Yesterday on Hotel Hell we were introduced to the Juniper Hill Inn out of Vermont. The owners, Robert and Ari, were losing over $200,000 a year on the hotel.
The Secrets
When we left yesterdays episode, we saw Gordon Ramsay start to get into it with Robert. Gordon found out that the owners invite their personal friends over to the hotel and don’t make them pay for their stay. The staff never saw any tips from their work with these people and in a two month time span, 49 rooms were given out free. The guests didn’t even have to pay for their food or their drinks. No wonder they were losing money!
Gordon asked Robert why his friends were not leaving the staff tips and Robert said his friends were not obligated to. He even called up one of his buddies to let him tell Gordon. The surprise came when the friend told Gordon that he did leave a very large tip! Robert was stealing the tips and pretending they hadn’t left any in the first place.
Needless to say, Gordon Ramsay was furious. Robert, caught in the lie, explained that he didn’t feel that his staff deserved the tips. He thought that holding their money back would make the work harder.
Gordon Leaves
Gordon packed up and drove away, quitting the show. The outrageous behavior of the innkeepers was too much for him. It was only when he realized that the staff would be trapped with that abuse that he came back. When Ramsay returned, he made Robert offer to sell his antiques so that the staff could at least get their well deserved money.
A head auctioneer was called in to appraise Robert’s collection of stuff. What they had bought for $300,000 was only worth $25,000. It really sunk in to Robert and Ari that they were flat broke; even the antiques were worthless. This was the kick they needed to get on track with the business.
A New Leaf
The head chef was given the opportunity to redesign the menu. Robert even apologized to him for not allowing it in the first place. Ari was kicked out of the front of house due to his sharp barking. It was scaring away customers. The prices were drastically lowered and the boys learnt humility.
The biggest change of all was that the local community was allowed in the hotel. Looking online, the Juniper Hill Inn is now a very successful business that is thriving thanks to Gordon Ramsay and Hotel Hell.
