Hotel Hell

... this one is ten times worse.

Gordon Ramsey clearly has a lot going for him: top chef, gastronomic guru and mostly excellent hospitality-management expertise. (You'll understand momentarily why I say "mostly.") As with most "reality TV" (or perhaps more accurately, "unscripted drama") however, he boosts basket cases so extreme they rarely if ever come down to Earth to profit from the incredible turnaround they are offered at the conclusion. But of course they can get away with that because the reversion and eventual failure of most of these establishments simply isn't shown and is far enough from most viewers' experience that they can be fooled. (We'll see how long that scam holds up as instant Googling becomes an after-watching habit.)

Look, I get it. Intense cases and dramatic (albeit artificial and superficial and therefore effervescent) breakthroughs make for great television. But these are actual people and places we're talking about. Sure, it's *usually* (but see below) their fault for the histrionic desperation of displaying their worst flaws on TV. There is something rather twisted, though, if not sadistic, in baiting the hopeless - even if they happen to be truly bad people - for the sake of lucrative entertainment.

And this is where 'Hotel Hell' really takes the cake: the owners are often live-in concierges, and so we get a close-up on their worst personal as well as professional qualities - so close up, in fact, that I feel sorry almost even for some of the worst of them. Is Ramsey despite all his talents so dense that he doesn't get the harm he's doing? Or is he a sociopath who can be a good manager... when it's lucrative for HIM, but not when the best interests of his charges (in this case his inn-keeping subjects) would require him to cover for them (even at a cost)? In one case he dealt with an elderly inn-keeper who was obviously suffering from at least early-stage dementia and didn't hesitate to include an employee's remark about the lady's bowel incontinence. So what does he do? He renovates anyway and reinstates her as manager! The proper thing to do would have been to tell her son and landlord that she needed a hospice nurse or some other form of assisted living, not a management title. And to ax the episode, instead of subjecting that poor lady to such public indignity in her twilight years.

Ethics aside, there's something uneconomical (if not unecological) about the sensationalism of reality TV. After all, one can't help shake one's head at the terrible waste of resources on these hopeless losers when there are plenty of earnest but less struggling folks who just need a bit of help and guidance could make a killing (and help many others!) with considerably less effort and resources to get a leg up.

This show is more scripted and exaggerated than Kitchen Nightmares. I think it was just a way for Chef Ramsay to continue making money after that ended. Television (and the film industry for that matter) are full of greedy people. Actors/actresses and TV personalities will do anything for a buck, no matter how ridiculous. Although he's a chef by trade, he reminds me of an actor. He has the ability to convey different personas. It's like he went to a theater school before going into cooking. He also takes on different projects that are outside the realm of his expertise. This time around he contends with hotel owners who are out of touch with their staff, in addition to the overall cleanliness of the building. All of these places have hideous decor. Floral wallpaper and antique furniture in all of the rooms. A terrifying amount of dust and insects. It doesn't take a genius to see there's a major need for cleaning and renovation. It's quite stupid they needed Chef Ramsay to bring that to their attention. And by the way - what is the point of watching him take a shower?!? Obviously they don't show his genitals, but seeing his chest, legs, and feet are disgusting enough. This man needs to keep his clothes on. He looks like a bona fide ghost. He's regarded as a sex symbol, and I never understood why. Just because a man has a British accent, that doesn't automatically qualify him as sexy.

The believability of this show leaves a lot to be desired. I feel like reality programs make life out to be simplistic. It's an alternate dimension where people are able to work out their issues with minimal effort, thought or consideration. Apologies are accepted right away, even if the person who's apologizing has been acting like a narcissist for several years, and hurting all of the people around them. I was done with the episode where the socially inept owner of a hotel in Milford, PA had an overnight transformation after he heard his employees telling Chef Ramsay about how he sucked all of their enthusiasm. Unbeknownst to them, they were being filmed, and he was watching. Then he comes out and says 'sorry, that wasn't my intention. I didn't mean to suck the enthusiasm out of anyone,' or something along those lines (I'm sure they aired their grievances many times, so I don't know why he was surprised by how they felt). Then he's dressed by a Hollywood fashion person, further motivating him to be a better person. He was 48 and single, so after he put on his new clothes, Chef Ramsay took him to a bar down the street to find a girlfriend. Apparently Chef Ramsay must have magical powers like Samantha from Bewitched and cast a spell on the women there, because they all swarmed around him like he was the most intriguing person in the world, and he had no problem talking to them. The next night, the same group of women arrived at the hotel for dinner, and Chef Ramsay got them to write down their phone numbers for the owner. Okay, are we supposed to believe this guy went from totally awkward (didn't smile much, had trouble giving eye contact, struggled with rehearsing how to greet guests when they first entered the hotel), to all of the sudden being a chick magnet just because his appearance was changed? That's when I started watching something else. It just got really absurd. It takes more than clothes to increase someone's confidence. What you wear is just superficial. Not to mention, a bar/nightclub atmosphere can be an uncomfortable experience for people who are very shy, so it's not like they'll have that easy of a time finding someone to date. It was the phoniest episode I've seen. I only watch this when nothing else is on, but it's so lame. The situations and dialogue are questionable, which is why it comes off as staged. Makes you wonder how legit Chef Ramsay is.

I've worked in the hotel industry for 12 years. Gordon Ramsey doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

He's overly focused on the restaurant, and ignores what actually makes the real money in hotels. The rooms are the money maker, not the food. The food should still be good, but there's a better way to do this. Unless you're catering to the locals for dinner, you're much better just having breakfast and maybe lunch. Or breakfast and dinner.

These hotels need to pay attention to their revenue streams, marketing, revenue management, being on the proper websites, and more. Marketing is about where your position is and to get yourself known. It's about knowing the market, not "I make deals".

Whats the comp set? What are the rates in comparison? Can you feed off the cities nearby?

Each hotel is different. Whats the best model of revenue for the hotel?

REAL hoteliers need to be doing this, not a chef. Running a hotel is very different than running a restaurant.

And frankly, what I just said doesn't even begin to cover the problems I'm seeing with this show. This show is terrible. And frankly embarrassing. There are better shows out there such as Hotel Impossible where the host has 20 years of REAL hotel experience.

Gordon, go back to restaurants. It's what you're good at.

I'm not sure where to start with Gordon Ramsay's Hotel Hell, but as a core belief, I say that someone should not act as an expert in something they don't specialize in. It's kind of like a biologist acting like they know everything about physics, provided that they've only had biology-related education. This is the case with Hotel Hell.

Gordon Ramsay made his fame through the restaurant and dining experience. He's known for his outbursts and rude awakenings, but it's always been related to food - his specialty. Last year, I saw some episodes of Hotel Hell and the first thing that came through my mind is a simple question of "what kind of experience does he have with hotels"? To me, it's not good to have a show whose main host has no deep roots in that business.

Of course, it's highly interesting to see the different hotels and to see Gordon Ramsay's softer side in trying to help out these struggling owners, but the show doesn't get as much credit because the host and producer are not professionals in this field - so there's only so much you can believe.

Most of the show is also focused on Gordon himself, like him swimming in the pool almost every episode...Apart from helping to renovate one or two rooms in the hotel, the only good take-away is the restaurant aspect of each hotel, since he does specialize in that area.

Overall, I rate it a 6/10 because of a lack of professional input from the hotel industry, but it is still good entertainment because it's frightening to see how terrible some hotels are.

Not sure why so many are saying he gets nothing done, he clearly does. You can even look up the hotels and many of them are doing great and/or are still open. I do wish there were more details about the hotel part like retraining management and staff sort of thing. Other than that I do enjoy the show.