Hotel Impossible - General Discussion

[HunterHunted]

Did anyone see the episode with the pork barrel hotel in Kentucky? That hotel is far too big for the location. Though Anthony was correct to propose turning some of the suites into condos. If Frankfort is like most state capitals, the population swells during legislative sessions. A lot of lobbyists will just take up residence in a decent nearby condo.

[bluepiano]

This episode made me crazy, because of the attitude of the jackass manager (son of the owners), and sad because of that poor, sweet maid who had worked there ten years for minimum wage. Not to inject politics into everything, but in the recent Republican debates you heard candidates saying, "we don't need to raise the minimum wage, we need to train people so they can get better jobs." How is that going to help a woman like this?

 

The fact is that there will always be menial jobs that need doing, and the people who do them are serving a useful function in society. When you stay at a hotel you want the room and bathroom to be clean. That doesn't happen by magic. So people who are doing these necessary jobs should be paid a wage they can live on. Ten years at minimum wage without a raise? Think about how much the cost of living has gone up over that period. And she said she's supporting six people? That's heartbreaking.

 

And then the manager is recorded sounding all smug and saying that the reason he doesn't have a minimum wage is he because he went to college and worked hard to get good grades. Dude, you got your job because YOUR PARENTS OWN THE HOTEL. Life is not a level playing field, and people who have all the advantages and then act superior to those who don't make me crazy. It's like Mitt Romney taking about "the 47%" who want things from the government, or Jeb Bush saying that the answer to income inequality is people working more hours. These people are living in their own little reality and have no concept of anything else. Infuriating.

 

And I really wonder if that maid or other low paid employees ever got a raise, as it was so obvious that the manager's "apology" was only to placate Anthony after he got caught on the recording. Once the cameras were gone I bet nothing changed.

Edited November 2, 2015 by bluepiano

[hoosiermommy]

This episode made me crazy, because of the attitude of the jackass manager (son of the owners), and sad because of that poor, sweet maid who had worked there ten years for minimum wage. Not to inject politics into everything, but in the recent Republican debates you heard candidates saying, "we don't need to raise the minimum wage, we need to train people so they can get better jobs." How is that going to help a woman like this?

 

.

If she had other skills, she would be more marketable and possibly have been able to find other employment. If not in a different industry than at least in a different hotel with the ability to move up to supervision or management. The reality is, if you don't have training or education, you are limited in opportunities.

Raising the minimum wage does nothing to lift people up past minimum wage and encourage upward mobility.

That does not mean, however, that that GM wasn't an insufferable jerk. He oozed insincerity and his apology sounded like he was darned sorry he got caught bad mouthing someone.

[HoneyBadgerJr]

If she had other skills, she would be more marketable and possibly have been able to find other employment. If not in a different industry than at least in a different hotel with the ability to move up to supervision or management. The reality is, if you don't have training or education, you are limited in opportunities.

Raising the minimum wage does nothing to lift people up past minimum wage and encourage upward mobility.

That does not mean, however, that that GM wasn't an insufferable jerk. He oozed insincerity and his apology sounded like he was darned sorry he got caught bad mouthing someone.

 

Not to get (more) political, but...if people have a living wage/needs met, they can be better equipped to pursue skills development/education. So, raising the minimum to a *living* wage actually can work to "lift people up past minimum wage" and can not just encourage upward mobility but foster it as well.

[califred]

Anthony said in his Periscope last night that the maid got a raise.

I can't figure out how last nights couple could own that beautiful property and let the other one fall apartz

[Lonesome Rhodes]

They found mold in the first room they looked at in Galena, and none of the others?!!!!!!!!!!!  Suuuuuuuure.

 

Good for the Braum Bros. that they got the free pub from the show.  The only synergy they came up with was tastings?   Why on earth would they have tastings at tghe motel when they so obviously created gorgeous space for that very thing on their own property????

 

Why did the take out one of the range/ovens?  Were they using both?  If they were, what is the plan to heat/cook all the stuff?  The cowhide throw rug was hideous.  

 

Did I completely miss the assurance that each room was going to have a white tornado treatment?  Just once, I'd loooooove to see AM go through a room which was supposedly cleaned (not gutted) after the original visit with his dirt-o-meter.  Was any reasonable plan to upgrade the rooms spoken of?  They got new TVs.  What was the laundry solution the owner chose?  

