Grand Canyon News

Good morning friends and if you’ve got kids, hope they’re ready to go back to school.  Seems that schools are starting earlier and earlier around the country, so those of you taking advantage of Grand Canyon National Park’s last freebie weekend of the summer are most likely going to be of the more “chronologically gifted” persuasion.  Naturally, lots of you want to jump on this last opportunity to visit Grand Canyon sans the usual $25 entrance fee and lots of you are inquiring about different Grand Canyon tour options to help you get the most out of your Grand Canyon vacation.  Well, let me tell ya something folks: you’re not going to enjoy any of them if you don’t have a place to sleep! 

Which leads to this week’s QOW (Question of the Week): “What should I book first for my Grand Canyon vacation, my hotel or my tour?”

Answer: Hotel – most of the time anyway.

It’s kinda like the old “chicken or the egg” question, or maybe the one about the “cart and the horse.”  See, most Grand Canyon vacationers who plan an overnight visit are doing so with nary a thought to any kind of guided Grand Canyon tour.  Their loss, but the reality is that most of them only have one night and maybe half a day to spend at the Grand Canyon.  They couldn’t work a guided tour in if they wanted to, therefore they’re going to do self-guided touring of some sort, either by foot, by car, utilizing the bus tours offered by Xanterra South Rim LLC or taking advantage of the free shuttles that run around the Grand Canyon Village area or the Hermit’s Rest Road.  As a result, Grand Canyon hotel rooms get snatched up pretty quick – 6 to 8 months in advance inside the park, 3 to 4 months in advance for the gateway communities in the immediate area of the South Rim, including Tusayan (10 minutes South), Valle (30 miles South), and Cameron (60 miles East). 

And here’s a little factoid that might blow your mind: it doesn’t matter one bit that there’s a recession going on!   The hotel infrastructure at the Grand Canyon – including 6 hotels inside Grand Canyon Village (managed by Xanterra South Rim LLC) and the 6 hotels in Tusayan – is hard-pressed to accommodate 2 million annual visitors.  The year prior to my arrival at the El Tovar Hotel, annual visitation had passed the 3 million mark for the first time.  All the hotel employees in the area were scratching their heads wondering why we were busy in February, and scrambling to find beds for those unsuspecting travelers who had rolled into the park without reservations.  In the years immediately following, visitation approached and eventually surpassed the 4 million person mark, peaking at 4.5 million in 1995.  Naturally, not all of those people will want to stay overnight at the park, but a goodly number of them do. Can 12 hotels handle them all?  NOPE!   That’s not to say that the current economic challenges haven’t had an impact on Grand Canyon visitation – they have – but have they reduced visitation to pre-1986 levels?  NOPE!  

So that means that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  You absolutely must reserve your Grand Canyon lodging well in advance, recession or no recession!  If your visit is 4 to 6 months away, you might be fortunate enough to secure in-park lodging through Xanterra South Rim LLC.  And if you’re booking that far out, and aren’t picky about where you end up staying, then you can base your plans around the tours you want to take. 

But as our pal Mr. Monk is fond of saying, “here’s the thing:” the majority of you aren’t making your plans that far out, especially not this year.  Most of you are planning your vacations when you’re absolutely certain that your job is going to be there for you when you get back.  That means 3 months out tops, usually less.  So for you, Grand Canyon lodging is going to be the absolute lynchpin of your vacation plans.  All of your plans – tours, activities, itinerary, etc. – are going to revolve, and evolve, around Grand Canyon hotels and when you can get a reservation.  And most of the time that’s OK.  Most Grand Canyon tours, with the notable exception of those marvelous mule rides, have availability 2-3 months out, so you can secure your lodging first, then book your tours.  Or here’s a thought: if you want to be absolutely certain that the tour you want is available on your preferred date, just give us a call and we’ll happily check it for you.  We’ll even let you know if you can call us back in a couple of days and be OK, or if you need to get your ducks in a row by close of business. 

Your Grand Canyon lodging is NOT something you want to leave to chance – trust us on this, we live here and we’ve seen it happen too many times!  If you figure you’ll book your tour and figure out your where you’re going to stay when you get here, I’ll give you a word of advice: DON’T.  Because you might find yourself driving anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours from the park in order to find a room, and when you just got off an all-day tour that wrapped up at 6:30 PM, you aren’t going to be a happy camper at the end of the day.  What’s worse, your memory of the wonderful Grand Canyon tour you just took could be soured by the ordeal of finding a room afterwards.  Who needs that?  You sure don’t. 

So repeat after me: “room first, tour second!” 

This, by the way, is Time-Saving Secret #2 to an Incredible Grand Canyon Vacation – and if you think that bit of info is good to know, wait ‘till you hear the other 9!  Have you signed up to receive all 10 Secrets?  It’s no secret where it’s at – GrandCanyon.com! 

P.S. OK, so to every rule there is an exception, and there is actually one particular time of year where you can sometimes – not all the time, but sometimes – roll into the park and get a room.  And – dare I say it? – maybe even get on a mule ride!  When does this rift in time occur?  Find out by ordering our Grand Canyon Travel Planner – it’s got more insider secrets than Dr. Phil!  Learn more –>: The Grand Canyon Travel Planner.

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