In Sandusky, Ohio, Anthony is called to Maui Sands, a 300-room hotel with an indoor water park, bar, restaurant. It's December but the hotel is all but empty. Anthony sees a rusty pole and unpainted plywood under the rafters that appear to be rotting out. He runs in and tries out the slides, and discovers that the room is freezing. Staff members Kevin and Savannah are taking water temperatures, and Anthony asks why the water is so cold. Savannah says that they're having issues with the boiler and get lots of complaints, but aren't doing anything. They're supervisors and help in the basement, and Anthony shows them the filth on the floats and the unpainted floor. People complain about getting metal stuck in their feet, and Anthon says that they can easily get a foam texture to put on the steps. The supervisors say that the owners don't want to spend money, and they get complains about roaches. Savannah says that she's trying to better the place, and admits that she's a high school senior. Anthony says that he wouldn't let a high school senior manage a water park. She says that if she was the owner then she'd be worried.
Once Anthony dries off, he goes to the front desk and finds a guest checking in. She says that she's from this area and has children with them, and only saw one review that caught her eye about rodents but they were exterminated. Anthony calls in inspector Bill Whitstein to check for bedbugs, He finds bedbugs in both rooms, and stops the guest from having a kid's birthday party in one of the rooms. Bill comes over and explains how his bedbug dog works. There were two alerts in the hallway, meaning that the bedbugs are spreading room to room. The guest demands her money back and the front desk agent does it quickly. Anthony figures that she's done it a lot. He says that he'll have one of his people help her set up at another hotel.
Bill checks the laundry room next and find a bedbug on the vacuum. Anthony refuses to go in, and tells Bill that they need to check all 300 rooms. He asks the front desk agent, who says that the GM knows about it but just clears the refunds and only sprays the rooms. Anthony warns that spraying isn't the way to deal with bedbugs. The GM Nick arrives and Bill tells him that the number one product is bedbugs. The man admits that he's never been a GM before, and Anthony says that he wouldn't let the guest go into the room. Nick says that he's the Vice President of Finance and Marketing, and has been trying to help out in more areas. Anthony asks what the hell he's doing.
Next, Anthony brings in a pool expert, Joe Stefaniak, from Ellis and Associates. Joe says that the indoor pool is neglected and the railings are rotted away at the base. The emergency stop button isn't labeled and the panel is off of it, and if someone hit it then ta person on the slide could be hurt. Anthony then checks out the restaurant and talks to the bartender, Erika. The smoke detector is malfunctioning and goes off from time to time for no apparent reason. Erika admits that she doesn't know when there's a real fire. She says that guests vent to her that they're upset about something there. The worst complains that she's received are about the roaches and the bedbugs. The bar has been closed down after a guest called and complained about a roach on the bar.
Anthony goes to the convention center and Anthony figures that there are bedbugs in there since a lot of the rooms open up onto the area. Bill and his dog check the area and find bedbugs, an then he shows Anthony the arcade. Over 50% of the machines have bedbugs on them, including a claw machine with a bedbug on top of one of the toy cups. Bill figures that there are lot more hiding if one is visible in a brightly lit machine.
The hotelier goes to talk to the maintenance man, Scott, and shows him bedbug eggs. Scott tells him that they spray everything down, and Anthony points out that it says to avoid contact with human skin. Carrie Lochlyn arrives and Anthony shows her a space for kids that are too young for the water park. They hear a buzzing sound and find a closet with the fire command alarm going off for no reason. Anthony brings in Nick and shows him the alarm system. He says that it's a digital box to an analog box, and it sometimes goes off for no reason. Nick tells Anthony that they know about the issues, and Anthony explains about all the issues. He tells Carrie that they'll come back in the morning, hoping that a good night's sleep will put him in a better frame of mind.
The next morning, Anthony comes in and finds a note from nick saying that he's out. There's a box with a handbook, his family photo, and his phone number. Anthon calls Nick and asks him to come and talk to him about what he left. While Nick returns, Anthony gathers the staff and they all say that there are bedbugs in the room. A couple of them know that there are bedbugs on the banquette that they're sitting on. Anthony has Bill explain that it's the worst hotel he's ever been to, and Anthony tells them that they're putting guests into danger. He says that he's pissed because he hasn't met the owner.