 

It is always extremely suspicious to me when we see absolutely no employees.  To me, it means the problems are too overwhelming.  I'm betting that was true here.

 

Galena really is beautiful.  

Edited November 5, 2015 by Lonesome Rhodes

[tessa]

Still watching this episode and I do like the show but not this episode. The hotel supposedly needed help - but why when you had an owner - who has been in the hotel business for 35 yrs and is successfully running an upscale bed and breakfast. If the owners were that concerned with the hotel - they would have had adequate furniture - promotions, inspections ect all without Anthony's help. To me this was more of a tax deduction than anything else. It gives sis a place to stay with a small salary. The owners knew what they needed to do to turn this around to fill the rooms and make it profitable - this show was BS and I'm surprised Anthony had anything to do with it.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I just saw the Frankfort ep.   Very, very, odd.  The size of the hotel had not a thing to do with operational costs.  You shut down however many floors you know you will not be using.  Maintain minimal heating/cooling.  Done.  I get that it is difficult to pay the original mortgage based on the overbuild.  So...you max out the F&B and banquet/meeting room opportunities.   That was a very attractive property.

 

Where was the TH about how much it typically costs to fix seeping water issues?  There is a reason beyond Chad being a dipshit that these issues were never addressed.  Too many employees would have said something. 

 

I was fascinated about the accounting of the $275K.  That was arguably the single-best reveal in series' histoire.  We got no payoff whatsoever!  Boo!!!!  Had to be lawyers ruining our fun.

 

I never got the impression that ownership was particularly hard up for capital.  They were all about the conversion, so they knew what to do.  They also knew about the beer deal.  Yet at the final strategy meeting, there was no anything about the chronic ignoring of all of the issues.  Weird.  Unless, of course, AM knew he was in waaaaay over his head and production just decided to claim victory and get out of town fast.

 

The new bar was ugly minimalism.  AM was all about the heritage of the Bourbon Trail and he thinks this is evocative of such?  Hahahahaha.  What it is, is cheap.  The previous bar was attractive.  The real issue is it was very small.  They needed to figure out a way to expand the footprint.  

 

Wading into the wage issue...some jobs are commodities.  They require no special skill.  Most hotel jobs fall into this category - especially maids.  It's about just showing up and giving effort.  If something comes up, you find a manager/supervisor.  There is GREAT honor in anyone who works as well and diligently as the featured maid in this ep.  It is INEXCUSABLE and REPREHENSIBLE that management failed to take and make notice.  But, the labor is worth what it is worth in terms of compensation.  The market will pay what the market will pay.  Most customers will not pay a premium - ask the airlines.  

 

As a practical matter, look what has happened in the few places which have adapted mandatory increases in the minimum wage:  Massive layoffs for the unskilled.   WalMart is paying a severe economic price for its recent voluntary minimum increases.

 

I worked for years in hotel/motel, working my way up to lower management.  While everyone always hoped for (and most deserved!) better compensation, we understood the real cost pressures faced by ownership.  What really mattered was stuff that cost very little, or nothing at all:  Respect and recognition.  I met my fair share of dickwads like Chad and the other jerks at the Frankfort place.  They'd be jerks in any business.  When I was at a property where a culture of respect, accountability, and recognition started at the top, it was a great job, despite the low wages.

 

I think HI should have made this a two-parter and dug deeper into the place.  It had awesome potential and a lot of rot.  This truly was a rare occasion when AM's touch/feely culture jihad was the fix!   The financials could have been a fantastic look at the various choices that can legitimately be made, and the pluses and minuses of such.  

[nottopbravo]

As I watch these episodes, I wonder how many times Anthony has walked away saying, "Nope, I can't help you".  There must be a lot of applicants to this show wanting free stuff.  In fact, that would make a great episode of Hotel Impossible.  I thought this episode was one of them.

[bluepiano]

Just saw the Galena episode. Anthony said that he's "not Dr. Phil," but pretty much every episode this season has been full of psychodrama. Anthony said it's the first time he's called in a therapist. Not sure if that's true. I know for sure that he's already called in a substance abuse specialist. I watch this show because I'm interested in travel and the hotel business. Not because I want to watch a family therapy session.

