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How do I open the front door?
I'm stressed out of my mind right now.
I'm outside freezing my *** off.
Now I am just a pissed off guest with a nice room.
SUSAN: I want to come in, and there's not a weed,
there's not a piece of dust.
I am the queen of no cigarette butts.
1, 2, 3...
28, 29...
And if it's not done, then I get really, really mad.
You're nuts.
The list keeps going bigger and bigger,
and, "Why isn't it done? Why isn't it done?"
Poke, poke, poke.
You're poking people all day long.
That's annoying.
Anybody goes, I'm out of here.
I just had my breaking point.
I have a mutiny on my hands.
My expectations are not too high.
[ Sighs ]
I don't think you can change her.
Do you have any idea how hard these people are working?
I'm not taking this no more.
This is my last day at Chipman Hill.
I'm done.
You don't get it!
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Today I'm in Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada,
Canada's oldest city
and the first colony for the British empire in North America.
These days, Saint John is a tourist destination
loaded with outdoor activities
and is the home to the world-famous Bay of Fundy.
It has the highest tides in the world.
You can basically be standing on the ocean floor,
and within a matter of six hours,
the water rises to 50 feet high.
It's really one of the coolest things to see on earth.
Sitting at the north end of the bay is Chipman Hill Suites,
a collection of 11 historic buildings
that are owned by Susan Fullerton.
After buying my first historic building,
I was married and I moved out of town.
I felt badly that I had left my historic home,
so I thought if I bought another one,
it might make me feel better.
But I still didn't feel better.
So then I thought I'd buy another one
and maybe I'd really feel better.
And here we are a dozen properties later.
MELCHIORRI: Chipman Hill Suites
is one of the highest rated bed-and-breakfast hotels
in Saint John,
with the majority of travelers rating it as Excellent
with four stars.
But the owner still called me for help,
so I want to see if it lives up to my standards.
I decide to book a room myself,
and right away I have a problem.
They basically send you a pamphlet of information
that I have to read through just to get into the hotel
because the front desk isn't manned after 5:00 p.m.
A guest shouldn't have to read several pages of instructions
in order to get into the hotel.
That is about as cold of a check-in as you can get.
Okay, so this is Chipman Hill Suites.
So I guess this is the parking lot.
"Permit parking only.
Unauthorized vehicles towed at owner's expense."
That's not cool.
I don't think I'm authorized.
"Five spaces between our two buildings
at 5 and 9 Chipman Hill."
They have over 90 rooms and five parking spaces.
Do the math.
"Parking between signs for Chipman Hill Suites."
I found it.
But there's five spots, and all of them are filled.
So I can't park.
It's raining, it's cold, and it's late.
And now I got to figure out what to do next.
"We also have designated parking spaces available upon request.
Please inquire by calling..."
[ Ringing ]
Yes, I'm trying to find a parking spot to park my vehicle.
I'm a guest that's trying to check in.
I'm outside freezing my *** off in between two buildings.
There's five parking spaces, but they're all full.
Do you get a lot of people calling you
from the parking lot?
Thank you.
Ridiculous.
Between the fog, the rain, the lighting,
and then the anticipation of trying to find my room
without having a desk clerk give me a key
is enough to stress me out.
"Hotel parking -- level six."
So is that my hotel?
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
HI, sorry to bother you.
It says hotel parking. Is this for Chipman Hill?
[ Sighs ]
You're welcome.
Why don't they just tell me that?
"If our parking lot's full,
there's a big parking lot across the street for $15 a night."
I'll pay $15 a night for parking.
I'm from New York.
I pay $80 a night for parking.
MELCHIORRI: According to a recent online survey,
89% of travelers consider free parking to be a top amenity.
But when a guest is expected to check in alone at night,
it's better to have convenient parking instead of free parking.
So now my car's in bed.
Now I want to go to bed.
My suite is at 1 Chipman Hill.
My room's number 3.
If I haven't mentioned, I'm freezing.
So 1 Chipman Hill is where?
That's 1 Chipman Hill right outside the parking lot.
The hotel looks nice.
