Anthony goes to the 51-room Sunrise Inn in Williamstown, Kentucky. The town is small, but they have a full-sized replica of Noah's Ark. It has attracted 400,000 visitors since it opened, but the Sunrise Inn across the street is only operating at 20% occupancy. Doug and Joe recently took over the hotel, and they've asked Anthony to help them.
As Anthony arrives in town, Bill with the bed bug dog calls from the hotel. He says that he's inspected 33 rooms and 27 of them are positive for bed bugs. Anthony refuses to go into a room until they're safe for him and the guests. When Anthony gets there, he takes Bill with him to see the owners. Doug and Joe are working the desk, and they say that everyone is checked out and they're contacting all of the arrivals. They're renting the rooms that proved clean, and Anthony points out that no guest would want to check into a room at a hotel with bed bugs.
The owners explains that they bought the hotel two months ago. They had a company come in but they didn't have a dog. The company sprayed the rooms and the owners never saw any signs of bugs. The rooms that Bill didn't check are out of order because of a pipe that busted a year ago. They didn't know about the damage, and Anthony warns that he's no miracle worker. Disgusted, Anthony leaves to get some air while Doug wonders what to do and walks out. Anthony finds him crying and Doug explains that he trusted in the Lord and they've been looking for a hotel for five years. He explains that they have to succeed at their life dream. Anthony tells him that they have to do the work, and assures Doug that it's an incredible location. However, he refuses to back off.
Anthon brings in designer Carrie Locklyn and has her check out the lobby first. She figures that it needs more love and warmth, and Anthony tells her about the 18 closed rooms. He gets respirator masks and they go to the out-of-order rooms because there's water damage. Furniture is piled up inside and there's mold all over the walls. They find a dead snake, and Anthony tells Carrie to gut one of the rooms and find out how much work is necessary.
Walking around outside, Anthony finds an outdoor staircase that is cracked almost all the way through. There are expensive signs still in the boxes, and Anthony figures that they could have solved the bed bug problem with the money. There's an outdoor pool that is drained and full of garbage and dirty water.
Anthony starts an owners meeting in the pool. They say that they agreed to spend $27,000 on the signs, and Anthony tells them that he has more common sense. He points out that the pool is all they have after the Ark Encounter and dinner, and asks them to prioritize cards with various issues. They put the bed bugs and mold first, but Anthony tells them that the Ark Encounter and money are the important issues because they need them to make money and fix the issues. The owners admit that none of their employees have seen the Ark Encounter, and that they don’t' have $27,000 to fix the pool before summer.
The owners explain how they purchased the hotel, and their banker suggests a master lease. They lease the property but don't own it, and in two years they get their hotel back. They're out of money to put into the hotel, and the price on the lease is $720,000. Anthony doesn't know how he'll get them out of the mess, and says that they have to find money. The owners say that they'll find money, and Anthony tells them to talk it out.
Next, Anthony meets with the staff and asks what their concerns are. They figure that the rooms are outdated, and the housekeeper warns that there are thousands of bugs in the rooms. The GM Julie wants an office and more training on how to handle guests, and admits that she's not qualified to be a GM. Julie doesn't want to let Doug and Joe down, and Anthony tells her that he can help her out.
Anthony and his team take a look at the lease and find something that could change everything. He tells the owners that if there is any other offer to purchase the property, the landlord can offer them the opportunity to buy it at the same price. If someone offers the owner $720,000, Doug and Joe would have to match that or lose the property. Anthony tells them that they got screwed, and gives them five minutes to come up with a plan.
When Anthony returns, Doug and Joe say that they're going to speak to their bank. Anthony tells them that the bank won't give them the money, and their only option is to get money from people that they know. Doug cries and says that he wishes that they'd known what Anthony does. Joe prays to God for help, and Anthony tells them that they have to concentrate on who they trust.
Anthony then spends time with Julie to see if she's the right person for the job. They find a fire extinguisher case with glass ad cigarette butts inside, and Anthony tells her that as GM she has to keep track of everything. Next he shows Julie the pool and says that they need to get it cleaned out, and it's more important than the signs. When Julie says that she didn't think it was her place to tell the owners, Anthony tells her that it's her obligation. Anthony has her do a budget to get the hotel up to standards for the next season.
Carrie and her team renovate a room and renovate the lobby. Anthony has Bill and his dog Mindy check the out-of-order room where the owners put their supplies. Mindy finds plenty of mold, including in the toilet paper. Anthony brings in a mold remediation expert and then brings in Joe to show him the mold. The representative says that they'll donate their services for the storage room, but it will be $2,000 for each room as well as more money for renovation.
Anthon has a meeting with the owners in the parking lot, and Doug explains that they've been using $50,000 to float their salaries. The hotelier tells them that he's going to show them how to make the rooms nicer, and then they'll make $750,000 and make $100,000 profit. If they can hold out until August then they'll generate $200 average rates.
The next day, Julie presents her budget but didn't account for the pool. Anthony calls in Bob Sheehan to give them an estimate of how much it will cost to get the pool ready. He says that it will cost $25,000 to $30,000, and Anthony warns that it will cost the owners $100,000 just to get started. Anthony figures that Julie isn't ready to be a GM, but the owners set her up to fail. They give Anthony a management list and Joe explains that he's going to take over temporarily as GM and train Julie for the position. Anthony presents Doug and Joe with a manual for managing the hotel.
Anthony has Carrie show the owners how to renovate the rooms for almost nothing. She advises them to take down the wallpaper and remove some of the odd furniture. Anthony has Carrie teach them how to do it using hot water and to not get overwhelmed.
On the last day, Anthony takes the staff to tour the Ark Encounter. They go in and Anthony figures that it's the hotel's most important amenity. Doug and Joe then show Anthony the progress that they've made on one room, which will raise the average room rate. Anthony shows them the remodeled room that they can duplicate once they get enough money. Carrie assures them that it's affordable, and then shows them the new lobby. She brings Mike Gleason from Gleason Builders, who worked with her on the renovation. Anthony tells the owners to show the staff the lobby and the room, and figures that the hotel can be successful.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 10, 2017