 

After taking to both sisters Anthony said that he didn't know who to believe. Really? I'm sure he felt, as I did, that Renee, the motel manager, was mentally unbalanced. She couldn't even have a conversation without bursting into tears. Ramona said that her sister has always been jealous of her, and I bet that's true. Ramona was prettier, smarter, the one who made a good marriage etc. I think that Ramona is to be applauded, because  it seems she's keeping the motel going just to give her sister a job and place to live. Renee is obviously incompetent, and does not seem emotionally capable of functioning by herself.

 

Was this the first episode for that interior designer? She was really annoying, and so full of herself. Spreading herself across the table that way, knowing it's on camera for national TV? Please, have some dignity. Maybe she's the one who needs intervention by a therapist.

Edited November 13, 2015 by bluepiano

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The Myrtle Beach ep was a farce, and to AM's credit, he let us know that he knew it, too.  The sale of the property was easily the best option.

 

Two small, but telling, things I noticed:  When he got there, he was given the key to Rm. 100.  All the kerfuffle was about Rm. 216.  In the reveal, we never did see the shower unit.  They were sure to cover the whole thing with a curtain.  Guess who understood the owners would never be able to afford new shower units.

 

So, when the "mold" mitigator was sawing the ceiling filled with mold, there were tons of fine particles a-flyin'.  No mask.  It was landing all over his arms.  No hazmat suit.  

 

Does South Carolina have a Wage and Hour division?  Surely, they do.  

 

More honesty from Anthony - the real cost of each room was ~$4K.  He usually tries to fool us that turnarounds can be done for ~$1K.  

 

Oh, well.  AM and TPTB were pretty much straight with us on this one.  I'll take it.

[BostonBlonde]

OMG the NH Country Barn motel? The "guests"? Hello meth addicts. No wonder the place is a shit hole.

 

And to charge the "GM" $275 a week? WTF. It wasn't worth $275 a month. 

Edited November 16, 2015 by BostonBlonde

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Gatlinburg.  I love that area!  If I am fortunate, I will visit there again.  Funny that AM did not mention the overwhelming competition.  There are sooooo many places to rent a room.  Upscale, it is not.  

 

AM was fast and shady with the numbers he laid out in that meeting.  He said if they brought in an extra $17/available room night, they would gross $745K more, which is a true statement.   Well, that is far different than revenue per OCCUPIED room night, which is the realistic projection to make.  I'd be shocked if their annual occupancy was anywhere near even 70%. 

 

That owner is cray cray.  He's invested millions into that place without sound management?  Just wow.

 

I hated that they painted over the gorgeous room paneling.  All they needed to do was strip and stain it.  Of course, a modern designer like the one AM brought in would never go for that!  For what would she even be required?   The bathroom makeover was pretty well done, though.

 

$10K/room?  A complete strip, new bed, carpet, furniture, bathroom?  Seems pretty low.  That may be a volume price - as in all 120 rooms at once.  

 

Did they address the breakfast?  No comments on that space?  AM has never liked any breakfast operation at any of these properties.  Why didn't he say anything?  :)

Not a word about required pool rehab?  It's amazing how he won't mention just how impossible his solution is.  This is another trult impossible property - absent a massive capital infusion, and a complete change in management and most everyone else.

 

What was the point of the front end of the show with AM at the Moonshine joint?  I did enjoy the owner's crack about the Brookside, though.  

 

So, on what basis did they proceed?  There is no lease?  They signed it?  Again - that owner is a moron.

[Kromm]

Was this the first episode for that interior designer? She was really annoying, and so full of herself. Spreading herself across the table that way, knowing it's on camera for national TV? Please, have some dignity. Maybe she's the one who needs intervention by a therapist.

Undignified, sure. But I thought she was kind of a pill. And later in the episode when she actually spoke about design-related stuff (especially the economics of some of her decisions) she came off as pretty smart.

[psychoticstate]

I love Gatlinburg too.  I liked the room redo, even with the painting over the wood paneling. 

 

The owner really was crazy.  Ultimately it was his fault that the place was in such disrepair.   He'd be nuts not to start upgrading the rooms.

