Elephant Butte Inn - Resort Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Resort Rescue episode, Shane Green visits the Elephant Butte Inn in Elephant Butte, New Mexico.

Elephant Butte Inn is owned by Susan and Gerald LaFont.

Gerald wants to throw money at the problems and Susan hopes her family can make a difference.

They’ve got unhappy guests, staff that do not communicate and a management team that’s not stepping up.

Elephant Butte, New Mexico is surrounded by breathtaking mountain ranges.

There are 27 miles of lake, hot springs and a golf course.

The area is known as the hidden treasure of New Mexico.

Just down the road is the Elephant Butte Inn.

It is a family-owned resort, known for its great restaurant and standout staff.

Susan says they have been there since 1996, when they purchased the Inn.

Their son Nathan is the general manager for the hotel.

Their son-in-law Jeff is the general manager for the restaurant and the tavern.

Her husband Gerald is like the big chief, who oversees all.

They’ve remodeled the hotel rooms, the kitchen and the bar.

They created a spa and salon.

In previous years, the resort was filled with guests searching for lake adventures and a little rest and relaxation.

With New Mexico suffering the effects of a long drought, the Inn has turned into a ghost town.

Susan says that their business is reliant on the water level of the lake.

Shane meets with Susan and she hands over the keys to Shane.

Shane and his crew wire up the resort and set up a control room in a vacant room nearby.

Shane says if you don’t face your issues head-on, then you’re never going to fix them.

There’s nowhere to hide when the cameras go on.

Gerald’s purchases are also hurting the business.

Shane’s first issue with the Elephant Butte Inn is that there is improper spending.

Gerald is blowing money on unnecessary accessories, without consulting his family.

They don’t have a proper budget that they stick to for expenses.

Money that can be spent improving the resort is just being flushed down the toilet.

The rooms are not clean.

Susan is very disappointed.

They see Rebecca and the housekeepers battling over whose fault it was over the unprepared room.

The second issue is a breakdown in communication.

With staff playing the blame game, not only is morale suffering but the guest experience is suffering too.

Annette stops doing a customer’s nails to answer the phone.

The next issue Shane sees is an unfulfilling spa experience.

It should have been a relaxing experience for this woman but she is left underwhelmed.

With Annette answering the phone during this woman’s session, she was unable to focus her attention on this guest.

Rather than feeling like a pampered princess, she ended up feeling ignored.

The final issue Shane sees is mismanaged staff.

After watching Jeff, it is obvious he is ill prepared to run a restaurant.

He is allowing an unruly kitchen staff and an untrained server to ruin the guest experience.

There are some communication and training issues that need to be fixed.

Shane says he wants to bring the employees together.

Shane meets with Susan and Gerald.

They meet with the staff.

Shane introduces himself and explains why he is here.

Shane says that the property is fantastic, but if they don’t back that up with amazing customer service.

He talks to the staff about the issues he saw.

Shane says that this is not a profitable business as it doesn’t make money.

Now that Shane has united the staff, the next step is for he and Harry to meet with Susan and her crew to start building the tools for them to succeed.

Shane meets with Jeff and explains the final steps to his plan.

What Happened Next at Ticaboo Resort?

30 days later, Shane is heading back to the Elephant Butte Inn.

Now, with the help of Shane’s team, new protocols have been put in place.

The communication issues between front desk and housekeeping are a thing of the past.

Susan and Nathan have implemented a budget.

They are keeping an eye on Gerald’s spending.

He is unable to make purchases on a whim and their money is now being spent in a better way.

Jeff says that he took all of Shane’s advice.

Jeff has accepted his management responsibilities without a fear of conflict.

The kitchen and restaurant staff are back on track.

Michelle has never felt more comfortable.

The calls in the spa are being forwarded to the front desk so the spa team can focus on delivering a truly great spa experience.

With a little help from Nathan, Gerald has even learned to use his new sign correctly.

Elephant Butte Inn is open.

Reviews are mostly positive.

There is praise for the food, location and service.

There are some complaints about cleanliness issues.

Click for more Resort Rescue episodes

Next episode - Odell Lake Resort