HotelChatter || Memo To Reality TV Producers: Shows About Hotels Just Don't Work

The just-ended first (and final, we hope) season of The Real Housewives of New York City was the latest reality TV show to feature a hotelier and/or a behind-the-scenes look at a hotel.

But if you look at some of the other reality shows about hotels and how they work or who's running them you will see a not-so-startling pattern: reality shows featuring hoteliers and hotels suck.

That may be a harsh statement but let us now present the evidence: Casino, Party @ the Palms With Jenny McCarthy, Inn Love, Welcome to the Parker and Real Housewives of New York City.

Keep on reading for more of the hard evidence.

For each reality show about a hotel, we tried to see the good that came out of doing the show. Still, even when we dug deep our into our hearts what we eventually pulled out really can't counter-balance all the crap from these shows.

Here's our break-down.

HOTEL REALITY SHOWS
	The Casino Air Date: 2005 Premise: Two big shot internet gazillionaires buy the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and try to turn it into a profit-making machine. Pros: You learn how money can't change nerdy internet guys into suave studs. Also, downtown Las Vegas is cool. Cons: The gig failed and the show was pulled off Fox quick.
	Party @ the Palms With Jenny McCarthy Air Date: 2005 Premise: Jenny McCarthy follows the party people around the Palms Las Vegas for the E! Network. Pros: Anyone who wanted Jenny McCarthy to revive her role on Singled Out was probably pretty happy. Cons: Basically it just showed sloppy spring breakers, year round, with a camera constantly on them...great.
	Inn Love Air Date: 2007 Premise: Tori Spelling invests her meager inheritance in a B&B named after her dog Chateau La Rue for the Oxygen network. Pros: Hmm...um...oh yeah Dean McDermott is a total trophy husband. Go Tori! Cons: The couple faked owning the B&B in the first season. Then copped to "leasing with an option to buy" in the second season before closing shop for good. But there's apparently another season coming up which is like the biggest CON of them all.
	Welcome to the Parker Air Date: 2007 Premise: BravoTV's attempt to go behind the scenes of a hip desert resort, the Parker Palm Springs. Pros: We loved the sweet head concierge John and the property is super gay-friendly. Cons: The show made everyone, from the owner down to the room-service waiter, look incompetent.
	Real Housewives of NYC Air Date: 2008 Premise: Follow socialite housewives and their wannabes around NYC for the rabid BravoTV fans. One wifey's husband is Simon Van Kempen, general manager of the Hotel Chandler. Pros: Whatever Simon is making as a general manager we wanna do it too if it will allow us to live large in NYC. Cons: Simon had no idea about a hot-water scalding incident in one of the guest room showers. He also likes to pimp out his two young sons for attention.

In conclusion, we think hotels fare the best on reality programs when they serve as a backdrop for some drama. We call them TV Set Hotels. Like Make Me a Super Model doing a lingerie shoot at the Hotel Chelsea or Top Chef putting up its contestants at the Fontainebleau in Miami. Heck, we even liked it when Rock of Love went to the ME by Melia Hotel in Cancun.

Now we know Tori Spelling's show is still on for a third season and that's coming up soon but please let this be the end of hotel reality TV shows?

Hotel Reviews:
The Palms Casino Resort
Chateau La Rue
Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino
The Parker Palm Springs
Hotel Chandler

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