Gatwick guest house owner says appearance on TV's The Hotel Inspector has given them a 'massive boost'

The popular Channel 5 show, front by Hotelier Alex Polizzi, visited the Gatwick Turret, run by manager Rai Bhanot last summer and now the episode has aired.

This is the synopsis of the latest series of the popular show: “Crisis is calling and The Hotel Inspector is answering. Alex Polizzi is back to help hospitality businesses on the brink. Cries for help have poured in from across the country, from hotels to B&Bs, guesthouses to glamping sites and pubs to restaurants, as soaring costs, staff shortages and cash-strapped customers leave businesses fighting to get beds and tables filled, meaning more and more cherished businesses face imminent closure.

"Armed with her industry know-how and trademark grit, Alex steps in to help those fighting for survival. This is hospitality under pressure - and the stakes have never been higher.”

And in the latest episode, aired on Thursday, March 19, Alex visited the Gatwick Turret and Rai, who took over the the running of the guest house from his parents Ram and Anj, who had run the establishment for 25 years. All three appeared in the TV show giving their opinion.

The episode, which was filmed in the summer of 2025, showed Alex visiting for the first time and finding out everything about the establishment before making changes to how the place is run, from changing the pricing of car parking to a complete refurbishment of a ground floor family room.

And the show ended with a family testing out the new room, SussexWorld editor Mark Dunford giving his verdict and Rai giving an update a few weeks after Alex had left. The filming was done over around two weeks in total.

Six months on, we caught up with Rai to see how he enjoyed the episode and to find out what the experience was like. "I got at least five, six emails whilst I was watching it, it was very fast-paced,” he said. “And I had a couple of messages on my Instagram too and there were, surprisingly, some people telling me how I can improve my website. I’ve had a lot of feedback already, even though it's been 12 hours, really.”

And on the changes and what they learned from the process, Rai said: “I think the main thing was charging extra, putting more emphasis on the car parking had definitely helped. Alex mentioned, sending an email before that we offer car parking.

“So it's definitely a plus point.

“But what Alex has taught us is when the customers are in, just engage, have a lot of interaction. And we are upselling in the breakfast and coffee and other areas.and just giving people a pleasant experience, really, which they then verbally recommend to other people, which is always positive.

“I think it's been a massive boost since she's been here.

“I feel as if like, even watching from yesterday, that the energy was kind of depleted a little bit amongst me, mum and dad, because you're kind of like working really hard for nothing. But since Alex came and it's given us a boost, like it's given us that energy that we needed.”

Rai watched the episode with mum and dad, wife and niece and nephew. Her said: “They were really excited to see us on TV, so we recorded them, and getting excited, got the popcorn ready.

"My parents only settled after the first 15 minutes. The adverts came on and they were just chatting in between saying ‘this is surprisingly really good’. So overall, very positive.

"We were actually surprised because there were certain moments that I remember when we were recording, and we actually thought ‘that was a bit tense or awkward’.

“But they didn't put that in, surprisingly, which we were quite happy about, to be honest. I think there was one moment where I was questioned on the website and I think I got a little bit defensive with Alex about it. I was certain that it would probably get you aired, because I think it would make great TV.

“But when I watched it yesterday, I was surprised that it wasn't even in there. It wasn't even mentioned. I think the whole storytelling was very positive.”

Business is still a little tough and Rai said what’s happening in the Middle East has had an affect on bookings as he normally has a number of guests who are going to Dubai and Saudi Arabia at this time of year.

But now he is focussed on more refurbishments, including moving the reception to the foyer and a living space for him and his wife.