Jetsetter of the Month: “Hotel Impossible” Host Anthony Melchiorri
Most people who work in the hotel business are driven by a passion to help take care of others. It is this passion that led hospitality expert Anthony Melchiorri to elevate his focus, teaching hotel owners to successfully run their business and accommodate guests in the Travel Channel original series “Hotel Impossible.” This position as the “hotel fixer” has allowed Anthony to travel all over the world.
“Traveling gives perspective, and by visiting other places you gain a better appreciation for where you live and a newfound respect for where and how others live,” Anthony says. Ease of communication has made it possible for people to reach others around the globe, but Anthony says talking about a destination is very different from seeing it in person. “There’s no reason to miss what’s out there,” he says.
Anthony’s experience with travel began when he was growing up in Brooklyn, where he says he observed people and families from different places and cultures come to make a new start and find something better. This, he says, kicked off his initial thoughts about what else was out there and inspired him to see some of the places he had heard about in his youth.
His experience surrounded by these new cultures shaped how Anthony thinks about travel today and what he hopes to pass on to future jet setters. “It only makes sense to get to know who your neighbors are, to see their heritage, history, and the beautiful places they come from,” Anthony says, adding, “After all, you never know when you might need something, and to be able to draw upon that experience or call that friend you made on a trip somewhere might be invaluable.”
One piece of advice Anthony wishes someone had shared with him before he set off to travel the world is to remember the phrase, “everything else you can buy.” While Anthony says it is important to pack the essentials, there is no need to try to remember every single thing and lug a huge suitcase around during your trip. If you forget something, you can always pick it up along the journey.
As Anthony’s journey takes him from country to country, he says fans ask about “the places they’ve seen on television they think are too far for them to visit or they don’t have time to go and see.” Whether that is Alaska, Hawaii, or a place like Croatia, Anthony says people often think the farther away a place is, the more exotic it is.
These exotic locations, Anthony predicts, will draw travelers in the coming year as Generation Xers and Millennials begin to drive new trends. While Baby Boomers are traveling more as they retire and have more time, younger travelers are visiting places in a different way than their parents did, traveling overseas to less-than-expected places.
One place Anthony finds himself repeatedly recommending is Maui. “In Maui you will find beautiful accommodations, history, culture, and some of the best beaches in the world,” he says. “Take in a sunrise at Haleakala and you will know exactly what makes it so special.” He also hopes to return again to Spain. “This is a place that is just so rich with culture and history; you simply cannot see all of it in one trip,” he says.
Anthony definitely encourages return visits, especially to locations that might not have clicked the first time around. “We all know people have their good days and bad days, and I think places are like that, too,” he says, adding, “They have their own ups and downs, so to judge an entire location based on one experience, on one trip, and determine that’s a place you will never return to is a bit extreme.”
Making a return trip also means the chance to reconnect with an old friend or to meet someone new. For Anthony, at each place he has been he’s met someone who embodies the spirit of the destination, someone he will never forget, in large part because of social media. “Isn’t that the brilliance of travel?” he asks, explaining, we meet new people and “because of the technology today, we never really have to say goodbye.”
The fourth season of “Hotel Impossible” premieres on Monday, January 27, on the Travel Channel.
