Today I watched one of my favorite shows while on my elliptical “gazelle,” thus mixing guilty pleasures with good deeds.  I never get enough exercise in winter and I figured out that Hotel Impossible could get me to behave.

I only discovered Hotel Impossible a few weeks ago and was instantly a fan.  Not because I am particularly into hotels, but because I find the lessons host Anthony Melchiorri teaches are remarkably apropos to historic house museums.

Anthony goes into hotels, some of which have real historic significance, and finds problems that range from small to large.  But, of course, the small problems and the large are closely interrelated.   Here are some of the situations and lessons Anthony illustrates in each episode at hotels, and the historic house relationships I draw from them:

A. Lack of knowledgeable management.  Owners who purchased hotels because they thought it would be a good thing to do as a retirement job, or because they thought the place ought to be saved, or thought their own personal good taste would do the trick.  And then these owners are overwhelmed.

Naturally, this brings to mind some of the well-meaning boards of trustees that rule many a small house museum.  Good people, with good intentions, who are instantly in over their heads with the manifold issues of running a business with which they’ve had no previous experience.

B. Lack of Clear Vision.   The owners have in their heads an idea of what the hotel ought to be, but they are unable to express this vision to the staff or the target community.   It isn’t enough to say,“ we are here and we are open.”  The implications of this lapse are felt from the signage, to the lobby to the guest rooms and amenities.  And of course they effect the interaction of the staff with the public.

This bears direct correlation to the proliferation of house museums that may be, or had been, beautiful, and may be in some way significant, but outside of a small circle of enthusiasts, the public has no idea why they ought to care, visit, or support.  Anthony would say this starts with “curb appeal,” the public needs to learn something compelling before they even turn into the driveway.  BTW, as Anthony also emphasizes, they need some good public relations so the public will know they are even open!

C.  Lack of internal communication.  The owners may have hired competent staff to run the places, but they have not understood the importance of both formal and informal training and follow-up. Nor have they placed value on open communications that run two ways.  Staff are often hired and put to work with little direction, the assumption that they will just know what to do.  On the other side, staff may indeed know what to do, but don’t feel empowered to tell their employers what they need to do their jobs properly, so they improvise, and eventually let standards slide.

In house museums, the corollary would be a bit different—more like a difficulty of dialogue.  The board would hire a director who may or not have direct historic house experience and would expect that person to figure it out, often with only board volunteers to accomplish any of the goals.   The staff (and sometimes the director really is the only full time paid staff) is in the awkward position of doing everything herself or having to train the very board members who hired and can fire her, and who in the meantime may feel free to tell her what to do despite their own lack of expertise.

D. Lack of proper financing.  Naturally, much of the above either stems from or leads to financial limitations.  In the episode I watched today, the owners had invested $5million to buy the motel, and then another few million to buy new furniture, computers, pool furniture, etc.  But they were nervous about another $200,000 to keep it freshly painted, appropriately cleaned, and properly staffed to maintain its cleanliness and safety.  They fail to realize that this relatively small extra annual investment is what will finally make the property begin to earn back its investment.

This directly relates to propensity for boards/donors to embrace capital campaigns, but to completely underestimate and/or abdicate the annual costs of maintenance and staffing.  The expectation that once the doors open, all expenses will be met by admissions, retail and programs, is almost always unrealistic.  It may be so during the excitement of opening, or eventually as the quality of the experience and programs make their reputation, but wear and tear on both property and staff will always take their toll.

Consultants, whether for hotels or museums, bring a fresh, objective perspective.  We may observe more urgently issues with which others have, over time, simply become used to coping, or are simply too stretched to address.   Anthony is able to help raise hotel owner and worker morale, and show how things can be done, with a gift remake of a hotel lobby and guest room.   We non-televised consultants find other ways to encourage new visions and accomplishments, towards the same ends.

So far I have watched only four episodes of this thought-provoking reality show. I recommend it highly.   Anthony, I am a FAN!