Bed bugs are a problem throughout housing, and treatment methods used are ineffectual.  Housing is inadequate for the number of employees needed during the peak business months, and too many employees are crammed into small units together.  (A unit barely big enough for one person, may have 3-5 employees assigned to it.)

Work environment tends to be punitive, with a focus on discipline and documentation so employees can be readily fired and replaced.  This extends to front line managers as well, department directors are immune. The company does not embrace employees with disabilities and they are not sensitive to the needs of disabled guests. Upper management does not seem to thank or appreciate the work put in by front line workers.  At one point a company survey was done by an outside consultant, which was surprised to find that front line managers feel more aligned entry level front line workers than with upper management.

Guest comment cards are harshest on food service, followed by rooms and retail.  

Corporate offices focus on bottom line (EBITA) and acquisitions of new properties than supporting or investing in current holdings.  Corporate officials seem very out of touch with property problems.

Departments within the company have varying levels of teamwork among them, the Accounting department has the most clout.  The company president has an accounting background.

Properties that have short seasons work grueling hours during store set ups and closures.  Salaried persons can expect to work 12 to 18 hour days in those periods.

When the company was smaller (before the merger of AMFAC and TW Services) the company environment was more personable and friendly.  As Xanterra has grown into a huge corporation with many holdings,  employees are more like numbers, and company policies have become more stringent and inflexible.

When I applied for this job it sounded like it would be a great experience. I would get to live in Yellowstone for the summer and spends days hiking and fishing while getting paid to work in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I was placed in the location of Grant Village where the gift shop was small, so only two associates and the store manager were going to be working there, but you would be working alone. When I arrived the store wasn't even open yet, so myself, the other associate, and the manager had to set the store up. Doing so made me feel more comfortable in the store because I knew where most of the products were. A typical day at work if I was opening would consist of arriving 30 minutes early making sure the store was stocked, dusted, and vacuumed. After I made sure that was done, I would open my register and then open the store. I would greet every customer that entered the store with a simple hello and smile. As they were looking around I would ask if they needed help finding anything. When the were done I would ring them out and send them off with a thank you and a smile. As the products left the shelf I would go by and front the store making sure everything was neat and orderly and all holes were filled. After my shift I would close my drawer: count the cash, debt and credit slips, and make the deposit for the day. If I was closing I would do the same as previously stated and close after the last customer had left even if it was after closing. After the door was closed and locked I would vacuum, restock, and close my drawer. Lock the door and leave for the night. After the first couple of weeks the other associate fell and broke her wrist, so she was no longer able to work for a few weeks, and later tore a meniscus and was no longer able to work. It was down to myself and my manager. I ended up working for hours than my manager. I was working 110 hours a week 7 days a week. I was told I would be working up to 48 hours a week and I would have two days off. I don't think the manager did her job very well. I feel as though she was lazy and didn't care if she was there or not. The hardest part of the job was working 110 hours every week becoming sick and still having to work. The most enjoyable part of the job was talking to the customers finding out where they are coming from and how much they are enjoying Yellowstone.

I've had the pleasure of working here for three months. Not only is the pay and housing terrible here they also serve horrible food three times a day that you are forced into buying unless you get promoted or live off site. The management is nonexistent and our kitchen manger is always there after us and leaves before anybody. The general manger does nothing to change anything either and will tell you anything you need to here. The first few months we were here we got put on opposite schedules I was working at 5AM and my boyfriend at 1PM so we never got to even see the park. I also felt that our kitchen manger didnt like the idea of a girl on the line  because  I never got to work the pm shift even though I'm a seasoned cook, they needed the help, and I expressed how much I wanted to work nights! We also went in our days off to help clean for the health inspection that we had just days after us getting there, we cleaned eveyday because it was disgusting. After working and helping clean the kitchen so they could even pass the health inspection. The kitchen manger who didnt even help clean because of a hurt knee didnt even include me in a thank you note. That's all we got was a posted email on the wall thanking everyone but me.  After that I applied to the cafe because I was told now that my  boyfriend was promoted to supervisor, that I could not work in the same kitchen. So I had to take a pay cut which they didnt even tell me I would have and changed my pay without my signature, also told me I would become a manger soon. After a month goes by with no manger training as expected, they ask me to apply as manger. I'm not even getting promoted I still have to go through the interview process. I did not apply for the manger postion and was still a lead but had to do all the manger duties. Opening and closing the store, dealing with all money drops, all discounts, all of grief from customer while getting paid 9.00. I finally gave up and quit when they restricted all computer access from me as well, so I couldnt even do the things that needed to be done for the day. I would never work for zion while these people are still running the show

   I first knew these guys during a short term period working with them 9 years prior to when I would return once again to work and live for a bit over 4 years it would have been 5 years a few months after I decided to resign and leave them permanently but do have an open window to return as I earned good money and built up enough credit to be dubbed a good employee and a hard worker. I'm not the best but I do well enough.

