From: Comfort Inn & Suites
To: Siana Emmons; Amy Nilsen; Mike Johnson; Tami Trent; Kyle Conley; Abe Stevens; Carlos Diaz Subject: River Lodge conference center
Date: Monday, June 15, 2026 10:22:12 AM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important Dear Mayor and City Council Members,
My name is Jay Patel and I am a co-owner of the Comfort Inn & Suites here in Fortuna. I have been running hotels in this community for many years and I care deeply about what happens here. I wanted to share my thoughts on the River Lodge before the Council makes a final decision because I think it is important you hear from local business owners who see the economic impact of this venue firsthand every single day.
I want to start with a real example from just last month. The weekend of May 15th and 16th our hotel was already busy from Cal Poly Humboldt graduation overflow. Normally the following Sunday would be a slow day for us. Instead we stayed busy because SERCAL, the California Society for Ecological Restoration, had booked the River Lodge for their statewide annual conference running May 18, 19, and 20. These were scientists, biologists, ecologists, and environmental professionals traveling from all over California. They filled hotel rooms across Fortuna, they ate at our restaurants, they stopped at local shops, and many of them took time to explore Ferndale and the Avenue of the Giants. What could have been a quiet stretch between the graduation weekend and the Memorial Day holiday turned into a solid week of business for Fortuna. That is exactly what the River Lodge can do when it is being used the right way.
And that is just one recent example. Chevron has hosted large corporate events at the River Lodge. Cal Fire holds training programs and meetings here throughout the year that bring close to 100 room nights per day of training. State agencies, government departments, and professional organizations book the River Lodge for multi day conferences on a regular basis.
Weddings bring families from all over California for full weekends. Class reunions, sports groups, and corporate retreats fill our rooms on nights that would otherwise be empty. The River Lodge is the only facility in Fortuna that can accommodate this kind of event and there is nothing else in the area that comes close.
Our hotels were already operating in this corridor when the City built the River Lodge. It was built to bring visitors to Fortuna and to give people a reason to stay overnight. That vision was right then and it is still right today. When people come to Fortuna for an event they do not just show up and leave. They discover this area. They visit the Avenue of the Giants and drive through Ferndale. They take photos and post them online. They tell their friends and family about Fortuna. Some of them come back on their own. That kind of word of mouth and organic exposure for our community is something you simply cannot put a price on.
Fortuna's TOT revenue is already down $400,000 and I feel that in my own business every single month. The River Lodge with the right private operator actively going out and selling it to groups, organizations, and companies from outside the area is one of the most powerful tools this city has to turn that around. At Fortuna's 10% TOT rate the room nights generated by events like SERCAL or a multi day Cal Fire training translate into thousands of dollars going straight into the City's general fund at zero additional cost to the City.
I have a lot of respect for the Fortuna Union High School District and everything they do for our kids and our community. My concern is not with them. My concern is that if the River Lodge is no longer available for the kinds of events that bring overnight visitors to Fortuna that business will go to Eureka or Arcata and it will be very hard to get back once it is gone.
I respectfully ask the Council to give private operator proposals a serious and fair look before making a final decision. The right operator at the River Lodge will go out and sell it aggressively, bring people to Fortuna, fill hotel rooms, support local restaurants and shops, and generate real TOT revenue for the City. That is the highest and best use of that building for our community and for Fortuna's economic future.
Thank you for your time and for everything you do for this city. Please feel free to call me anytime.
Sincerely,
Jay Patel
Co-Owner
Comfort Inn & Suites Fortuna
707-725-7025