 

I'm surprised that Anthony didn't mention destination weddings or something like that.  We didn't see if the hotel had any type of conference room facilities but surely in a place that size, they did.  And with nice outdoor space, wouldn't you try to use it as a venue for weddings, parties, etc?   I guess there was only so much that could be covered in the episode.

 

I did get teary at the end over the plaque for the woman's husband/son's father.  Maybe there was dust in the air? 

[nottopbravo]

Could it be the air in Bangor, Maine?

[Kromm]

In the Maine episode, Anthony said it took 20 drinks to equal the cost of a room. Honestly I don't see him making his case very well with that argument, because that bar looked like there were at least 60-70 people or more there drinking, and if they had around that number averaging just 2 drinks per hour per client, and maintained that level for just 3 hours per night that's 360-420 drinks--in other words based on the 20 drinks = a room... equal to 18-24 rooms.  Now I know that doesn't sound like a lot of rooms, but that's presuming she could REALLY be renting that many MORE rooms per night than she is currently. That's a lot to assume.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Kromm

[Vivigirl10]

The Maine episode was odd and unsettling with the focus on the failed relationship between the owner and the bartender.  And I didn't buy the bartender just up and exiting so easily, leaving his livelihood and home behind.  

 

That being said, the make-over to the room was absolutely beautiful and so in keeping with the historical feel of the hotel!  Gorgeous!   

[auntjess]

 

And I didn't buy the bartender just up and exiting so easily, leaving his livelihood and home behind.

 

I thought this too, especially when he'd had that crowd gathered.

[speac]

I found this--it helps explain a few things.

 

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/07/31/business/charles-inn-owner-hotel-impossible-didnt-close-big-easy-lounge/

 

 

[Kromm]

I found this--it helps explain a few things.

 

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/07/31/business/charles-inn-owner-hotel-impossible-didnt-close-big-easy-lounge/

Gee, the show presented a lie as the truth. Big surprise.

 

Anthony riding in on his horse as Mr. Wizard with the answer/solution they'd already thought of.  NOT. SHOCKED. 

 

Getting back to what I said in my last post and expanding on it... it's not that I even get the full logic here. Anthony has shown this preference before on another episode, but if his "20 drinks = one room for a night" figure was really true (in other words, the drinks of a mere 10 customers for a SINGLE hour), then I don't get the math/logic for a bar that (at least with what we were given seemed to be packed with like 70 people. Remember, they don't need 70 people the whole time is open either--they just need them for a few hours per day (or for them to be buying more than 2 drinks per hour and no food) and that's the equivalent of filling lots of extra rooms upstairs.

 

Those rooms needed to be better soundproofed, it's true. And a good analysis done if they were really getting enough customers after lets say... 11pm. But the hotel only HAS 30 rooms and 30 rooms worth of "drinking" at 20 drinks equaling a room is only 600 drinks.  And 600 drinks, again figuring a conservative 2 drinks per customer per hour with NO food is 300 customers. And 300 customers, even assuming the bar would only be open from lets say potential peak hours of 5pm to... lets be conservative again and scale back the closing time to 11pm... is 300/6 - 50.  So being really conservative all around, they'd only need 50 customers drinking 2 drinks per hour, over those peak bar hours on a busy street and that would be equal to the ENTIRE 30 rooms above.

 

So Anthony is trying to claim the hotel would otherwise be FULL, with 100% occupancy--and this would have to be vs. ZERO occupancy to really make sense to totally discount the bar (and the bar scaled back to closing at 11pm).

 

Of course this may not take into account the operating costs of the bar, but again we're really only left with Anthony's 20 drinks = 1 room estimate. We don't know where that figure came from (unless I totally misheard what he said--I admit I've no longer got the episode recording).

 

The reason this really falls apart is the limited number of rooms in that hotel. If the same argument was made about a 200 room hotel, where you could reasonably make a case that occupancy could be significantly higher if there was no noisy bar, then it might make sense. But it makes no sense to argue that a 30 room hotel will go from totally empty to totally full with no bar.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Kromm

[califred]

The bartender reminded me of a stalker with the "I still love her" and refusing to move out. Granted she should have spent the money to evict him.

[bluepiano]

The bartender reminded me of a stalker with the "I still love her" and refusing to move out. Granted she should have spent the money to evict him.

 

Clearly Anthony was on the side of the female owner, so the edit was hardly objective. My guess is that the woman did her share to contribute to this dysfunctional relationship. The vibe I got was that she's someone who's gone through life playing the victim.

