Monti Bay Lodge

Curt’s passion for fishing in remote Alaska inspired him to build a place for friends and family to visit year after year.

How could he move from paper calendars to grow the business and appeal to a new generation of guests?

My husband and I met Curt while on the hunt for a house. Curt had purchased a 1965 a-frame on Tiger Mountain that he intended to fix and flip. It was in serious disrepair after being abandoned for five years through the mortgage crisis – only to have a giant cedar tree fall on it. We could all see the potential, and a new friendship was formed. We agreed to buy the a-frame, and together we re-imagined and restored it into a very special place that we now call home.

As we got to know Curt, I learned about his passion project – a fishing lodge in Yakutat, Alaska. He had a loyal following of repeat guests who over the years had become like an extended family.

After I started to experiment with bookings our guest suite on Airbnb, I asked if he wanted to try implementing an online booking system for the lodge.

With the right tools to track the details of dates and payments, he could focus on his real passion: designing and building new cabins, and creating magical experiences for his guests.

When we started, Curt explained his motivation – to create a comfortable, relaxing destination that would be appealing for his wife to join more trips, where even his disabled daughter Nicole could come and enjoy the rugged environment.

That requires attention to the details: from ramps for wheelchairs, to adding reading nooks, or finding little extra spaces for a wine fridge.

With this vision in mind from the beginning, just a few years later we’re now proud to host organizations like SheJumps Surf Clinics – where women and girls gain confidence and community through outdoor experiences.

Inlay for Nilotic scene, fish, 200 BC–100 AD  | Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926

Object Size: H. 1.5 × L. 4.8 cm (9/16 × 1 7/8 in.)