Really like it. I like the feel of it.
It feels very warm and inviting.
Maybe I'll just forget about the parking situation
and just, you know, start new, start fresh.
Okay, now what am I supposed to do?
"To get your keys,
enter the unlocked front vestibule of 1 Chipman Hill,"
which I'm in.
To the right of the inside of the door,
you will see a small black box attached to the wall.
I don't see a mailbox.
Oh, I see a mailbox.
So I'm key number 3.
Are you kidding me?
Wow.
There's literally a box full of keys.
Okay, this is key number 3. This is my key.
But I also have a key to number 6
and number 4 and number 5.
So what happens if I decide to go into another room
and just sit there and wait for somebody?
Or if I have friends with me
and I just want them to use the other rooms?
A recent travel study shows
that 67% of travelers cite safety and security
as their number-one priority when traveling internationally.
The fact that this hotel provides access
to a box full of marked keys is a major security issue.
Now how do I get in?
How do I open this door?
Am I missing something?
[ Sighs ]
Lockbox instructions are called "How to open the lockbox."
Well, I opened the lockbox.
How do I open the front door?
Am I stupid?
I got a headache. I got a headache.
Yes, I called before. I couldn't find parking.
I am now trying to get into the front door of the building.
How do I do that?
Oh.
So this number 3 key isn't the key to my room.
It's a key to the mailbox?
This is ridiculous.
The first 15 minutes of a guest arrival
is the most crucial
because it shapes their overall opinion of the hotel.
After 15 minutes here, I was still looking for parking.
So I'm sure you can guess what my opinion is right now.
Okay, so now -- all right, I'm in.
Thank you. I'll probably be calling you later
to tell you how to turn on my shower.
Traveled around the world.
Been to hundreds of hotels.
This is a first.
Oh, this is ridiculous.
This is ridiculous.
But this is pretty.
This lobby is beautiful.
This building's beautiful.
This is almost lost on me
because it's taken me about 45 minutes to park my car
and to open up the damn door.
It shouldn't be this complicated.
Where is room number 3?
That's room number 10.
Room number 11.
So my document's telling me --
there's another -- where is my room?
"Where is my room?"
So my room is on the third floor.
You know what? Next time, I have to study my packet
before I check into a hotel.
This is a beautiful staircase.
Just look at how it's shining.
This may be the cleanest hallway
I've walked into in a long time.
Looks like I cleaned this hotel.
I'm here. Room number 3.
Let's see what we got.
This is nice.
Look at the sleigh bed.
They're clean. They're fluffy.
They look new.
The sheets look clean.
I mean, this looks fine.
This looks great.
There's no dust.
Look at this. There's no dust.
There's no dust on there. It's clean.
Even the floor -- there's nothing. It's clean.
This is what you expect from a historic property
in a historic location.
This is what a bed-and-breakfast feels like.
I am very happy with this room.
I'm happy with the building.
What I'm not happy with is what I had to go through
to find my parking spot and to check in.
No matter how nice this building is,
I am just a pissed off guest with a nice room.
I can't wait to talk to somebody tomorrow morning.
MELCHIORRI: I'm at Chipman Hill Suites,
a bed-and-breakfast in New Brunswick, Canada.
I arrived last night,
but my check-in experience was horrible.
How do I open the front door?
I got a headache. I got a headache.
I'm outside freezing my *** off.
This is ridiculous.
So it was a very lonely experience
because I was the only person here.
I'm going to see if I can actually find an employee
and see who runs this place.
Oh, there actually is an office. Look at this.
Oh, there's actually somebody that works here.
Good morning. I'm Anthony.
Hi, Anthony. I'm Ken.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you. Where were you last night?
Uh, the office closes at 5:00.
I know. I found that out.
Why is there no one here just for six more hours?
I'm the only person that does the front-desk work.
And so there's nobody else.
So guests come in here during the day to check in?
No.
It's a self-serve check-in even during the day.
Even during the day?
Guests who interact with four or more staff members
during their stay
tend to have higher satisfaction rates
when it comes to guest service.