 

Given the incredible mark-up on liquor, it seems to me that a successful bar is a better business to own than a small boutique hotel. They portrayed Bangor as going through a renaissance, but I was there a few years ago and it was pretty economically depressed. And it's not in the coastal Maine tourist belt.

 

Bringing in the couple from the previous episode seemed weird. The woman said something about making the hotel appeal to families. A downtown hotel, with no grounds and no pool? Hardly a place you'd bring the kids for a fun family vacation. (Even with The Big Easy closed, there were still several other bars on that street. Not a real family atmosphere).

 

As for the bar in the hotel, when I'm selecting a hotel that's one thing I always research on Trip Advisor. Because it sucks to pay good money to sleep and be kept awake by people partying below you. Or booming disco music from a club across the street, which has happened to me.

 

I think this was the third team this season that Anthony said "I'm not Dr. Phil," but the show has made a definite turn into family psychodrama. Seems that's how all these hotel/restaurant make-over shows end up. Don't know if I'm in the minority, but I actually do watch because I'm interested in the business and marketing aspects of the industry. Not because i want to watch the Amateur Family Therapy Hour.

Edited November 29, 2015 by bluepiano

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I guffawed when the new lessees said they wanted to make it a family joint.  Of course, the garish "boutique" is just what I would want to attract families.  

 

One thing a bar can be is a guaranteed cash flow.  In a place that small?  Super important.

 

This show is not much good when AM completely steers clear of the basics.  OK.  You had the stains and such.  What was the fix?  Who was responsible?  When we never get a glimpse of the bathroom, you just know that the fix was way too expensive to deal with.  

 

The deal was horrible.  She retains all the debt and has to hope the lessees know what they are doing?  Not a dime for a year?  Not a dime of capital improvements mentioned, beyond what AM did?  A farce.  And of course, the whole thing was planned out before AM stepped foot in Maine.

 

Can we please get back to the original concept of the show?

[Eater of Worlds]

I have totally lost interest in this show.  I don't remember when it is on and then when I do have it on I forget to watch it.  It has lost me.

[HelloOutThere]

That bartender gave me the creeps. As someone who has read many Stephen King novels, he seems like he could have been a character in one of them. Maybe that explains Stephen King and his constant use of Bangor as a setting in his novels. 

 

Agree the remodeled room looked amazing post-remodel. That wallpaper was EVERYTHING.

[SanDiegoInExile]

Hostel Impossible?  Bleh.

 

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/hotel-impossible-season-seven-premieres-in-april-on-travel-channel/

 

Hotel expert Anthony Melchiorri returns to upgrade Monday nights with an all-new seventh season of Travel Channel’s hit series “Hotel Impossible,” premiering on Monday, April 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. As one of the network’s top-rated series for 2015, this new season, comprised of 13 one-hour episodes, is filled with big surprises, moving moments, outrageous characters and unforgettable confrontations......In the season premiere, Melchiorri tackles his first hostel – located within the historic Gardner Hotel, a second generation,family-run business in El Paso, Texas. Hoping to capitalize on the budget-friendly trend of room-sharing accommodations, Joe, the owner, has converted half of the Gardner’s rooms into a hostel. Melchiorri quickly becomes concerned with guest security and safety, cringing at the health risks in a guest kitchen

[califred]

The hostel manager was a moron. Oh we can't have locking bathrooms they are shared. The exact reason one wants a locking bathroom.

I enjoyed the lack of drama in this episode.

[JackiFL]

Great start to the new season. Looking forward to more episodes like this one!

[zillabreeze]

 

I enjoyed the lack of drama in this episode.

LOL- I felt the opposite.  I wanted to see that smug, entitled smartass assistant manger get booted!  Disappointed that his termination was "off-camera"

[califred]

That assistant manager looked non bothered by anything I doubt he even cared. Plus he was being far underpaid even with free accommodations.

[auntjess]

They'll always have a problem with locked bathrooms, because someone will forget to unlock the door they aren't using.

Lived with this years ago in college.

I'd be really uneasy sleeping with strangers, but then I'm not their market.

[walnutqueen]

They'll always have a problem with locked bathrooms, because someone will forget to unlock the door they aren't using.

