12 North Bay Business Journal MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2023

HOTELIERS Farmhouse Inn

owners and
continued from page 10 siblings Joe
and Catherine
we're trying to bring more business in Bartolomei
from farther away geographically, so bought the
that experience will matter a lot.” luxury bed and
breakfast on
Glick declined to state how much the River Road
group is spending for the public rela- in Forestville
tions effort, but said it’s split equally more than two
between the six proprietors. decades ago.
“We’re bringing our collective voices JOHN BURGESS
together to try to grab another audience THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

and bring them in because I think we’re

often fighting potentially for the same
demographic that might be looking at ei-
ther Napa Valley, or even Healdsburg for
that matter,” said Guerneville hotelier
and chef Crista Luedtke. “(Tourists) may
be thinking the Russian River is more
cabins or camping but it's not. We have
all these beautiful high-end boutique
hotels that not everybody knows about.”
Luedtke, a serial entrepreneur,
currently operates boon hotel + spa,
boon eat + drink; and BROT, a modern
German restaurant. Luedtke is arguably
the most high-profile businessperson in
Guerneville’s hospitality industry. She
remains friends with Guy Fieri after
winning a cooking show on the Food
Network in 2015. She has subsequently
served as a judge, and has been featured
in publications that include Forbes, Food
BOON HOTEL + SPA, 2019
Crista Luedtke, owner of boon hotel + spa in
Guerneville.
& Wine magazine, Condé Nast Traveler
and The New York Times.
Luedtke said she is savings thousands
of dollars each month by pooling her
marketing funds as a member of the
Russian River Boutique Hotels initiative,
and sees a higher purpose in the group’s
initiative.
“We will all benefit, and I think that's
the real goal here,” she said. “And I
think, also, it's been really interesting
and helpful for all of us just running our
own businesses to share best practices
with one another.”
Glick said she sees the Russian
River Boutique Hotels group as a way to
unite, strategize and help support one
another’s businesses — not to duplicate
Sonoma County Tourism’s sustained
marketing and public relations efforts
over the years to promote visitation to
the Russian River Valley region.
The county’s tourism bureau has
long sent travel writers to the region’s
hotels, restaurants, shops and plethora
of outdoor activities, including the
historic Armstrong Redwoods State Nat-
ural Reserve. That work has routinely
See HOTELIERS page 20

Fly local. Fly STS!

Half the distance. Twice the experience.
Ha

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