In this Hotel Impossible episode, Anthony Melchiorri visits Southern Oaks Inn in Branson, Missouri.
Southern Oaks Inn is owned by Susan and April.
The 142 room hotel was built in 1989 by cousins Steve and Bobby.
It is now run by their wives Susan and April.
Anthony arrives and he likes the location and the exterior is clean with a view of the nice pool area.
The parking lot is empty and there's a rogue ‘A’ sign hanging.
He enters the reception and meets Danielle at the front desk.
Anthony sees that the hotel has only 18 occupants overnight, which is bad.
He inspects their $59 room and he is immediately turned off by the ugly bedspreads and a notice banning irons in the room.
There is a sticker on the toilet and it has rust stains.
The towel rack falls off the wall and there are iron burn marks on the carpet.
Anthony goes to meet the owners but runs into several signs on the way to the indoor pool area.
He had no idea that they had a pool as it was not on the website.
Anthony checks it out and finds that the indoor pool area is stunning.
He sits with the 2 couples and finds out how they started and where they are now.
They get 40% walk-ins and no reservations, which is bad for business.
Anthony sees their problem is marketing and there is tension between the wives.
Anthony decides to show them their problems visually, showing that their competition's parking lot is packed due to better marketing.
He decides to take a closer look at their lobby and he sees pamphlets everywhere.
The lobby is outdated and is decorated with ugly wallpaper.
At night Rachel is the night front desk person.
She locks the front door as she does not feel safe.
The maid's closet is across the site.
When he gives her a request, she spends more than 20 minutes locating the items.
The maid's closet is not stocked or organised and it should take just 5 minutes.
The next day, Blanche is brought in as the interior decorator.
She has a problem with the whole lobby area and they formulate a plan.
Anthony sees someone working with the housekeeping cart who does not look like a housekeeper.
It is Jason.
He is dressed casually as there are no uniforms.
Jason has a blacklight to check for bodily fluid stains so he can clean better.
Head Housekeeper Trish reveals that they only clean the bedspreads 4 times a year.
Anthony sits with the wives and they show him a loyalty card that guarantees every 10th stay at the hotel is free.
He asks them to trash it and no longer offer the discount.
Only 20 people a day go to their websites and he tells them about SEO marketing.
Neither wife had experience and took on roles they had no idea about and did not have the basic tools.
Anthony checks in on Blanche and they are repainting and rearranging the brochures.
April is the acting GM and Anthony sits with her as the hotel is understaffed and they are too scared to speak up.
Susan is in marketing but is involved with the operations, which annoys April.
April has potential but needs to be guided to be an effective GM.
Anthony shows Susan all the things wrong with the rooms and she agrees it needs an update.
She is eager to update the space and has been looking for backing from the rest of the owners.
Anthony takes the couple and gets them to define their roles.
He stumbles on their tension due to petty reasons.
They have a communication breakdown.
Anthony checks in on Blanche and he throws out the Brochure rack that is still there.
He checks in on Susan, who has rearranged and redecorated a room and it looks a lot better.
Anthony adds an ironing board and tells her it is a necessity.
All the changes cost under $300 and they can replicate it in the remaining rooms.
Anthony takes Susan to the indoor pool area and all the big signs blocking the view are gone.
He shows her the brand new website he has created for them.
He takes April to meet the housekeeping staff.
They have hired 2 more staff and they now have uniforms.
Anthony challenged Susan to plan pool activities.
She has gathered the children in the hotel for a Bingo event that has some prizes attached.
Blanche finishes her renovations just in time.
The lobby looks warmer and bigger with the dark warm colour of the painted wallpaper.
There are matching seats in the seating area and the brochure racks are gone.
The business area is now covered so the screen is private.
The couple thanks Anthony with a pie.
What Happened Next at Southern Oaks Inn?
Sometime after Anthony’s visit, it is revealed revenue has increased by 17%.
Susan is updating 48 rooms.
Jason attempted to continue dressing casually.
He was reprimanded to follow dress code.
Southern Oaks Inn is open.
The hotel was sold to hotel chain Howard Johnson in 2024.
The owners did further renovations in 2017.
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