Scott Socha

Scott Socha is group president for Delaware North’s parks and resorts division and operations in Australia. His role is based at the company’s global headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y.

Delaware North is a global leader in hospitality and entertainment with operations at high-profile places such as sports and entertainment venues, national and state parks, luxury resorts, restaurants at landmark locations, major airports, and regional destination casinos.

In his role overseeing the parks and resorts division, Socha provides strategic direction and ensures that short- and long-term plans are in place to drive business and enhance the company’s destination properties. The parks and resorts subsidiary provides hospitality services in seven national parks, three state parks, operates Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for NASA, owns and operates lodging in five national park gateway communities, such as Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, and owns and operates several other hotels and resorts, including The Westin Buffalo – Buffalo’s only AAA Four-Diamond-rated hotel.

Socha has overseen the expansion of the company’s lodging portfolio with the addition of 50 two-bedroom cabins at Tenaya Lodge in 2019, the development of a hotel to open in 2022 near Kennedy Space Center and the acquisition of a hotel near Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Mont., in 2019.

In addition to serving as president of the parks and resorts division since 2017, Socha oversaw the company’s travel division from 2019 to 2021. Overall, the travel division includes 300-plus restaurants and retail outlets at 22 airports across North America, including Los Angeles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Prior to his group president role, Socha served as a Delaware North vice president and the company’s treasurer. As treasurer, he oversaw Delaware North’s financial planning and analysis, treasury and risk management groups.

Socha began his career with Delaware North in 1999. Through the years, he has held various high-level positions in finance and business development. He has also spent a considerable amount of time with Delaware North’s Parks and Resorts business as vice president of finance and vice president of business development. He also oversaw GreenPath, Delaware North’s proprietary stewardship and environmental management platform, which has won dozens of awards from NASA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Travel Association.

Socha has an MBA in finance from the University at Buffalo and an undergraduate degree in business from St. John Fisher College. He is chairman of the National Park Hospitality Association, a board member of The Nature Conservancy of Central and Western New York, and a past board member of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.