BREWER, Maine — When the general manager of the Vacationland Inn in Brewer got a call from the producers of “Hotel Impossible” on the Travel Channel, she thought there might have been a mix-up or someone was playing a joke on her.
It was all true, though. Producers had chosen the Wilson Street hotel, owned by Cheryl and Ross Bradford, to receive renovations and world-class advice from the show’s host, renowned hospitality expert Anthony Melchiorri.
“At first it was hard to believe, but then as we got going, we realized this would be an incredible resource for us. It’s just been incredibly exciting,” said general manager LeeAnn Hewey.
Production crews from the show and a number of local contractors spent Sept. 16-18 at the hotel, doing top-secret renovations and lending their skills to train the staff. The fifth season premiere of “Hotel Impossible” is set to air Oct. 7, and the Vacationland Inn episode is expected to air in late November.
Though what the renovations are exactly will remain a closely guarded secret until the show airs, producers did allow one little sneak preview: It’s one large room in the hotel, and it’s being completely transformed.
What Melchiorri is focusing on are other problems, including staff training, communication and customer service.
“The renovations of this hotel aren’t as important as the story about what we have to fix to take it to the next level, because they’ve done a good job renovating it themselves,” said Melchiorri. “It’s more about the internal workings of the hotel. Communication is always key. … There are always serious issues in any hotel with the dynamics between management and employees. I have to come in and understand those dynamics very quickly.”
Melchiorri has been all over the world and in almost all 50 states for the show, but he had not yet been to Maine.
“I get a call, the producers tell me, ‘You’re going to Maine, you have a hotel to save,’ and I show up and I save the hotel,” said Melchiorri. “It’s beautiful here. It’s funny, I really like going to new places, but I live in New York, and I’ve never been to Maine. I was on a lobster boat in Bar Harbor yesterday. It was wild.”
The “Hotel Impossible” team found the Vacationland Inn after looking for a worthy candidate in New England. The show has filmed in countries all over the world, from Africa to Europe to all over the U.S. and Canada.
“It really depends on what the hotel has to offer,” said Blanche Garcia, lead designer and co-host of the show. “Anthony looks at the dossier to make sure that from the standpoint of a hotelier, that he can help, and that they need help and can be honest with you and want to work on their hotel.”
The local team of electricians, carpenters and builders assembled to complete the whirlwind 72-hour transformation includes Electric Works of Old Town, Violette Builders of Old Town, Brian Moore Carpentry of Eddington, Applicator Sales and Service of Bangor and Viking Lumber, as well as the lead contractor of the team, Ryan Francis of Maine Construction Group, out of Hampden.
“When Blanche called me I almost fell out of my chair,” said Francis, a 2010 graduate of the construction engineering and technology program at the University of Maine. “We’ve been working together for almost a month on this project. … A project like this would take weeks, but working this quickly has been really exciting. This is our high point right here. This is the dream job.”
Though Vacationland Inn staff are hotly anticipating the reveal of the renovations, the counseling from Melchiorri will perhaps be the most important help they’ll receive while “Hotel Impossible” is on site.
“You always see this on TV, but now that it’s actually happening to us, we’re trying to absorb as much of it as we can,” said Hewey. “We’re picking Anthony’s brain and learning from him about what we can do better. … Even if this didn’t end up on national television, this would still be such a great experience.”
