Fifty Years of Making Memories

Northbay biz - 1 June 2022

In the mid-1960s, Ellis and Katherine Alden moved from the East Coast to begin new lives in California. Ellis started a law practice in Menlo Park; Katherine programmed mainframe computers. In 1972, they set their careers aside and invested their life savings in a small motor lodge in Bodega Bay. From that humble beginning, the family business grew. The Woodside Hotel Group with 1,000 employees is now the largest manager of independent hotels in Northern California. The business transitioned to the next generation in 2005 when their middle son, Greg Alden, became CEO.

“I remember my parents loading me, my brother and sister in our Volvo station wagon for treks to Bodega Bay. My dad would buy a mattress for one of the rooms and strap it on top of the car,” Alden says. “The lodge was a fun place to hang out. Fishermen would stop by to clean their fish. In front, there was a funky, spinning sign to attract motorists.” READ MORE.