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.
It's all over! Our short trip into the world of the Parker Palm Springs ended with last night's sixth and final installment of Welcome to the Parker. We never thought we'd be saying this, but we're sort of bummed.
[Ed. Note: Here to review the fourth episode of Welcome to the Parker is our very own Jenna, who is currently enrolled in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Enjoy.]
Last night's Welcome to the Parker was, well, kinda entertaining. It was less infuriating for some reason and the urge to slam it seems to have left us temporarily.
Why? The best explanation is probably the fact that most of this particular episode had very little to do with running the hotel itself, really, and because for once, we actually were impressed by something.
We did a little digging today because we had noticed some of the recent comments on the Welcome to the Parker episode reviews about the guest appearance of Jill Johnson a "high-end travel agent" who could send literally millions of dollars of business to the Parker Palm Springs with a favorable review. Or so says the hotel's manager.
Either way, the show made it seem like Jill Johnson worked for a posh travel agency with extremely wealthy clients--both corporate and leisure. The good news is that unlike the food critic in the premiere episode, Jill Johnson actually exists and works for a travel agency called TravelTrust, a corporate travel management company, where she is the senior VP. You can read her bio here.
But the bad news is when we plugged in Palm Springs into the TravelTrust's hotel database for a Labor Day weekend getaway, the first few choices that popped up weren't exactly high-end selections. They were The Ramada Palm Springs, the Vagabond Inn Palm Springs, and a Best Western.
To be fair, the Hotel Zoso and the Viceroy Palms Springs also popped up. Also, this was just a quick search on TravelTrust's website. Maybe if you contact them directly and set up a corporate account, they will have more posh offerings.
As for the Parker, well it pops up but it was sold out for the weekend we wanted. Interestingly enough, TravelTrust still has it listed under an older name Le Parker Meridien Palm Springs. There's not much else there on the description except it calls the hotel a place "where luxury is fun." Also someone posted a bad review of the place last November. Not surprising of course. But this hotel needs a jolt of good press immediately. When is this show over?
[Ed. Note: Here to review the fourth episode of Welcome to the Parker is our very own Jenna, who is currently enrolled in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Enjoy.]
In episode four of Welcome to the Parker, some reps from the Pleasure Chest checked in to propose a similar promotion at the Parker Palm Springs to the one we covered over at Manhattan's Bryant Park Hotel. We were surprised and delighted to be able to witness something that actually may have really happened (rather than the fake food critics and annoyingly over-the-top personalities we've seen so far).
[Ed. Note: Here to review the third episode of Welcome to the Parker is our very own Jenna, who is currently enrolled in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Enjoy.]
In our rundowns of the first two episodes of Welcome to the Parker, Bravo's new "reality" show promising to give us a behind the scenes look at the Parker Palm Springs, we discussed what exactly we thought is wrong with the Parker staff. Are they incompetent? Are they just actors? Is it just heavily edited for dramatic purposes?
In last night's edition of W to the P, all our questions are answered within the first ten minutes when Thomas, the Parker's General Manager, flat out says something along the lines of, "we hire people based on their personalities; the technical skills come later."
Valli Herman writes of the hotel's very own screening party:
The hotel cooked up a concession stand menu, tossed fat pillows on the ballroom floor and invited local media, dignitaries, eccentrics and hotel guests for a Parker-style family movie night. Watching two episodes with the city's mayor cheering ("Publicity!") and the hotel's general manager wincing ("Foul-ups!"), it's clear why Bravo sought this location.
Actually it's still not clear but we get that the Parker is a quirky kind of hotel and Herman seemed to like that. She also thought the staff was trying very hard to please it guests, even though some mistakes were made. All this confirms that the place is probably better in real life than it's portrayed on TV. However, it looks like the No Dogs Allowed rule made it into the hotel policy as Herman saw none on the premises.
All in all, Herman gave the place three stars or "very good." But we think that's being nice considering the $41 bouillabaise she ordered at the Mr. Parker restaurant left her stinking like garlic for two days. Ewww....
[Ed. Note: Here to review the second episode of Welcome to the Parker is our very own Jenna, who is currently enrolled in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Enjoy.]
After the season premiere of Welcome to the Parker, Bravo's new reality show that goes behind the scenes of the Parker Palm Springs, we were left wondering whether or not the staff featured on the show were at all capable of running a legitimate business. After episode two, we wonder no more.
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.
2 Comments - Add Yours
by juliana