Nick comes in and Anthony tells the staff what he did. He hasn't told the owners that he quit, and he left because he has a reputation and pride. Bill checks the staff for bedbugs and confirms that they have them. The staff feels disgusted and aggravated, and Anthony has Bill check their homes for free even if they can't treat them. The hotelier figures that the owners won't do anything about it, but he'll bring them in and stand with the staff. The staff says that they should have the owners sit on the banquette.
Anthony has seen the owners' portfolio and knows that they have the money to make the hotel successful. When they come in, a front desk agent Lisa makes sure that they sit on the banquette. Bill checks them and confirms that there's bedbugs on the banquette. They quickly get up when Anthony says that the banquette has bedbugs., and Anthony tells them that the staff and his crew have bedbugs. He insists that they have an obligation to their staff and guests, and lets the staff explain the issues.
The staff wants a budget, and Savannah says that she failed her test because she couldn't study for it because she was so busy with the hotel. Savannah breaks into tears and Anthony tells her that he understands and she has to find another job when the owners won't stand up. One staff members wants the owners to pay if their homes hit positive for bedbugs. When one owner hesitates, Anthony orders everyone out and then yells at the owners. He says that he was testing them and they failed, and the owner says that he hopes he has the means to take care of it and it came out wrong. They claim that they didn't know about the bedbug manifestation, and Anthony tells them not to play him and walks out.
Anthony goes tell Carrie that the hotel may not be open the next day because it may not be infested with bedbugs. He refuses to step up until the owners step up. Anthony tells her to finish the room but they're not going to do a reveal until the owners address the problem.
Sitting back down with the owners, Anthony asks how they bought a $50 million property for $2 million. It wasn't sold up the first time and they got it for $2.1 the second time. Anthony tells them that Sandusky is one of the best places to have a water park, but the owners screwed up their investment. He reads Internet reviews, all negative, and asks whose fault it is. The owners admit that it's eventually their fault, and want to resolve the issue. Anthony figures that it will take a lot of money. They say that they'll spend $50,000, and Anthony tells them that would cover operating costs for a week. He says that they have to spend $300,000 just to shut down the building and fumigate it. Then they need $100,000 in uniforms and housekeeping supplies, $500,000 for salaries, and another $500,000 in for miscellaneous.
The owners say that they put in $4.5 million into the hotel, and Anthony tells them that the hotel could make a lot of money for very little investment. They spend $10 million on the place and renovate it, and pay $120,000 for a GM, and they listen to that person. Then they bring in an outside third-party consultant to watch that person, and they sit back and collect the money. Then someone will eventually pay $20 to $30 million for the hotel. Anthony tells them to shut down the hotel for the next five months, then reopen under a new name and new management. They admit that Nick isn't a good GM, and Anthony tells them that they need a person to tell them the truth and get money out of them for their own good.
Jeff Lococo and Marco Iafano come in from a waterpark and bedbug consulting companies, respectively, and give the owners recommendations. The owners then tell Anthon that the person Anthony recommended is having them shut down the building, and they ask if Anthony can donate $150,000 of treatment. Anthony pretends not to hear that, and they say that they fired Nick but will let him on until he gets another job. The hotelier repeats what he said earlier, advising them to shut it down or sell it. He figures that they won't spend the money, and has heard that they're leaving. The owners say that they'll stay if they have to, and Anthony tells them that they won't do anything with the reveal so they don't need to bother staying
Anthony goes to the renovated play zone room and congratulates Carrie on outdoing herself. He then tells her that the owners don't deserve her craftsmanship, and they're going to sell. The contractor Dennis Keller explains what they did, and Carrie says that it's a lounge where parents can bring their children and watch their children be children. Once Dennis leaves, Anthony says that it's the best renovation that they've ever had, and he and Carrie hug.
To give Savannah some relief, Anthony takes her to the Kalahari Waterpark nearby and recommends her to the manager, Jason. Jason says that they own the biggest property and their staff is passionate. Anthony wants Savannah to be in a position to get to the next level, and leaves her to talk with Jason.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 14, 2017