The Travel Channel program, Hotel Impossible takes on the Gardner Hotel and Hostel in one of its latest entertaining and informative episodes. One of the biggest themes throughout the show is Anthony, a luxury hotel expert, experiencing a hostel for the first time. This reminds me of the Hostelworld video of the retired boxer and home and antiques expert Chris Eubank visiting hostels. There is even a steamy shower scene that demonstrates how inadequate facilities could lead to the starting plot of an adult movie or perhaps just a very awkward situation. In his journey, he learns many things that are pretty much common in the hostel industry but unheard of in the hotel industry, such as:
Guests could be expected to make their own bed.
Towels are available upon request, and a fee could be charged.
Staff could be on the premises even when off duty.
Anthony ends up doing more teaching than learning, helping this establishment get updated on the new trends of the industry. Throughout the show, he repeatedly addresses issues such as:
Focus on the details: Cleanliness and facilities need to be top-notch.
Safety first: Compromising your guests' safety and security is compromising your business.
Staff significance: Staff can make or break your business. Hire wisely.
He did miss or was off on some points. Here they are:
Anthony mentioned there are 10,000 hostels, but actually, there are more than three times that globally.
We wish they showed more footage of what a good hostel is like to balance out the bad side they are showing through this hostel.
The rooms look phenomenal; however, the wood and rope need to be inspected regularly for bedbugs. Hopefully, they help them work that into their operations.
The technology is off. They definitely could have used an RFID keycard system like many of their other hotels. Such a system works great in hotels, and even better in hostels.
He barely touches on the atmosphere and activities. I guess that can be difficult given the conditions the hostel is in and the few guests. It would be cool if they came back in a Phase 2 and really helped them pick up their vibe.
They did impress me when they offered the new owners (Stephanie and her brother) free certificate classes at Cornell University, which has great classes on hospitality and revenue management. That can really help a new owner. Also, they got our friends at HostelDoctor to help them out with their digital marketing and online distribution. Overall, it is a good watch, as the episodes normally are. It's hard to tell if the transformation is in full effect via their digital presence. You can see that the hotel upgraded many of its facilities, but the old guest photos are still out to haunt them. Hopefully, the Hotel Impossible team can follow up and let us know. It is great for America to see hostels in their very own backyard. You can watch it here (might be region locked). Also, non-US people can see how HostelDoctor helped in the video below. [embed]http://https://youtu.be/XF4006mOL9k\[/embed\]