Latinos are the life force behind Sonoma County hotels, hospitality industry

At last count, Sonoma County had around 6,600 hotel rooms and 2,500 recreational spaces available for overnight guests according to Sonoma County Tourism.

Most hospitality industry experts agree these places couldn’t stay open without Latinos.

While there are no formal numbers on the ethnic breakdown of hospitality workers in the county, people of Latino descent work in just about every capacity: General managers, front desk associates, concierge, housekeeping, food service, laundry technicians, massage therapists and more.

Put differently, Latinos have become a critical part of the county’s tourism business. When they’re not overseeing day-to-day operations of hotels and vacation rentals, they’re helping to shape the industry by staying on top of trends by offering new specials or ideas to generate business, and delivering one-of-a-kind service.

“No matter how you think about it, we are a huge part of the hotel industry in this county,” said John Solis, 37, assistant manager of housekeeping at Vintners Resort in Santa Rosa. “We make this industry better.”

Solis got his foot in the door of the hospitality industry when he started working at Montage Healdsburg where he started out as a coordinator, then he worked his way up to a management position where he was in charge of a group of 46 people and oversaw 150 rooms.

"Little did I know that this would be my ultimate passion. To get run a team like a well-oiled machine,“ he said. ”Above all my ultimate goal to give guests the most perfect experience that one can get. Thus this lead me into working at Vintners Resort.“

'It’s like a bond we have’

Solis joined the hospitality team at Vintners Resort in October 2022 — he was part of the resort’s push to staff up following the countywide tourism slowdown from COVID-19.

He said he takes great pride in making sure visitors have a great experience when they stay.

“I like to provide the service that makes guests go, ‘Wow!’ as soon as they enter the room,” he said. “I believe we work as if we’re leaving our names there. We provide the best possible service we can provide for every guest we come across. We strive for quality.”

Solis, whose parents hail from Monterey and Zacatecas, Mexico, has a pretty straightforward routine. He arrives every morning by 7:30 a.m., turns on the computer in his office and takes a look at data that shows occupancy rates, arrivals and departures. From there, he assembles what he calls his “strike force team” to flip rooms in a timely manner.

The team comprises 30 people — most of whom are Latino — and work on the 78 rooms and suites at Vintners Resort.

Once Solis has drawn up assignments, he calls a team meeting to review specific requests. One guest might want feather pillows, another may want extra drinks. After providing team members with a pep talk, Solis dispatches the group to get to work. Most of these communications are in Spanish.

“We speak more Spanish than English,” Solis said. “It’s like a bond we have. It’s part of the experience. It’s how we do what we do.”

Running the show in Healdsburg

In Healdsburg, Rosa Salgado has a similar story.

Salgado, 40, is director of housekeeping at all three Piazza Hospitality properties in Healdsburg: the Hotel Healdsburg, h2hotel and Harmon Guest House. She runs the laundry program. She also pitches in to support servers and managers at two of the company restaurants: Pizzando at Hotel Healdsburg and the Rooftop at Harmon Guest House.

“I work wherever I’m needed,” she said. “I feel it is my job to provide guests with a great experience here. I love helping people.”

Overall, Salgado has worked at Piazza for more than five years. She was hired as a busser at Spoonbar! and transferred almost immediately to housekeeping, where she received on-the-job training and rose through the ranks.

Today she oversees a team of 36 — including several women who have been housekeepers since Hotel Healdsburg opened in 2001.

Salgado, whose family is from Acapulco, Mexico, said she speaks Spanish almost all the time at work, since almost all her employees speak it as their first language. She added that five team members are bilingual, which is helpful when interacting with guests or translating communications from the front desk or company management.

The connection between Salgado and the housekeeping department at Piazza, goes beyond their responsibilities at work. During summer, for instance, the team and their families get together for barbecues where they make carne asada. And every time one of her employees returns to their native Mexico, they bring her back fancy tequila.

“There are big examples and small examples — our culture is part of it all,” Salgado said.

Overall, Salgado is responsible for cleaning 131 total rooms: 56 at Hotel Healdsburg, 36 at h2hotel and 39 at Harmon. As part of the high-touch housekeeping services Piazza provides, Salgado’s team also offers turndown service at 6 p.m., which includes an adjustment of the bedsheets, as well as bedside chocolates or cookies.

In her capacity as head of the laundry program, Salgado makes sure towels and linens are removed from rooms daily. They are transported to an off-site facility on Grove Street where they are washed and returned to their respective properties.

Salgado isn’t the only member of her family to work for Piazza, all four of her children work at the hotels, as well.

Her 17-year-old daughter Lupita works as a host at Pizzando, her 23-year-old daughter Jasmine works at the front desk at Hotel Healdsburg, and her 18- and 15-year-old sons Omar and Angel strip linens from rooms across all three properties. Her sister, Yemi Saldago, also works in the Healdsburg hospitality industry: She is a line cook at the Madrona.

“Our family is grateful for these opportunities,” she said. “We feel a real connection (to these hotels.)”

Running county vacation rentals

Vacation rentals also represent a growing part of the tourism industry in Sonoma County, and Latinos have a huge impact in that segment of the market, too. There are over 2,000 permitted vacation rentals in Sonoma County, according to county data.

Brian Montanez, 34, has worked in the hospitality industry for 16 years. He used to be general manager at El Dorado Hotel and Kitchen on the Sonoma Plaza. His family is originally from Mexico. He recently started a long-term vacation rental management company named Beaux Maison Estates, and said he wouldn’t have even considered doing so without support from members of the local Mexican community.

Specifically, employees of the new company clean and restock vacation homes in the Beaux Maison program. They manage landscaping. They handle pool issues. They are on call for emergencies.

“The Latino workforce is the heart of any successful lodging or culinary operation in Sonoma County — I guarantee the most integral staff member of any vacation rental or hotel is of Spanish descent or immigrated here from Mexico,” he said.

Montanez added that he embraces his Mexican heritage to establish a stronger bond with his Spanish-speaking colleagues, using their first language even if he doesn’t properly conjugate the verbs.

“It may sound small, but I can tell it brings us closer,” he said. “They want to hear more of my family background vice versa. We'll share stories, favorite musicians, athletes and even recipes. Tacos de nopales are now a staple in my household!”

As Montanez looks to build his business and bring in more multimillion-dollar homes into his portfolio, he said he doesn’t expect to grow without the help of Latino workers.

“Working alongside my Latino counterparts goes beyond just getting the job at hand done,” he said. “Building these bonds through common interests and culture is important. The town of Sonoma was built on Mexican heritage and so are many relationships in our industry.”