Having this self-service check-in
even during regular business hours
is the opposite of hospitality.
So if I wanted to get a cup of coffee
or breakfast this morning, where would I get that?
There's a number of places you can go.
No. There's no place in the hotel?
There's no place in the hotel.
Okay.
Is this hotel considered a bed-and-breakfast?
We're considered a bed-and-breakfast
when we're really not.
We're a challenge.
But you know what? That's why I have a job.
So I'll think about it, and I'll be back to you.
Okay.
So, this hotel is a bed-and-breakfast
with no breakfast.
And the guest is expected to check themselves in.
I want to meet the person who thinks this is hospitality.
Hello, Anthony.
Welcome to Chipman Hill Suites.
We're so glad you're here!
I wish I would have had that warm reception last night.
What a beautiful reception.
And there's a cup of tea prepared.
Oh, wow. I have tea, too?
You have tea, too.
Saint John is Canada's oldest city,
and we've had a very large connection
with the British monarchy.
And in 1939, the king and the queen were here.
In this building.
Having that history is really cool.
When the king and queen came,
there were thousands of people out on the street
to welcome them.
Why'd you call me?
Since the recession,
occupancy has gone down and down and down.
Our situation is getting worse every year financially.
Why I asked you to come
was to see if you could help us
to get a larger share of an ever-decreasing market.
Well, first, let's start with your check-in process.
It's crazy,
'cause you think it's acceptable
for a guest to check in
and go through seven pages of information just to check in.
To put this in perspective,
the applications for a credit card,
driver's license, U.S. passport or Canadian citizenship
are each less than seven pages.
I had to take all this information,
and I had to decipher this in the rain, in the cold,
and I couldn't find parking, so that was concerning.
Why is there no one here at night to check guests in?
We can't have someone sitting at all buildings
all night every night.
I don't accept that.
You've taken a very complicated check-in process
and made it more complicated
by not having one area
where somebody comes and gets information.
Me.
That's a problem.
Why isn't the general manager doing that?
I'm the best one I've got to be that person.
Every time I try to step back,
I get paranoid, and then I pick it all up again.
So how many hours a day are you spending
concentrating and focusing on this hotel?
10.
Seven.
I sit at home and I write lists for people and say,
"Make sure we did this. Make sure we did that.
Make sure we did the other."
Do you know what e-mails with lists do to people?
It pokes them. Poke, poke, poke, poke.
I hate being poked.
That's what you're doing.
You're poking people all day long.
That's annoying.
I just want everything to be perfect.
I want to come in and there's not a weed,
there's not a piece of dust.
And if it's not done, then I get really, really mad.
The only way this hotel looks like this
is because you're nuts.
You don't let anything slip.
How do you train your staff?
I take them out, and we walk around,
and I say, "See this? I don't want to see that."
So that's your only training program?
After we started watching you,
I brought all the housekeepers to my house,
so we watch the show, and we ooh and we ahh.
I watch you going in and tearing those beds apart
and making sure they're clean, and I say, "That's my guy."
I watch you out there picking up those cigarette butts.
I am the queen of no cigarette butts on the sidewalk.
All right.
ON one hand, I think you're a very lovely person.
On the other hand, I think you're a controlling person.
But what you just said was, "That's my guy."
My guy is my general manager.
Believe it or not,
the team that I build around me,
I trust more than I trust myself.
That's what you have to build.
So think about that.
Let me get to work saving your business.
MELCHIORRI: Wow.
I've never, ever had an owner tell me that before.
Using the show as a training tool is not a bad idea.
But you can't just watch the parts about cleanliness
and ignore everything else.
Susan is forgetting how much I care about customer service
and the need for a strong general manager.
I'll have to find a way to help her change her priorities.
But first, I need to make this B&B feel more like a B&B.
So I brought in designer Blanch Garcia.
Oh, this is nice!
This is kind of like their reception area.
There's really not a lot you have to do in here.
Just do something with this desk.
It looks like it was bought in an office-supply store.
This needs to feel more like a welcoming area.
So our goal for this area is to make it more of a lobby.
Exactly.
