Woodbridge Inn - Resort Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Resort Rescue episode, Shane Green visits Woodbridge Inn in Jasper, Georgia.

Woodbridge Inn is owned by Hans Rueffert.

Shane is called in to help a beloved resort owner save his family’s historic property.

An ongoing battle with a serious illness is keeping his medical bills high.

The resort occupancy, however, is low.

When Hans is away, his staff can’t manage on their own.

He may be forced to sell the family treasure.

Shane says he is on a real mission today.

At a young age, Hans learned the hospitality business and gained some culinary expertise.

His reviews have been fantastic.

However, he’s been diagnosed with cancer.

He has gone through numerous treatments to try to get his illness under control.

In fact, this last winter was so bad that they thought about having to shut down the resort.

Located about 60-miles north of Atlanta, the town of Jasper is small in size but big in reputation.

They are the marble capital of Georgia.

The picture-perfect town is blanketed in lush forests and surrounded by mountains.

Right in the middle of the town sits the historic Woodbridge Inn.

Hans says that this is a family business.

His wife Amy knows how important it is to him.

They’ve been together since 1990.

Amy is incredibly hospitality driven but works behind the scenes.

The Woodbridge Inn has been a historic hotel and restaurant since 1880.

They have 18 guest rooms and three dining rooms in the restaurant.

They have a historic wooden bridge that is the only wooden-truss bridge still in operation for vehicular traffic in the state of Georgia.

The Woodbridge Inn is not only Hans’ business but also his home.

Hans has lived there since he was four years old.

In 1976, his father saw an ad to purchase the property.

He packed them up and they moved to Jasper.

For over two decades, the Rueffert family ran the Woodbridge Inn.

In 1990, Hans’ father was diagnosed with kidney disease.

His health declined very quickly.

In 2005, Hans was diagnosed with stage three B gastric cancer.

It has affected their business dramatically, mostly in a financial way.

Hans has had 12 major surgeries.

After losing his father and battling cancer, Hans was inspired to write a cookbook and became a motivational speaker.

He is away so much that it’s affecting the Woodbridge Inn’s survival.

The negative online reviews are pouring in about the resort.

Hans says they went from being obsessed with quality and providing amazing customer experience to just surviving.

With nowhere else to turn, Hans reached out to Shane for help.

Shane says he is going to use all of his expertise and resources to find out what’s going on at the Woodbridge Inn.

Hans has no stomach, barely has an esophagus and is missing two ribs and a collar bone.

Hans says that he physically can’t do the work anymore.

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

They do not have a front desk so a customer is looking around for where to check in.

The first issue Shane sees is that leaders like Faye and Layla should never be overseeing the same part of the resort at the same time.

Shane says that Hans is frustrating the guests with the way that things are set up.

A guest shouldn’t have to kick down their door for the sake of just getting into their room.

Shane tells Hans that he is going to put their customer service to the test.

There is not a front desk at the hotel.

The guests say the place is charming and cute.

Having the keys set outside for them is a little concerning.

Failing to provide a secure check-in process is not only unsettling for the guests but it’s a liability too.

Shane says this is unacceptable.

Shane has his crew empty out rooms to see how long it takes before the staff notices.

The staff are more focused on the kitchen.

The hotel is second-class compared to the restaurant.

A lack of training and focus means you have staff answering reservation calls with no skills and a complete lack of knowledge.

With a poor first impression, guests are going to think twice about booking a room here.

Hans is a motivational speaker but it seems like his staff could use a motivational speech.

Shane calls up Hans wife Amy to meet and get a little more insight into the way his illness has affected his business.

Amy says that Hans goes whole hog on everything.

Hans has been battling cancer for a really long time.

Hans lives in excruciating pain every single day of his life.

The hotel needs full-time management by someone other than Hans.

Shane says that he wants him and Amy to work together.

There are customers trying to find the pool but there isn’t one.

They closed their pool last year.

Third-party websites still contain misleading photos, showing that they have a pool.

The guests in search of the pool are about to encounter a huge disappointment.

Hans says they need to revamp their love of social media.

With social media training under his belt, Hans is off to a good start.

Shane’s not done with him yet and the coaching has just begun.

Shane says that Hans greatest gift to the inn is to inspire the people here to run the business as his father envisioned.

Hans will have to be willing to step back from the business.

Shane says that the issues he’s observed here are misallocation of staff, lack of security, inadequate training, and false advertising.

Hans has a meeting with the staff.

Shane introduces himself to the staff.

One of the staff members is very uncomfortable with him being at the resort.

Shane says that Hans needs to take care of himself better.

He needs to put his energy into his family and the new addition that’s on the way.

Faye is going to be the general manager.

What Happened Next at Woodbridge Inn?

30 days later, Shane returns to the resort.

He says that it was so amazing to hear Hans story.

All check-ins are facilitated in person, creating a much warmer welcome and safer experience.

The Woodbridge Inn has hired a new head chef.

They have promoted Faye to be the general manager of the whole resort.

Drew is getting the training he needs and his customer service skills are outstanding.

The Woodbridge Inn has implemented a beer-and-brat theme night and wine tastings on the patio.

The Woodbridge Inn is open.

Hans has sold the hotel and it is open with new owners, Doug and Janet Flint.

Hans returned to the resort to operate the Woodbridge General Store.

Hans sells spices and ingredients on his website.

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