Wyoming — In an effort to make the commutes and living situations of their employees much simpler, the operator of the commercial facilities at Yellowstone National Park has started a new employee housing project.
This week, the Xanterra Travel Collection® announced that work has commenced on a new employee housing building in the park. The Arnica dorm will be a three-story building that will feature 90 rooms with two beds each, providing housing for 180 people. Each room comes with built-in closets, a full bathroom, and a partial divider for added privacy. Each floor has a laundry room, so tenants won’t need to go anywhere to clean their clothes. On the upper floors, there will be lounge spaces that will be available to use for all tenants. The dorm is located at the Old Faithful Government Area.
“This is a transformational project,” said Mike Keller, the Vice President and General Manager at Yellowstone National Park Lodges. “Arnica not only replaces the housing we lost with the decommissioning of the aging Laurel Dorm, but it also improves quality of life for our employees and enables us to better serve our guests.”
This will be the third dormitory that Xanterra has built at Yellowstone under its current contract with the National Park Service. Sixty-six seasonal housing improvement projects have already been completed, and forty-one more are planned for the next five years. This totals $100 million in employee housing projects.
“These are not buildings we own,” said Matt Davey, Director of Engineering at Xanterra. “These are National Park Service facilities, and by extension, they belong to the public. But we see it as our responsibility — and our privilege — to invest in them. We’re committed to being a good partner to the Park Service, to our employees, and to the millions of guests who visit Yellowstone each year.”
As part of this development, Xanterra will be able to make 66 cabins that are currently used as employee housing available to paying guests, giving many new visitors the chance to stay inside the park.
Construction on this project began on July 7, 2025. Xanterra is aiming to complete the project in the spring of 2027.
Image Credits: Xanterra Travel Collection®