Where it becomes a little complicated is B&B stands for...
Bed and Breakfast.
They're missing a "B" in their B&B.
They have beds. No breakfast.
So I'm thinking somewhere in this lobby,
we should establish breakfast.
What's in there?
That's office.
This is an office.
This is an office.
So that doesn't work.
And then there's this door.
Oh.
We shouldn't do anything in here.
Hold on a second.
As you're coming out of the lobby,
you can come right into here,
and this could be their breakfast area.
Okay, so theoretically,
this is the perfect space for a breakfast area --
Oh, look, there's a front door.
This is perfect.
Okay, this is great --
This is perfect!
This is great if I had more time.
Where's my breakfast area, Blanch?
Yeah, but see all these wires?
This is worse than starting with sheet rock and a floor
because I have to put in a floor.
I have to put in sheet rock.
I have to do ceiling-electrical work.
This is a blank canvas. It's a white box.
Really?
This space isn't that big.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 -- it's about 20 feet.
And you've done spaces bigger than this, Blanch.
This area of Chipman Hill has historic significance.
In 1939, the king and queen of England
came to Canada for the first time,
and they actually spent time in Chipman Hill.
So if we can do something
to kind of commemorate the king and queen's visit
would be really, really cool.
Now I feel like what the king feels like.
Savor this moment
'cause these height differences are not normal for us.
I'm very tall. I'm very tall, Blanch.
Good luck, Blanch.
Remember, think king and queen.
Think breakfast. Go for it.
I'm the king.
MELCHIORRI: When I was with Blanch,
some of my crew came across Shelly and Elisha --
two housekeepers who were very upset
after the owner, Susan, made some unreasonable demands.
My crew tells me I need to see this footage right away.
I'm not taking this no more. I'm done.
I don't think we should be working at a job
that someone has to treat us like this and yell at us.
I was here almost three years.
I can't do it.
This is my last day at Chipman Hill.
I'm done.
Wow.
90 rooms and four housekeepers don't add up.
I cannot stand when I see an employee abused like that
and goes to tears when it could be avoided.
Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!
I want to meet the general manager
who can't stand up to the owner
and who allows stuff like this to happen.
Hi. Yes.
I'm Anthony. How are you?
So nice to meet you, Anthony.
I was really looking forward to meeting you.
But, unfortunately, something just happened.
Your housekeeper Elisha walked out,
and another one, Shelly, quit.
Employees can quit for a number of reasons.
They can't quit because they're being abused.
The best.
She was your best employee, and she quit.
Whose fault is that?
Well, it was Susan today.
No. It's your fault.
I don't like seeing employees abused.
That is unacceptable.
How pissed off, upset, and emotionally destroyed
do you have to be that you quit on national television?
How deep seated is that frustration?
How crazy inside is she feeling and sick to her stomach?
MELCHIORRI: I'm in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada,
where I've been called in to help Chipman Hill Suites,
a collection of 11 historic buildings.
I've been here one day,
and already the demanding owner, Susan,
caused one housekeeper to walk out
and another one to quit.
I'm done.
This is my last day at Chipman Hill.
Frustrated with what I saw, I confronted the GM, Marilyn,
for letting Susan berate the housekeepers.
How emotionally destroyed do you have to be
that you quit on national television?
It's your fault.
I need to know why Marilyn failed to protect her staff.
No.
So do you know what a general manager's supposed to do?
Well, I've never seen a description
of a general manager's job.
I do everything Susan tells me to do.
I guess that's what it is.
What that does, it diminishes your role
in front of the employees.
I want to see how bad this is,
so I want to speak to the staff.
Do you think you can call Shelly back
and see if you can get her here tomorrow
so I can talk to her?
Okay. I think I can do that.
Yes.
All right. Thank you.
Normally, I would wait until a more decent hour
to hold the staff meeting,
but I need to know right now
if the rest of the staff is feeling any pressure from Susan.
So, I'm Anthony, and I'm here as a consultant.
I called this meeting
because I'm a little shocked by what just happened.
I just saw a housekeeper quit because she was frustrated.
