In this Resort Rescue episode, Shane Green visits the Calumet Inn in Pipestone, Minnesota.
Calumet Inn is owned by Vanda and Rina.
She is both inexperienced and overworked, leaving room for disrespectful employees to wreak havoc.
Vanda is on the brink of walking away and forfeiting her parents retirement money.
In the southwestern corner of the North Star State, you’ll find the town of Pipestone.
After one visit, you’ll see why it served as inspiration for one of America’s most recognized poems, The Song of Hiawatha.
Pipestone is known as the home of the peace pipe because of the red-stone quarry used to make native American pipes.
In the center of town, you’ll find a historic hotel named the Calumet, after the French word for “peace pipe.”
The historic Calumet Inn has 36 guest rooms.
It has been a hotel since 1888 and used to be a bank in the 1800s.
The old bank vaults are now being used as their wine storage.
As with the other buildings in the historic downtown district, the Calumet Inn is studded in red Sioux quartzite stone.
The beauty of this property captivated Vanda’s sister, Rina, whose lifelong dream was to own a hotel.
Deciding that the Calumet was the right opportunity, Rina turned to her parents for financial help.
The whole thing was a surprise to Vanda, who was on the other side of the world.
Vanda’s parents were determined to help Rena realize her dream of hotel ownership.
They invested their $500,000 retirement savings into the historic Calumet Inn.
From the start, Rena was in over her head and things quickly went south.
Eventually, Rena bailed on the business.
Vanda’s parents convinced her to cut her trip short and take over management duties at the Calumet.
Vanda says she felt a little guilt tripped into doing so.
Vanda had zero experience in the hotel industry.
The Calumet’s 36 guest rooms, two restaurants, and two bars quickly proved to be too much for Vanda’s inexperience.
While online reviews rave about the area, they point out neglected housekeeping and rude staff members.
With nowhere else to turn, Vanda reaches out to Shane.
Shane meets with Vanda.
Vanda admits that she is burnt out.
Shane explains what his team does.
With total access to the Calumet Inn, Shane and his crew wire up the hotel with mics and cameras.
Shane says that now that cameras are in place, nothing is going to get by them.
Shane brings in Harry, one of his trainers.
Harry will see what the first impressions of the hotel are like.
There are flower pens to prevent theft.
Chef Chaz accidentally cuts himself in the kitchen.
The first issue Shane sees is poor upkeep.
Flower pens and burnt-out lightbulbs are minor maintenance.
Forcing your staff to work with faulty kitchen equipment is a major hazard and a liability.
The second issue Shane sees is that there is no quality control.
During a stay, guests pay attention to every little detail.
If they don’t have regular cleanliness inspections and the housekeepers have no guidelines, then quality is going to fall through the cracks.
Katie walks out.
Vanda says that this reflects poorly on her.
She is nervous about people quitting on her.
The next issue is that there is no disciplinary action for staff.
There is no good reason to keep someone around who is not willing to perform basic tasks and take care of the guests.
Clear boundaries need to be set.
When employees aren’t held accountable for their actions, unprofessional behavior is only going to get worse.
Katie doesn’t have boundaries and is drinking on the job.
Shane has Vanda hold a staff meeting.
Vanda has called her staff in for a meeting.
They have no idea they’ve been under surveillance to evaluate their performance.
Shane introduces himself to the staff.
He explains why he is here and what they are doing.
Shane tells the staff what they are doing right or wrong.
Katie walks out after being confronted about her behaviour.
After an emotionally charged meeting, Shane wastes no time putting his plan into action.
Shane meets with the staff again.
Shane is leaving Vanda and her team with some valuable lessons and great tools to help the Calumet Inn.
Only time will tell whether they follow this plan.
What Happened Next at Bear Inn Resort?
30 days later, Shane returns to the Calumet Inn.
Vanda has hired an intern, who turns out to be a rock star at the front desk.
Chaz has cleaned up his act and shines as he interacts with the guests.
Vanda has invested in brand-new equipment.
Vanda says that Shane has helped her recharge her energy.
Sarah has been promoted to the assistant manager.
She has relieved Vanda of her administrative tasks, including the weekly scheduling.
Vanda gives Shane an engraved peace pipe as a reminder of his time there.
The work environment radiates positivity and they are much happier.
Revenues are steadily climbing and the negative reviews are a thing of the past.
Calimet Inn is closed.
They closed in 2022.
Vanda and Rina sold the hotel in 2015 before regaining ownership.
They sold the hotel again in 2016.
The hotel was closed by the city for violations of the fire code.
It was reopened a month later.
This damaged both the reputation of the hotel and the finances of the owner so it closed permanently.
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