The “Home Town: Inn This Together” finale episode addresses the devastating Heirloom Hotel fire that destroyed much of Ben and Erin Napier’s and their friends’ hard work. The HGTV series has followed their journey renovating a historic department store in Laurel, Mississippi, which suffered extensive damage during the August 2025 blaze.
Erin Napier Calls ‘Home Town: Inn This Together’ Finale Episode ‘Hard to Watch’
On May 29, The Heirloom Hotel co-owner and Erin’s BFF, Mallorie Rasberry, shared behind-the-scenes photos of their renovation project featured on “Home Town: Inn This Together.”
“We may have lost everything but I’d do it all over again,” she wrote in the Instagram post’s caption. “Well, I guess I’d skip a couple parts 😘🇺🇸❤️ Tune in this Sunday night at 7c on @hgtv to get a front row seat 🫠.”
Erin shared Rasberry’s post on her Instagram Stories, noting along with sad and crying emojis, “Sunday night will be so hard to watch, but we will celebrate the beautiful thing it was anyway.”
The HGTV star also commented on her BFF’s post, writing, “Oh pal. I know you were teary posting this and now I am too. 😭 I love you so big.”
In a May 29 blog post on the Laurel Mercantile website, The Heirloom Hotel co-owner Josh Nowell explained that episode 4 of the series “was full of surprises.”
As everything was coming together on the project, tragedy struck.
“There is so much to celebrate in this final episode. We got the sign. We built beautiful rooms. We overcame floods,” he wrote. “We reached milestones we had dreamed about for years. Most importantly, we learned that a group [of] friends who stick together can accomplish about anything.”
He continued, “But, I know for most folks, it’s hard to focus on anything besides the final minute. The final moment when two years of work was erased in a matter of hours.”
“The fire took much from us, but it did not take our hope,” Nowell explained. “It didn’t erase our determination to make our little home town shine brightly. By God’s grace, we will build again what we lost.”
He assured, “As a viewer, it’s easy to imagine that the last minute of ‘Inn this Together’ took everything from us. But, don’t worry. It didn’t.”
“We still have each other. We still have our framily, our friends, our coworkers and our community,” Nowell added. “And together, we will keep doing what we’ve been doing for these last twenty years: building to make our place better.”
Fans Share Words of Kindness & Support
HGTV fans who have watched the Napiers and their “framily” (Mallorie, her husband Jim, and Nowell) tackle the ambitious Heirloom Hotel project lit up the comments section of Rasberry’s post with kind words of support.
“My heart broke seeing all your beautiful hard work literally go up in smoke,” one fan wrote. “The whole community must be heartbroken. Be strong for each other.”
“So glad y’all have each other in this,” another fan noted. “The next chapter is right around the corner for all of you!”
One fan commented, “My heart hurts each week as I’ve watched these episodes. You ladies are true steel magnolias with some strong men beside you. I just want to give you a hug, casserole or cookies, then remind you it will all be okay. You’re not alone.”
“As soon as y’all are able to rebuild I’m going to have everyone and their mama come stay at your hotel!” one viewer shared.
For those who wondered if the recipes that were hung in The Heirloom Hotel cooking school were lost in the fire, Rasberry shared, “Thankfully all the ones in the building were copies.”