MAN: Yes.
So you heard about it?
It's just too much.
There is a list of things that we have to do,
and we do them.
But then the list keeps going bigger
and bigger and bigger.
KEN: There's so much expected,
and, like, everything is, like,
"It's only gonna take you five minutes."
Well, it doesn't.
It takes two hours -- three hours sometimes.
What is my number-one concern?
Is it doing what the owner is asking me to do,
or is it doing my daily duties as a front-desk person?
WOMAN: The list is like a year long going on.
And, "Why isn't it done?
Why isn't it done? Why isn't it done?"
This is it now for the housekeeping department.
The three of you?
Yes.
How many people think they're understaffed?
Raise your hand.
I've been here for 24 hours,
and I don't think that the hotel's understaffed.
I know the hotel's understaffed to a ridiculous level.
Would you feel comfortable if I had Susan in the room
and you told her your feelings
in front of me and in front of her?
Yeah, I would.
Mm-hmm.
So I will work on that.
BOTH: Good luck.
MELCHIORRI: It's the next day, and Elisha,
the housekeeper who walked out last night, has returned,
and she's agreed to speak with me.
I understand that yesterday
you and Shelly kind of had enough.
I just had my breaking point,
and I left for the rest of the day.
Why did you come back?
I need a job. That's it.
Where's Marilyn come into this?
She hasn't been there.
And she admitted that to me.
She said, "I haven't been there to be on your side and say,
"'Whoa, whoa, Susan,
you're pushing these girls too hard.'"
MELCHIORRI: Look, I've come across hotel owners before
who push their staff
because they're afraid of losing their investment.
But as the GM, it's Marilyn's job
to make sure that the owner's problems
don't become the employees' problems.
By not doing her job,
Marilyn has allowed Susan's stresses
to put an emotional strain on the staff.
If I don't solve the problem of Susan, nothing changes.
To be honest, I don't think you can change her.
I take this as a personal challenge to help this team.
If Susan and Marilyn continue to function this way,
then more employees are going to quit,
so I need to put a stop to this before it gets worse.
The only thing worse than running a bad hotel
is disrespecting your employees.
You're a little bit of a tyrant.
And you're a little bit of a weakling
because you're not strong enough to handle her.
If this relationship doesn't work,
then it's your fault that Shelly left.
It is your fault that she left.
Yesterday was a culmination
of three years of stress for this woman.
Because the way you react to people, she broke.
She couldn't handle it anymore
because you don't have any trust in her.
It's not a matter of trust, Anthony.
I'm terrified
that the standard will drop to an unacceptable level.
You're way understaffed.
You have 90 rooms in 11 buildings.
It's not like going to another floor.
I have to pack up my crap,
I have to go to another building,
and I have to set up again, and that's gonna take me time.
I really think
that my expectations are not too high.
MELCHIORRI: Susan is not getting it.
She thinks her demands are just minor tasks, but they're not.
She has a large property, a skeletal staff,
and no idea what it's like to actually work in her hotel.
When was the last time you cleaned 16 rooms in a hotel?
Never.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to do it
on a campus this big with 11 buildings?
Do you have any idea how hard these people are working?
[ Sighs ]
Do you know why I feel bad for these people?
'Cause I've done their job.
And their job is [bleep] hard!
And you don't get it!
MELCHIORRI: I'm in Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada,
helping the dedicated, yet overworked staff
at Chipman Hill Suites
handle their very demanding boss, Susan.
When I confronted Susan about her treatment of the staff,
I became frustrated, even angry, with her excuses.
My expectations are not too high.
When was the last time you cleaned 16 rooms in a hotel?
Never.
I've done their job. And you don't get it!
MELCHIORRI: But I made a promise to the staff
that I would help them.
So I asked the entire team to help me stage an intervention
for Susan and Marilyn.
How do you think your staff feels?
Do they feel that you trust them?
I asked your team on a scale of zero to 10 --
10 being the most, zero being not at all --
how much you feel trusted by Susan.
If everyone would please show me their cards.
7, 9, 4, 3, 2, 5.