Lived with this years ago in college.

I'd be really uneasy sleeping with strangers, but then I'm not their market.

 

Manual deadbolt.  Lockable from inside the bathroom, only unlockable from outside by a management key.

[auntjess]

I was thinking maybe a high-tech electronic tandem lock, but if it exists, it would probably be pricey.
Best would probably have bathroom doors off the hall.

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Not a promising start for me.  Yet another faaaaaamily deal with almost no capital.  

 

A place like that most certainly had HVAC and structural problems.  Super expensive.  They had no insects?  Really?  El Paso? 

 

So, what was the housekeeping fix?  Oh.  That's right, we never saw housekeeping.  LOL.

 

What were the financials?  Did that dude somehow manage to pay off all debt and make an operational profit?  Really?

 

The fix was among his all-time cheapest.  The standard online biz course (free to HI).  Bedding (free to HI).  Very minor carpentry for the "kitchen."  Tiling in a super-small bathroom.  Not even the go-to free online set-up.  No management software.  No IT hardware.   

 

Oh well.  I'd much rather have at least this much show than none at all.

[Kromm]

It could be worse. They could be trying to do this "Ambush" style the way Restaurant Impossible is now.

 

Okay, maybe it couldn't be MUCH worse. Anthony isn't even pretending to look deeply at Hotels anymore. Like Irvine before him, he just goes in looking for a main target/fall person to yell at the loudest, and a second person to be the rescuer. Then he works backwards to prove his conclusions. I'm not even saying he's usually wrong, it's just that I bet he misses a lot that way (and we miss even more watching the show). 

[califred]

The nasty owner at this weeks place was a piece of work.  I doubt he's going start spending his own money to do more fixing.  He will probably put another hot tub in a room.

[spiderpig]

$500 a night at The Sandy Shore Motel?

[psychoticstate]

Last night episode ended up making me furious.   Three areas were redone (lobby; guest room; pool area) with a nice stock of donated items from the companies and the owner decides not to hire the company Anthony recommended and set up, hired on his own a GM that was then let go and redesigned the lobby?   What an idiot.  He deserves to fail. 

I did love the description of Anthony as a passionate pit bull (if I'm remembering correctly.)    

[walnutqueen]

how hard can it be to find decent people who run legitimate businesses that need an honest hand up instead of a hand out?  Oh, wait - not enough drama there.  Pffft.

[spiderpig]

14 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

how hard can it be to find decent people who run legitimate businesses that need an honest hand up instead of a hand out?  Oh, wait - not enough drama there.  Pffft.

I was thinking the same thing. This show has become more & more like Restaurant Impossible.

I enjoyed the episodes where the properties had potential & motivated owners.  Lately it's just Anthony finding vermin/mold/filth/horrible staff. 

As far as last night's Winter Haven property, no matter how much lipstick they put on this pig, I'd still never stay there. *no offense to pigs*

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Rhode Island is a very under-rated Summer state.  From Newport, north to Providence, there are any number of great spots.  Boston or the Cape are a couple hours away.  I loved the time I've spent there.

The bio guy said the whole place had to be reduced to the studs and treated.  Did AM do that?  Nope.  Countless folks and the entire staff would be exposed to whatever every day after he left.  AM was fine with that.  That's all I need to know about the integrity of AM.  He either radically overstated the issue(s), or he was heartless and gutless by refusing to go to the Board of Health and closing the joint down.  

Here again, we did not see the bathroom improvements.  Dead giveaway they were super cheap and the brief glance revealed it was super cheap looking.  $500/room night?  If the bath is nice, maaaaaybe.  If it is cramped and plastic?  No way.  Me?  I'd spend the money and create a great property.  Then, I would clean up at the cash register.  I'm betting there is a massive debt-load.  The return on any capital improvement there is so huge, there simply has to be a ton of debt involved.

I am not liking the forced confrontations they've instituted this year, with the "other side" first observing an AM interview with the opposite "side."  AM plays both sides against the middle during these.  

In Winter Haven, AM was ridiculous about his "20 minute" overview.  He was bent out of shape because dude had been given the financials, but was not somehow incorporating that on a visual tour of 20 flipping minutes.  He had his mind made up about bringing in a management company.   He was probably right, but then again, just about every property he ever looks at needs the same thing.   Why this time was he so adamant?