  The Xanterra company is many National Parks and tourist attractions around the country that millions visit every year. I saw international travelers from all over the world visit our great National Parks. It's awesome sightseeing and good atmosphere. My problem was I started dreaming about another life. A life of gazing out upon the ocean not some cavernous canyon valley in the desert. 
This would also drive a wedge between us because I did not see a life working here. At least not the kind that was only focusing on working, going home and then back to do it again. I had no social life and rarely went out exploring the places these touring locations built on historic National Parks living with natives and locals that married and or were born into living there. 
      If you like sightseeing, adventures and exploration these beautiful places in the country. The Xanterra company is opened year round and offers rooms for guests, employee housing and many folks living there in apartments and house homes. They really are wonderful places to live and work many years for. I keep growing feelings for new stuff, new things to see and new things to do. The village life can seem isolating. I was tired of making road trips to go to town/city and shop without tourism prices. Need to break free occasionally I feel it is necessary for the people living in a national park.

    Again, to each their own. Everyone is wired differently, so what about me? Can I ever just be complacent with working and be content with my job and my work? Without wondering what else is out there over the horizon that I may or may not be able to reach far as my sight can see? I can see pretty far too.

As a late-comer to the Seasonal world I only know Xanterra in Glacier. I am also a Montana local and Professional Sommelier. Having held two manager roles within the Park over four years I can attest to the vision and mission of our program. If the weekly paycheck is your only concern then look elsewhere.  My people, both salaried and hourly, receive a bounty of challenge and learning opportunities. Based on a Divisional code: Guest First Excellence with Dignity and Respect, we expect your best and provide our very best. Interested in taking the Court of Master Sommeliers Level I exam? Come work at Lake McDonald or Many Glacier dining rooms. Do you feel committed to sustainable agriculture? Curious about the cultures of Eastern Europe or Asia? Need to bank a dollar sum and travel the world? Are you hungry for a positively engaged workplace? Then come join us. If you want to work 5 hours a night while you read up on Real Estate, cannot live without electronic media, afraid of mother nature, or can't stand not having "City", then please pass us by. We challenge our Leadership Team with "What do really want to learn this season?"  Then we deliver it. Our most common remark from our F&B Staff..." I learned so much this season". Make no mistake, a 55 hour week is normal.  You will close at midnight and return at 5:30 AM. We provide service to the best...and worst, people on the planet. You will walk ten miles a day. Housing can be very rustic. You probably don't have a bathroom in your room. But...there are the Northern Lights, the Goats that get into the laundry, then there are bears. And then there are more bears. But it will be your workmates who you will stay in touch with, visit in Machu Picchu, Bangkok, or Barbados, argue with, and more than occasionally, marry. It very well may change your life, and then you will change the world. It's not for the faint of heart, we are for the great of spirit. 
It is the most fun I've had in this industry in 30 years.

As a Guest Room Attendant a typical day was about 8 hours long. You had to arrive by 8 am at the very latest, do morning stretches, then we were assigned to our housing section. Generally I cleaned between 12-14 rooms a day.
During my time I learned how to 
-Properly strip and make a bed
-dusting
-Cleaning bathrooms
-Vacuuming
-Addressing guests with complaints/questions
-Stocking guest rooms & linen closets
My co-workers were all very interesting people, I was one of two American citizens at the site. There was a mix of Vietnamese, Romanian, Norwegian, and Malay employees. Many of them were part of a student exchange program that gave them the opportunity to work and travel.
The Management at this particular location was ran poorly, a lot of the older employees had greater influence over the supervision of new trainees. There was a lot of favoritism between the elder employees, all of them were close friends, and judged simple mistakes with high prejudice. I was written up twice for missing small details, such as not dusting one aspect of the room. One of my supervisors had rushed me over five times one day and I had ended up missing a bed, which was wrinkled, and one of my hairs had gotten loose. They wrote me up for missing a bed. 
The hardest part of the job was probably the constant movement, we had up to 2 free 15 minute brakes, but only the people who cleaned at the appropriate speed would qualify for them. My Supervisors were always pushing me to work faster, but as I worked faster they would push me to work at a better quality- Therefore I never managed to reach their standards.
The most enjoyable part of the job was probably meeting new customers everyday and receiving their 'thank you's and answering their queries.

Start work with filling the ice, then setting up the different drink machines. The next few hours is a blur of cleaning tables after guests are done with them, helping guests get around the park by giving directions, refilling the soda syrups, figuring out why a machine isn't working and fixing it.
I get along with all my Coworkers, We sometimes have a power struggle when its not busy, even though when it comes to there being a big mess of tables I'm the one who takes charge and gives plans on how we're going to clean it up faster. I will often give a time I want it done by, if that happens we get a soda.
Hardest part of the job is probably when we're bogged down with tables to clean and people just keep coming and then start complaining that there's no clean tables to the cashiers, which tell them that there's not a lot of bussers but they're working as fast as they can. There's only 3 bussers to clean 110 tables in a cafeteria setting.
My favorite part of the job is when there's no tables to clean and after we complete a small list of general maintenance, I send us out into different sections to talk to the guests to find out if they're finding everything okay and we give suggestions on what there is to do in the park or we help solve their problems in general. This job is generally a very isolated job and my boss likes that I've found a way to make it social because they can tell that we make the guests happier. We often get tips when we do this and we split it among the 3 of us which is really nice.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Housekeeper 3 salaries reported	$13.33 per hour
Server 3 salaries reported	$11.67 per hour
Guest service agent 3 salaries reported	$15.83 per hour
Front desk receptionist 10 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour
Room attendant 3 salaries reported	$12.17 per hour

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