Giselle, you wrote a 3. Why?
When I'm told to do something, I do it.
I don't have to be told over and over and over again.
Ken.
Just the micromanagement,
the e-mails that you send me to put on the e-mailing list.
You go and stand behind me,
and you make sure that I do that.
It really bothers me.
I've been here for 12 years, and we're treated like this.
How do you feel about that right now?
SUSAN: I do micromanage
because I'm so afraid
that something is not going to get done.
It makes me feel terrible.
I don't know how to fix it.
I'm going to start with teaching you both
how to go about trying to fix it.
Marilyn, I'm gonna ask you
to step in the middle of the room.
Okay.
I'm Susan, okay?
I want to go and tell the staff something.
I want you to stop me, okay?
Where are you going?
Yes, I do.
The general manager is in charge.
Their only protection is you.
I'll continue to work with you both
to fix this relationship.
You guys just go back and do your jobs.
This was just to clear the air of where we are,
and we're all on the same page.
Now the hard work starts, so let's start doing it.
Marilyn seems willing to step up as GM,
but I want to be sure that Susan
will allow her to take on that role.
I love the fact that you respect me.
Everything I say, you really hone in on.
But it's at the expense of your team.
Your team is absolutely
100% exhausted and crushed.
So there are things we need you to commit to.
And one of them is, Marilyn,
will you stand up to Susan and manage the staff?
Yes.
Okay, the second thing you have to do is, Susan,
you need to step back and allow Marilyn to run the hotel.
Are you willing to commit to that?
Do you still have doubt?
I don't want my staff to think that I don't trust them.
It's total, utter trust
you're not gonna steal from our guests.
And then there's trust,
"Are you gonna get your job done?"
So that's my concern.
The only person that can make that shift
from trusting your team to pick up cigarette butts
and clean the room is you.
The ball is now in your court.
MELCHIORRI: I understand Susan's hesitation.
The hotel is her investment.
But if she really wants to be successful,
she must keep her staff happy and she has to make the shift.
It's a big decision,
so I want to give her some time to think.
In the meantime,
Blanch walks me through all the work
that still needs to be done.
Good. Who's your new friend?
This is Jason from Jay-L Carpentry.
Jason, Anthony.
So what do we got going on?
We were talking ceiling tile.
This is a faux copper.
So we have to do a drop ceiling 'cause all of the wires,
and they need easy access to them.
So all the trim is gonna be black.
The floor is dark wood.
To the left and right will be seating.
So when I'm sitting having breakfast,
I'm looking at a wall?
I always hated those kind of seats.
I have a TV in here.
It's not gonna feel like you're just staring at a wall.
Okay. I'm sure it's gonna look beautiful.
I think so. I think you'll be happy.
MELCHIORRI: Blanch has a lot on her plate
with both the breakfast area and the front desk.
But I'm confident that she'll get it done.
The next day, I'm told that Shelly,
the frustrated housekeeper who quit,
has returned to work.
And I want to see how she's doing.
How you feeling?
Oh, I'm stressed and overwhelmed.
Did Susan reach out to you?
She left me a voicemail on my phone.
She just says if I go for a job, if they call,
I'm gonna get a bad reference from her.
Would you mind if I listened to it?
Yeah. We can hear it.
So she basically threatened you.
MELCHIORRI: It's been a challenging couple of days
here in New Brunswick, Canada.
I've been dealing with a stressed-out staff
and a very controlling owner.
At first, I thought the owner, Susan, was just a micromanager.
But then I find out that she actually uses fear
as a controlling tactic.
She just says if I don't come back,
I'm gonna get a bad reference from her.
I can't let Susan think that this is acceptable,
so I immediately confront her.
I'm past the anger. I'm past yelling.
I'm just past that 'cause I'm not that type of person.
I want to help you.
When Shelly quit the other day she was frustrated.
You left her a message. Is that correct?
Yeah, I phoned her.
No.
Okay.
You kind of threatened her a little bit.
And because now her brand
for three years of being a good employee
and working hard and doing all the things that she did for you,
swept away because you won't give her a good reference.