Another product placement for the $3500 (Of course AM used hyperbole saying it was a $4K value) tool kit.  Why am I not surprised?  The 411 on how to inspect a room was great, albeit regrettably short.  Finally, we saw some genuine hotel management!  What would actually be useful here is developing a new baseline of acceptability.  There is no way all the rooms would be brought up to anything approaching standard.  Identify a wing or two that can be quickly and cheaply spruced up, and then inspect those scrupulously.  The owner has no capital, remember?

I do NOT like the minimalism rage in hotels.  The front desk area is certainly open, but it is not warm.  Comfort was not even considered.  The bathroom fix was, for once, legit and within budget.  I still don't know how any of this gets done without a major cash infusion.  

Sure enough, the owner refused to have genuine accountability via a management firm.  He also was a fool to spend precious resources on a perfectly reasonable and new front area instead of in the rooms.

[tobeannounced]

I agree about Anthony not telling people until after they've unburdened themselves that the boss/employees are watching in another room.  Very crappy thing to do.  It's one thing to say something and know down the line it may be on TV where your coworker will see it, but to be confronted with it right then just doesn't sit right with me.  

This show is just getting boring.  Same old same old -- Anthony having temper tantrums.  Owners that just don't care and refuse to change.  Cosmetic improvements.  This may get deleted off my DVR soon.

[spiderpig]

Montana is jaw-droppingly beautiful.  The kind of place where I want to stay in a small, locally-owned property.  Yet here we go again with Hotel Family Therapy Impossible.

Edited May 11, 2016 by spiderpig

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I do not recall eve seeing an ep where cleanliness was so utterly out of any question of standard.  The properties seemed to be well maintained, but I can't imagine there were zero housekeeping issues.  

If only revamping a front desk would turn around problem properties!  I chuckled when the great reveal for the parents' lobby was simply taking down a bunch of clutter and a new paint job.  I did love that custom desk they put into the Evergreen.    

Didja notice where the infamous orange cone was in relation to the office?  I would bet cash that it was right across from there, on a diagonal two doors down.  One of the edits showed AM  walking to the office, and it sure looked like that infamous chair outside the door was right there behind him.  I do wish I more trusted TPTB to not go out of their way to fool us so unnecessarily.  The concept of the orange cone was quite enough.  We did not need an ep of "Where in the world is AM?" to go with it.

Other than showcasing the super-sensitive AM showing us all how wonderfully inclusive he was in his beliefs, I was genuinely confused about this ep.  This was arguably the most fabricated one I have seen, and THAT is saying something.  I note they got the full range of freebies, too.  

[spiderpig]

I agree, Lonesome.  I wished they'd done this ep more along the lines of the Dude Rancher Lodge in Billings, where the objective was to showcase the charm of the property and help the owners back to profitability.  At first I expected the parents in Libby to be awful, yet their feelings about their son's partner seemed to have nothing to do with his orientation.  So why punch that up instead of focusing on security, orange cones and upgraded technology?

Aren't Travel Channel and Food Network under the same corporate umbrella?

[absolutelyido]

I thought the room remodel they did tonight at the Old Colonial motel in Branson was one of the best they have ever done. I loved the white wood wall and the dark gray plaid blanket with the white bedding. I would have that room in my house.

[psychoticstate]

The room remodel was really nice and perfect not only for the Old Colonial name but also for families, which I assume is the majority of their clientele in Branson.  

I was puzzled as to which staff members Mike let go.  There were only 4 people they showcased.  The update said the "majority" of staff was let go.  I'd guess that he'd have to keep the lady doing housekeeping but maybe the lady at the front desk was expendable.  I'm not sure what the other lady did.  They certainly needed to keep their maintenance guy around but who knows.

[dmeets]

I'm guessing the "employee appreciation" drinking buddies are the ones who got canned. I still can't get over that unlocked doorway to death. Anthony was surprisingly calm about that. I mean, he was pissed for sure but he's been much more over the top irate about dust on a ceiling fan.

[psychoticstate]

Oh right.  I forgot about the boozehounds being employees since we never actually saw them working. 

The original GM got discharged from the Navy for failure to adapt?  What kind of special loser is he?  The Navy takes just about anybody.