So that's terrifying for someone.
It seems that everything that I do is wrong.
But I realize now
that I'm gonna have to give up control to Marilyn
and that Marilyn needs to interface
with the staff and not me.
Give me a hug.
I can't believe you just said that
because now I can help you.
It's not that Susan is a bad person,
it's just that she has a lot invested in the hotel,
and when something goes wrong, she panics.
But she just has to remember that she has a beautiful hotel
with a competent staff.
You've done a really good job
of keeping your properties clean and well done.
They're well done.
You're just too freakin' tense.
You have to turn it down a little bit and trust your team.
I didn't really know I was that intense.
Oh, my God. You make me look like I'm in a coma.
I want you to apologize to Shelly.
Okay.
I think Susan may be seeing the error of her ways,
and this will allow Marilyn to step up.
Now I can concentrate on fixing the hotel operations.
First, I want to work with Marilyn
on how to be an effective GM and stand up to Susan.
You have to explain to her
when it's going to get done and how it's going to get done.
Your responsibility is to Susan.
Your loyalty are to your employees.
I even told Marilyn to take Susan on a perimeter walk
once a week, and if Susan has any issues,
then Marilyn will delegate it to the staff.
1, 2, 3, 4...
8, 9...
and that's a woman 'cause it has lipstick on it.
18, 19, 20...
34, 35, 36.
MELCHIORRI: Then I meet with Susan and her husband
and business partner, Edward,
to give them a lesson in Revenue Management 101.
Driving revenue into your hotel --
I give you an "F."
When you go online,
you're rated number one in your area.
Do you know where everyone goes to look for hotels?
That's it.
You've proven that you're the best.
But you have the lowest rates.
That's a problem.
Your average daily rate is $55.
Your competition's $106.
For every two dollars your competition makes,
you make one dollar.
But you have the same expenses.
People are looking for the best in Saint John's,
and they're gonna pay for it.
So all you have to do is raise your rates
and you will make double the money.
MELCHIORRI: After giving them the basics on how to increase cash flow,
I introduce Susan to Mark and David,
who organize hockey events at the local ice-skating rink
in the hopes that she can secure some future business.
MELCHIORRI: The gentlemen that are here tonight playing,
do they come on a bus and they're leaving,
or do they have hotel rooms?
They usually spend a couple nights,
and then they have some fun
while they're playing hockey and then head back.
We have four major tournaments
that play at this rink every year.
It's a fair-size industry,
the hockey-tournament business.
Now, you have relationships with some of those teams or no?
No, we don't. But we'd like to.
I can certainly make a full schedule available.
I think we should go out for lunch and have a talk.
Well, there's a good idea.
How's next week?
There's no time like the present.
I like to do it now.
Do you like Urban Deli?
Yeah, that sounds good.
I've never tried it before.
They'll fix you right up.
Hmm?
Where have you been?
I haven't seen that personality in 2 1/2 days.
Yeah, well, you were ragging on me.
[ Laughter ]
You're good at establishing business.
You're good at establishing relationships.
So this is a good first step.
Anthony, let me ask you a question.
Do you know how to play any hockey?
Um, really depends on what you say by "Can I play?"
So why don't we suit you up?
Put your hands together and welcome Anthony Melchiorri!
And here come the Mighty Chicks now.
[ Grunts ]
There's a pretty goal.
[ Whistle blows ]
He's down!
[ Whistle blows ]
[ Yells ]
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
let's give a nice round of applause.
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Straining ] I didn't stretch this morning.
MELCHIORRI: It's my last day at Chipman Hill Suites,
and after a lot of discussion and tears,
Susan and Marilyn are ready to tell the staff
how things will run in the future.
This has been intense.
Probably the most intense thing I've dealt with
in the last couple years.
Been a hard week.
But it taught me that the thing
that's important is not about what I need.
It's about what the staff needs.
Well, you know, Susan, we all love this business,
and, you know, you just got to learn to trust us,
that we're gonna do the right thing.
That's a big step for someone like Susan.
But, really, what my job is --
to ensure that Marilyn understands
how to control her position,
because if she weakens, what's gonna happen?
It's gonna go right back to the way that it was.
Just when I thought everything was fine,
the staff drops a bombshell.
I'm deadly serious that anybody goes, I'm out of here.
If you want more information on "Hotel Impossible,"
visit our website at travelchannel.com,
and if you have a hotel that's in trouble
and you want out help, send us an e-mail at...
It's been an emotional week here at Chipman Hill Suites,
but I finally got the owner, Susan,
to agree to give up control to her GM, Marilyn.
But when we gave the staff the good news,
they issued an ultimatum.
I'm deadly serious that anybody goes, I'm out of here.
Whatever grievances were in the past, let them go.
Susan will talk to me, and then I'll talk to you.
We're gonna get it done in a timely fashion,
and then she'll be comfortable.
You're our most important people.
The last thing I'd want to see
is those four girls walk out the door all the same time
and then Ken's gonna go with them.
We would die.
We're just gonna let it go and start all over again.
I just feel better with all of this
[ Voice breaking ] 'cause we're a good team, I think.
Me coming here was the best thing you've ever done.
You've got a real understanding of how to run your business,
and more importantly,
you got your staff back from the edge.
So we've done something.
We should probably stop talking
and get working.
[ Laughter ]
We're getting a shirt printed up,
and it's gonna say, "Marilyn Badass."
[ Laughter ]
Okay? That's her new nickname.
MELCHIORRI: I'm glad Marilyn stepped up
and made everyone feel better.
That's one of the things the GM is for --
to make sure the staff, the owner,
and the hotel are all taken care of.
As Marilyn continues to embrace her new role,
Blanch and her team work around the clock
to put the finishing touches on the breakfast area.
I want to show Susan and Marilyn the new front desk,
which Blanch customized
and will provide a better check-in process
for their guests.
So this building -- 76 Union --
it's about a space that you start the experience.
Okay, so you ready? Let's go.
Wow!
Isn't that beautiful?
Isn't that lovely?
MELCHIORRI: Now, this desk looks like part of the hotel,
not something you bought in a retail store.
It also eliminates the annoying check-in packet you had.
This is where you start the experience.
Instead of people outside looking at paperwork,
trying to figure out how to get in their room,
the guest comes to the front desk,
they're greeted, they're given a room key
and a keyless entry code,
and they can get into their building,
they can get into their room.
We've provided you with keyless entry locks
from gokeyless.com.
Oh, my goodness.
That may be the best expression I've ever seen.
[ Chuckles ] We've talked about them for years.
We just couldn't afford them.
Now, I want to show you something else.
Let's go.
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, look at this!
MELCHIORRI: Now you have a "breakfast" in your "bed-and-breakfast."
Look at the ceiling!
That's the first thing I saw.
It is awesome.
Let me introduce you to who's responsible for all this --
Blanch Garcia and her contractor, Jason,
from Jay-L Carpentry.
Like, I just don't know where to look.
GARCIA: Basically, this was a raw space,
and Jason had to build it from the ground up, literally.
You just really needed a catching point in the morning
for people running in and out.
You can pick up your breakfast, your coffee.
We also did something a little bit special
because 1939,
when the king and queen had tea in one of your properties,
I wanted to make sure
that guests feel like they were royalty a little bit,
so what I did was, I had a custom blended tea made
that they can only get here at Chipman Suites.
What they've created
is something that make people feel special,
and it's really a touch point for your guests.
It looks like it took them six months,
and it took them basically 48 hours.
The effort they put in is really extraordinary.
So thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
I will.
Now the hard work begins.
Are you gonna stand up to this young lady?
Yes, I am.
You're gonna stand up for your team?
Okay.
Thank you.
MELCHIORRI: Chipman Hill Suites is clean.
It's beautiful.
But they forgot something.
It wasn't the building that they have to worry about.
It's the resurrection of the spirit of the team
that they have to concern themselves with.
The way this hotel is going to be successful
is if Marilyn and Susan take the medicine that we prescribed
to keep this hotel alive and to keep the team together.